Letter from Frances Miller Seward to William Henry Seward, August 7, 1850

  • Posted on: 18 July 2019
  • By: admin
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Letter from Frances Miller Seward to William Henry Seward, August 7, 1850
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transcriber

Transcriber:spp:jaa

student editor

Transcriber:spp:msf

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1850-08-07

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Letter from Frances Miller Seward to William Henry Seward, August 7, 1850

action: sent

sender: Frances Seward
Birth: 1805-09-24  Death: 1865-06-21

location: Auburn, NY

receiver: William Seward
Birth: 1801-05-16  Death: 1872-10-10

location: Washington D.C., US

transcription: jaa 

revision: crb 2019-02-05

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Page 1

Wednesday 7th Aug–
My dear Henry,
I have this morning
your letter of Sunday giving
an account of your visit to
Mt Vernon – It makes me
sad to hear that the place
which was so pretty and
neat when we were there
should be now so neglected–
I think the Government should
make some appropriation for
purchasing the place and
keeping it in repair if
the proprietor is not able to
do so
Page 2

I am glad you had a respite
if it was only for one day–
I saw Dr Robinson
Birth: 1804-02-04 Death: 1889-07-28
yesterday
and enquired the name
of Dr Witherell
Birth: 1823 Death: 1866-10-30
– Edward
C. Witherell –
As you have not been to Dr
Pratt
Birth: 1816-09-10 Death: 1901-03-03
you may still make
him a visit in the mean
time I will tell you of the
trouble I am having with my
teeth – You will remember
that I have often complained
of the metallic taste of the
plate – About a month
ago my tongue & mouth
became sore which soreness
has now extended to my
throat – I observed at first
that the burning sensation
Page 3

which I experienced always
increased the latter part of
the day and was considerably
alleviated in the morning
which induced me to dispense
with my teeth for a day
or two when I found my
mouth was much more
comfortable – After a number
of experiments I became satisfied
that the copper which is
mixed with gold plate
of my teeth was operating badly
upon my health– Dr Robinson
gave me medicine for my
mouth but said it was useless
so long as there was a particle
of copper coming in contact
with it– I have enquired
of one dentist
Unknown
here who says
Page 4

that the gold can in some
cases be used alone that
when an alloy is necessary
for hardening it that silver
should be used not copper –
as he had known many cases
of sore mouth from the use
of copper– I asked Lazette
Birth: 1803-11-01 Death: 1875-10-03
to
make similar enquiries of Dr
Carr
Birth: 1801-10-29 Death: 1861-11-29
– I have no answer from her
yet but she was very positive
that he used no copper–
As it is I am obliged to go
without my teeth except when
I see company and then I suffer
all night in consequence–
I am unwilling to employ
any Dentist but Dr Pratt
if he can remedy this defect
If he cannot I must go to
some one else – at present
my teeth are nearly useless
to me
Page 5

or worse than useless, a positive
injury– You will remember
that Dr Pratt said he
used copper in his plates –
I presume he thought the
quant[ it ]
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Supplied

Reason: 
y insufficient to produce
any deleterious effect–
But this argument would
be lost upon a homeopathist
Fanny
Birth: 1844-12-09 Death: 1866-10-29
was much pleased
with the little lilly she
has it nicely stored away
in a little box– She wishes
me to enclose this free[ s ]
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Reason: 
ia
for you–