Delete comment from: Boston 1775
“Hewes was conveniently captured after begging to be allowed to take the letters.” This statement is false. It appears to be the result of mixing up George R. T. Hewes with Benjamin Hichborn, whose story of being captured I discussed starting here.
“John adams household is listed as having two slaves.” This statement is false. It may be the result of mixing up John Adams and his second cousin Samuel Adams, who was the legal owner of a woman named Surry Adams, given to his wife. I discussed what we know about her. It may be a misreading of the life of John Adams’s wife Abigail, who was raised in a household with at least one slave. She came to dislike the practice and never owned slaves herself. In middle age she employed and housed a former slave of her father named Phoebe Abdee. Without a stated source, it’s hard to say where the error arose.
Jul 13, 2021, 4:02:39 PM
Posted to Capt. Charles Conner: mariner, trader, letter of horses