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Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 27, 1787)

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Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 27Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 27
CONTEXT

In a letter dated June 27, 1787, Abigail Adams updates Thomas Jefferson on the recent arrival in London, England, of his daughter Mary and her enslaved servant, Sally Hemings.

FULL TEXT
Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 27

London june 27 1787

Dear Sir

I had the Honour of addressing you yesterday and informing you of the safe arrival of your daughter. She was but just come when I sent of my letter by the post, and the poor little Girl was very unhappy being wholy left to strangers. This however lasted only a few Hours, and Miss is as contented to day as she was misirable yesterday. She is indeed a fine child. I have taken her out to day and purchased her a few articles which she could not well do without and I hope they will meet your approbation. The Girl who is with her is quite a child, and Captain Ramsey is of opinion will be of so little Service that he had better carry her back with him. But of this you will be a judge. She seems fond of the child and appears good naturd.

I sent by yesterdays post a Number of Letters which Captain Ramsey brought with him not knowing of any private hand, but Mr. Trumble has just calld to let me know that a Gentleman sets off for paris tomorrow morning. I have deliverd him two Letters this afternoon received, and requested him to wait that I might inform you how successfull a rival I have been to Captain Ramsey, and you will find it I imagine as difficult to seperate Miss Polly from me as I did to get her from the Captain. She stands by me while I write and asks if I write every day to her pappa? But as I have never had so interesting a subject to him to write upon

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Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 27

[…] I hope he will excuse the hasty scrips for the [scanty?] intelligence they contain, and be assured Dear Sir that I am with sentiments of sincere esteem your Humble Servant,

A Adams

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TIMELINE
June 27, 1787
In a letter dated June 27, 1787, Abigail Adams updates Thomas Jefferson on the recent arrival in London, England, of his daughter Mary and her enslaved servant, Sally Hemings.
FURTHER READING

Will and Codicil of John Wayles (1760, 1772–1773) Letter from Elizabeth Wayles Eppes to Thomas Jefferson (October 13, 1784) Letter from James Currie to Thomas Jefferson (November 20, 1784) Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Francis Eppes (August 30, 1785) Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 26, 1787) Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Nicholas Lewis (April 12, 1792) “The President, Again” by James Thomson Callender (September 1, 1802) “Our massa Jefferson he say” by Anonymous (September 1, 1802) Editorial from the Frederick-Town Herald (December 8, 1802) Will and Codicil of Thomas Jefferson (1826) Will of Martha Jefferson Randolph (April 18, 1834) “Life of Isaac Jefferson of Petersburg, Virginia, Blacksmith” by Isaac Jefferson (1847) Letter from Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge to Joseph Coolidge (October 24, 1858) “Mr. Jefferson’s Blooded Stock”; an excerpt from The Private Life of Thomas Jefferson by Hamilton W. Pierson (1862) “Mr. Jefferson’s Personal Appearance and Habits”; an excerpt from The Private Life of Thomas Jefferson by Hamilton W. Pierson (1862) “Mr. Jefferson’s Servants”; an excerpt from The Private Life of Thomas Jefferson by Hamilton W. Pierson (1862) Letter from Henry S. Randall to James Parton (June 1, 1868) “Life Among the Lowly, No. 1” by Madison Hemings (March 13, 1873) Editorial in the Waverly Watchman (March 18, 1873) “Life Among the Lowly, No. 3” by Israel Jefferson (December 25, 1873) Letter from Thomas Jefferson Randolph to the Pike County Republican (ca. 1874) Hemings-Jefferson DNA; an excerpt from “Jefferson Fathered Slave’s Last Child” by Eugene A. Foster, et al. (November 5, 1998)

CITE THIS ENTRY
APA Citation:
Adams, Abigail. Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 27, 1787). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/letter-from-abigail-adams-to-thomas-jefferson-june-27-1787.
MLA Citation:
Adams, Abigail. "Letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (June 27, 1787)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 28 Sep. 2023
Last updated: 2021, January 28
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