In the following excerpts, translated from the Spanish, King Philip III of Spain and his ambassador to London, Don Pedro de Zúñiga, exchange communiqués, many of them originally encoded, about the English colony at Jamestown. Zúñiga keeps the king informed of a frustrated English baron who may be interested in spying for Spain, of the activity surrounding the Second Charter, and of a huge English resupply mission—led by Sir Thomas Gates aboard the flagship Sea Venture—that appears to have been lost at sea. Zúñiga even provides the king regular updates on the situation of Sir Walter Raleigh.
Type: Letter
Letter from Thomas Worthington to Thomas Jefferson (January 7, 1826)
In this letter to Thomas Jefferson, dated January 7, 1826, the former Ohio governor Thomas Worthington promises to fulfill a request for cucumber seeds.
Letter from William Wirt to Elizabeth Gamble Wirt (July 13, 1806)
In this letter to his wife, Elizabeth Gamble Wirt, dated July 13, 1806, the attorney William Wirt attempts to justify his decision to defend George Wythe Sweeney (also Swinney), the man accused of murdering Wirt’s friend George Wythe.
Letter from James Winthrop to Jeremy Belknap (March 4, 1795)
In a letter to the clergyman and historian Jeremy Belknap, of the Massachusetts Historical Society, James Winthrop responds to questions about the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts. The questions were posed by St. George Tucker, who was working on a plan for the end of slavery in Virginia. In 1796, Tucker published A Dissertation on Slavery: With a Proposal for the Gradual Abolition of It, In the State of Virginia.
Letter from Anthony Whitting to George Washington (January 16, 1793)
In this letter to George Washington dated January 16, 1793, manager Anthony Whitting describes the state of affairs at the plantation and a whipping he gave to an “impudent” female slave. In his reply to Whitting, Washington retroactively sanctioned this punishment.
Letter from Joseph Whipple to George Washington (December 22, 1796)
In this letter to President George Washington, dated December 22, 1796, Joseph Whipple, the customs collector of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, discusses his search for the fugitive slave Oney Judge.
Enclosure: Poem by Phillis Wheatley (October 26, 1775)
Phillis Wheatley wrote the following poem and enclosed it in a prefatory letter to George Washington, dated October 26, 1775. Washington sent the letter and poem to Joseph Reed, who later arranged to have them published in the Pennsylvania Magazine: or, American Monthly Museum in April 1776.
Daniel Webster Recommends Paul Jennings (June 23, 1851)
In a note dated June 23, 1851, U.S. secretary of state Daniel Webster recommends Paul Jennings for employment. Jennings was a former slave who served James Madison and his wife, Dolley Madison.
Letter from Robert Michie to David Watson (December 21, 1797)
In this letter to David Watson, dated December 21, 1797, Robert Michie refers to a man enslaved by the College of William and Mary named Lemon.
Letter from George Washington to Oliver Wolcott Jr. (September 1, 1796)
In this letter to Oliver Wolcott Jr., dated September 1, 1796, President George Washington corresponds with his secretary of the Treasury about the search for his fugitive slave Oney Judge.