Willis, Mary W Kirby. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Willis, Mary W Kirby. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Willis, Mary W Kirby

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

1835-01-09

Description

Handwritten letter from Mary W Kirby Willis to Amy Kirby Post, January 9, 1835.

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

470

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

[Page 1 can be found with Letter #469, by John Willis]

(Page 2)

as my husband has not
delineated the subject as fully as I wished it I feel a mind to
commence again we left home as expressed above on second day morn
ing and stopped at a funeral at Manetto hill where we had engaged to
meet John Plummer as he felt a concern to accompany us ^when^ we
arrived at the funeral the meeting had not broke up and Jacob said “
let me step towards the door when he got there found John speaking
he step’d [sic] in and stood behind the door, and as he closed their [sic] seemed
an opening for Jacob, he said he believed the people wondered were [sic]
that voice came from, but J. Plummer said he saw his shadow,
we did not go in as the meeting was near closing, from thence

(Page 3)

we went on to Commack and got up quite a large meeting in the
course of two and a half hours and Jacob was favored to communicate
to the understandings and satisfaction of the people even their
Minister sat by his side and conducted himself in a reverend [sic] and
respectful manner he enquired of Jacob his route and said if he went
to Cove harbour and would make use of his name (which he gave
that we could make use of the Meeting house &c we tarried all
night at this place and had many invitations to lodge, from there [w?] to
Satauket [sic] a meeting at 3 in the afternoon, and the evening at drowned
meadow where there never was a friends meeting held before the
people [obliterated] were mostly collected when we got there and
were sitting very commendable and Jacob being anointted [sic] ^with oil^ [very
quickly]
he arose and preached the Gospel [obliterated] most[ly] powerfully
after meeting the people very respectful manifesting great satisfaction
and old Presbyterian deacon acquiesed [sic] therein expressing his thank=
=fulness also that truth speaks the same language every where,
returned (this being as far East as way opend [sic]) up to Stonybrook
among the Methodists who open’d [sic] their house to us, had a tender
=ing time among them for which they seemed thankful one old
woman said [there] friends used to come and have meetings in this
place and that there had not been any for a great while she did not know
but they had dwindled away. journed [sic] on and had a meeting to the [obliterated]
Branch largely attended for the place one woman in her 81^st year
hearing of the meeting walk’d [sic] a mile to attend and said that the com[mu]
=nication had been to her edification that their [sic] had been many
passages of scripture held forth and explained to her understanding
which she had never heard before she seemed very bright and lively
a good woman I took her to be, her daughter has lately joined the Presby
=terian, she told the Minister that she wished to [join some] ^be a member of some^ Society that she
would prefer joining friends but that the distance was so great that she
she [sic] could not attend their meetings, her name Elizabeth Blightersburg
from thence to [Hoppaugs?] a small meeting, journed [sic] on to Smithtown
call’d at Elias Smiths door and I thought met with a cool reception
were not invited in the house therefore passed on a mile and half
further to Abram Smith where we were taken in and bountifully
treated with [the] ^many^ good things, had a very interesting daughter that
claimed our particular attention who is in poor health and who
after a very favor’d meeting (John first breaking silence very acceptably
tho [sic] not the first time altho [sic] I have omitted mentioning in its place
and Jacob holding forth in a marvelous manner time after time
and particularly at this time) said she felt very much disappointed
Jacob said I may hope agreeable [sic] so, she said yes, I have understood
that you do not believe in the divinity of Christ, but I perceive
that you do then Jacob took up the subject and explained to her
a little of his belief in these things of which she seemed to [under
st] comprehend and seemed to be ^as it were^ like unto a feast of fat things,

(Page 4)

she sent for me up in her room next morning and said you resemble
Anna Willis very much I thought last evening it was her, and that I could
not tell what to make of it untill [sic] I asked you your name but
I concluded that there was a [reunion?] in your Society and then I gave
it up. &. she said that Elias Hicks did not believe in the divinity
of Christ for she had read [his] ^a^ sermon of his where he spoke of Christ
as an inspired Apostle I told her that I had heard him many times
on that subject and that he was a full believer therein she then said
it was taken down in short hand and might not have been prope
=rly filled up and I think she was left in a very sweet frame of
mind have not ^leisur^ [sic] to say all her name is Prudence Smith she told
me that she had lately lost a Mother [that] ^whom^ she dearly loved.

[Text in center of page, written upward]

          Jericho NY.           18 ¾
          Jan 12
                    Amy Post
          Isaac Post        Aurora
                             Cayuga County
                             N.Y.

[Text normal]

first day eve 11^th grandmother had a turn yesterday her tongue cleaved to
her mouth it becoming very dry so that she could not speak for a while
she motioned for a swab, they made one and wet her mouth and in the
course of half an hour spoke again I was there in the evening she was
taken up and sat an hour I judge and conversed some Spoke of Job
[Scots?] communication at Jericho and thought it applicable to her that she
was helpless like a little child her tongue cleaved to the rough [sic] of her mouth
[illegible] and thirsty, and nothing to look to but its mother she ask’d me if I would
stay the night I told her we were poorly at home, ^said^ I dont know that we shall need
to night

[Continues on Page 1, written upwards in left margin.]

(Page 1)

yesterday was [illegible] meeting and Jacob Jackson forwarded a communication
to this affect [sic] desiring to be wrote to the society of friend[sic]. likewise his wife
aunt Catherine Post seems mending is yet at Henry’s had been very poorly with an

[Continues in top margin]

inflammation on the lungs

[Text upside-down in top margin, right]

my paper is rather small to put all
in that I felt to say thy sister M. W. W.
my love to aunt Phebe

Tags

Family; Quakers

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Willis, Mary W Kirby, “Willis, Mary W Kirby. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 22, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/2768.

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