To Benjamin Franklin from Arthur and William Bryan, Jr., 25 May 1778: résumé
From Arthur and William Bryan, Jr.8
ALS: American Philosophical Society
<Dublin, May 25, 1778: Our acquaintance with you when you were here encourages us to introduce our friend Captain Joy Castle. He and his family were driven from Philadelphia by the war and now, when peace is likely, are anxious to return.9 He is a fair and honest man and connected with some of the leading citizens of Philadelphia.>
8. Merchants, presumably brothers, who must have met BF during his visit to Ireland in 1769. They had apparently not been in touch with him since, and their subsequent contacts can be briefly noted (APS). On Nov. 1, 1778, they wrote to thank him for assisting Castle and to recommend another American, George Hunter, a warm friend of his country who had recently come to Dublin; helping him would be a service to the U.S. (Hunter subsequently took an oath of allegiance in Passy, misdated by BF Nov. 24, 1774.) On Feb. 15, 1783, the Bryans congratulated BF on the prospect of peace, acknowledged the attentions he had paid their earlier applications, requested a pass for a ship of theirs bound for Baltimore, and offered themselves as American consul in Dublin.
9. Castle’s difficulties are explained in the petition below from his brother William, June 22.