John Jay Papers

To John Jay from Cadwallader Colden II, 31 May 1777

From Cadwallader Colden II

Kingston May 31st 1777

Dear Sir

I had Desired Doctr: Jones1 to Speak to You and some other Gentn. of the Council of Safety Concerning a Report I had heard, that I with some other Gentn. ^now at Lodgings^ was to be Confined on bord a Vessel, the Doctr Told me Yesterday that You was so kind as to Propose to Call to See me on that Account; But this Moment the Sherriff Sent a Man to inform Mr Cumming2 and Myself to hold Ourselves in Readyness to go on bord a Vessel in an hours time.

Tho’ I have not been informd of any Perticular Charges against me, Yet While I thought it might be to Answer Some Political View, that the Convention thought Proper not to Let me Remain at my own house I Readly Acquiesed But while any View or End of that kind might as Well be answered by Allowing me to Remain Where I am I Can’t but think it Exceeding hard that My Situation Should be Renderd Still More Disagreable. I shall take it very kind if you take this under Consideration And any the Least Services Shall ever be thankfully Rememberd by Sir Your Most Humble Sert

Cadwallader Colden

To John Jay Esq.

CS, in Colden’s hand, CSmH: Cadwallader Colden II Journal (EJ: 13165).

1Noted physician and surgeon Dr. John Jones (1729–91), a Patriot who was a longtime friend of Colden’s, left New York City when it was occupied by the British and was then a Kingston resident whose house and barn were burned when the British attacked the town on 16 Oct. 1777. The Surgical Works of the late John Jones, M.D. . . . (Philadelphia, 1795; Early Am. Imprints description begins Early American Imprints, series 1: Evans, 1639–1800 [microform; digital collection], edited by American Antiquarian Society, published by Readex, a division of Newsbank, Inc. Accessed: Columbia University, New York, N.Y., 2006–8, http://infoweb.newsbank.com/ description ends , no. 28909), 2–48; Schoonmaker, History of Kingston description begins Marius Schoonmaker, The History of Kingston, New York (New York, 1888) description ends , 524; Fingerhut, Survivor description begins Eugene R. Fingerhut, Survivor: Cadwallader Colden II in Revolutionary America (Los Angeles, 1983) description ends , 64, 76.

2John Cumming or Cummins, a prominent Loyalist who lived in Catskill, Greene County. Like Colden, he had been imprisoned at the Kingston jail, then paroled for a week into the custody of Kingston resident Henry Sleght. The Council of Safety had now consigned Colden and Cumming and six other prominent Loyalists to the Fleet Prison. Cumming escaped from the ship with the rest of the group, except Colden, but was recaptured and ultimately exiled. PPGC description begins Public Papers of George Clinton, First Governor of New York (10 vols.; Albany, N.Y., 1899–1914) description ends , 9: 242; Fingerhut, Survivor description begins Eugene R. Fingerhut, Survivor: Cadwallader Colden II in Revolutionary America (Los Angeles, 1983) description ends , 71, 72, 73–74, 91, 111, 129.

Index Entries