To John Jay from Benjamin Kissam, 25 April 1766
From Benjamin Kissam
[New York, 25 April 1766]
Dear Jay,
I have been strongly sollicited to take a Jaunt with Mr. Inglis1 to Philadelphia, and he proposes to set offon Tuesday next. I have consented to go provided my horse is well, and News of the Repeal of the Stamp Act should not arrive in the mean Time.
Will You then be good enough to send my Horse down by a careful hand, if he is fit to go the Journey; and as upon the Repeal of the Stamp Act, we shall doubtless have a Luxuriant Harvest of Law, I would not willingly, after the long Famine we have had, miss reaping my part of the Crop. Should this News arrive in my Absence, I shall upon hearing it immediately return, and as soon as it reaches You I beg You’ll come down, and be ready to secure all Business that offers. Mr. Hicks2 will give You any assistance You may want, in case any thing difficult should turn up. Make my Complts. to Mr. & Mrs. Jay & all the Family.—I am your affectionate
B: Kissam
P.S. if it be not inconvenient, I should rather the horse be led down: But if he is not perfectly recovered, I must give up the Thought of going lest he should [foul out] on the Journey.
ALS, NNC (EJ: 6722). Addressed: “To Mr. John Jay, Near Rye.” Endorsed.
1. The Reverend Charles Inglis (1734–1816), an Irish-born Anglican clergyman, was appointed assistant rector to the Reverend Dr. Samuel Auchmuty at Trinity Church in New York. A strong proponent of an American bishop, he was president of King’s College from 1771 to 1773. During the Revolution, he was an active Tory pamphleteer, serving as a chaplain to the British army, and succeeding Auchmuty as rector of Trinity under the British occupation of New York. In 1779, New York State condemned him for treason and confiscated his property. He unwillingly left New York for England after the British evacuation. In 1787, he was appointed the first bishop of Nova Scotia.
2. Probably Whitehead Hicks (1728–80), a prominent New York lawyer, mayor of New York from 1766 to 1776, and a member of the Moot Club, as were Kissam and JJ.