John Quincy Adams to Thomas Boylston Adams, 12 October 1803
John Quincy Adams to Thomas Boylston Adams
Newark 12. October 1803.
Wednesday.
My dear Brother.
We have been detained here since Sunday the 9th: instt: by the severe illness of my wife— We think however to go on this day, as far as Elizabeth-town, and to proceed by easy Stages to-morrow as far as Princeton, and the next day, (God willing) to Frankfort, where we hope to find you—1 If you can procure for us in that place, or on the other side of the City, towards Baltimore, convenient lodgings in a private house, my wife will be more quiet and have a better prospect of rest than at an open Inn— And I should be glad of an opportunity to stop and give her a good day’s rest— But I presume this will not easily be obtained, as the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, must doubtless be as much crowded as that of New-York— To meet you therefore at Frankfort is all I can flatter myself with— And if you cannot do better, engage us two chambers with two beds in each, at the best public House in Frankfort, for Friday Night.
Your’s ever.
J. Q. Adams.
RC (MHi:Grenville H. Norcross Autograph Coll.); addressed: “Thomas B. Adams Esqr / Philadelphia.”; internal address: “T. B. Adams Esqr.”; endorsed: “J. Q. Adams Esqr: / 12th: Oct: 1803 / 13th: Recd:”; notation by JQA: “Post-paid—.”
1. JQA wrapped up his affairs in Boston on 28 Sept. in preparation for his departure for Washington, D.C., to begin his term in the U.S. Senate. JQA, LCA, GWA, and JA2 left Quincy for Providence, R.I., on 1 Oct., and on 4 Oct. sailed for Paulus Hook, N.J., aboard the sloop Cordelia, Capt. Crepon. After two port stops due to a gale that made all in the family seasick, they landed on 9 Oct. and took a carriage to Newark, N.J. The Adamses traveled to Elizabethtown on 12 Oct., to Princeton on the 14th, and to the outskirts of Philadelphia on the 15th. After visiting with TBA for two days they arrived at the Washington, D.C., home of Walter and Ann Johnson Hellen on 20 Oct. (JQA to TBA, 3 Oct., private owner, 1987; D/JQA/27, APM Reel 30).