Jefferson Quotes & Family Letters

Phil goes up to morrow on some business of the Coll and I can not miss the opportunity of writing since you complain in your letters to the girls that I have not written. to when you wrote you had not recieved the letter I wrote by Wilson. I returned last night from Wmsburg and am mortified to say that the subject of your mothers dower is still unsettled and I can not say how it will terminate; if we get any thing it will be $10,000. When I first came down, the difficulty was to get them to allow anything at all. but after great difficulties and repeated & positive denials I succeeded in convinced convincing the creditors under the lien of Nixon, Sinton & co. that it was much to their interest & that $10,000 out of the proceeds of the sale was not too much for them to allow and was as little as we could accept. This difficulty then arose. the college have the first lien and they are certain of recieving their money viz $25,000 independent of the dower. if they sell for cash the property, will not pay much more or so little that the next creditors will have no interest in making the compromise for the dower. The object of my visit to Wmsburg was to get the college to allow the property to be sold as a credit of one, two & three years from November next, this they will do if their interest of $750 every six months is punctually paid and this they expect from the creditor of the second lien to do which some of them say they will not, others are willing to do if I can bring all to the same mind the object may still be effected if not it falls to the ground and your mother stands where she was

You can not concieve the trouble vexation & fatigue that I have had in this business and nothing but the most devoted affection & the warmest zeal in your mothers service has ennabled me to persevere in the teeth of difficulties which I have often thought you insurmountable. In addition to my troubles about the procrastinated negociations for the dower, I found on my return from Wmsburg that Coll Carrs horse had got entangled in the rope with which he was tied in the yard and threw himself on the hard gravel walk and I am afraid is utterly destroyed the accident happened last monday and he has not walked one step since and if he ever is fit for anything again it must be many months first.Before I went to Wmsburg I was always in the expectation of setting out for home in two or three days at farthest and for that reason did not write and being as home sick as I was still and am still your complaints to the girls about my not writing were very mortifying. When I have time to think of you and the [. . .]