Letter by a Woman Written After Her 1791 Arrival in Wilmington, North Carolina, Featuring a Detailed Description of the Town

Wilmington, North Carolina: 1791. Bifolium, 9.5 x 7.5”, with four pages of manuscript. A partial letter, lacking a second leaf (or more), by a woman, written upon arrival in Wilmington, North Carolina, and featuring a rich description of the town in the late 18th century. The letter was sent to “My Dr [Dear] Foster”, and begins with an intimate, somewhat flirtatious, disclosure: “[Dear] may appear an address too familiar from a single woman to a married gentleman—but I can think of no other to please me—Rev or Mr. is too cold to express the sincere regard I feel for him….” This is followed by a brief description of her trip, in August, 1791, from Philadelphia to New York (where she visited “Brother and Sister Sutton”), and thence to Wilmington. The last two pages consist of a rich description of the town, with the woman recording her impressions of the place in detail:

“I like Carolina much better than expected for it was depicted in such dark colors…we have a very agreeable society which to me would make a desert tolerable, with a plenty to eat & drink—The town for the advantage of having the warfs convenient is fixd in the lowest peace of ground they could find…the soil admits of no cultivation for several miles—and the hills that surround it are nothing but begs of sand, if it was not for there gradual descent—I should fear in time its being buried—The fresh Water River to me as I am fond of water is very pleasant—but opposite there is a small island two miles in breadth & I know not how many in length that is low marshy ground, from whence I believe all there sickness proceeds, but which they call there best land, and reason it worth nine pounds an acre…and the water is necessary to make the Rice Plantations flourish…The inhabitants are more and less according to the sickly or healthy seasons—as great numbers retire in the Country in the summer months to avoid fevers…”

Unfortunately, the letter ends in the middle of a sentence, and we are unable to identify the author, though a Sutton family is known to live in Wilmington at this time (several Sutton family letters are present in the North Carolina State Archives). An intriguing letter with important 18th century Carolina content. In nice condition with folding creases and slight foxing. Item #13601

Price: $750.00