Bryan Adams wrote this second letter to “Mr Roash” on July 20, 1845, one week after his letter of July 13. Neither page has an address, but the subject is the same quarrel with James Roach of Craven County.
Adams denies saying that Roach or his family had been taken to the whipping post, or that Roach had sold slaves to pay grog bills. He answers Roach’s complaint that he had spent “old Sally” property, and says he had offered her property back to her and offered her his land to live on for her lifetime, but did not mean to live with her again. He defends the woman he was then living with and warns Roach that his son David had been talking about her. He also writes that Roach holds property from “Jessa [?] Chapman.” The writer’s own words are kept as written below.
Letter from Bryan Adams to Mr. Roach – July 20, 1845
Transcription notes: spelling, capitalization and punctuation follow the original. Words in [square brackets] are editorial notes; [?] marks an uncertain reading and [illegible] marks words that could not be read.
Mr Roash I take the optuty to Rit to you one more time conceining the bisness wee have being talking about you say I haf carg [?] you Rong if I have I am sorry for it and if I have not I ant sorry but I Noe that pople will Choes to tel a ly drother than the truth you seem to get vary Roth abaut the whiping poast did I say you or enny of youre fox was card to the whiping poast noy I sed I never was and did I say you spent five negros for to pay youre grog bils no I sed I haddent so I precive that you can take hints vary quick but you can pat out as menny as you pleas [interlined: and] dont want mee to take them a mis but see I can take hints as quick as you you talk about how mean it was to hurt pople in teth of thar mean Relation I fling you in dat but hoo is more Reddy than you no won in my noledg for it seme like that you have a hand in Every boddys bisness and seem to a [?] more about my bisness than I do my self and send me your desterbing letters when I was desterbed bad anouf with out your languig you hit me in the teth of spendding old sally profty to bild hoag houses but see if it is me yu pitt on [?] you ar a lier for I bilt me a hous with my one laber and it is not a hou[?] hous no more than yours see for the wone that live in it I wodent give her little fingar for old sal holde Boddy for my youse and all her profty if shee is a nagel so you pear to think of my children [illegible, faded] your anegel as you stile her went of and left them and Start nakid with not a shart to thar back when my damcil as you call her has put clos on them and heed thar nakniss soe I take her part for I now wherer shee is in foth or not but I now shee is not fore [?] I over cum her by far wards and far promis so I will seeport it she is A good naterd good codissund smart woman so Mr Roash your Sun David is going on vary lenthty a but her a gave [?] her of negros wich Shee is clar of and you had better cousin him before hee git hurt I dont send it out of enny harm to you onely that I want you [interlined: to] nae what such a sprot was apt to soe you Cold cousin him before to lat Mr Roash you par to think A good deal of old Sally profty if I had a spent it that wod being no mour than you have got Jessa [?] Chapman propt that you never work for no moar than I work for old Sal
But see I have shod a onerable part toward her I oferd her property back to her a gane and Shee wod not take it and when I furst oferd it Shee sad that shee wod not take it for I was bound to her and I cod not help my self so now Shee is a g[struck through: illegible]eed to take it Shee wont give me enny inshour ance to keep her from cumming on me a gane for more now I have ofer to give up my land [interlined: to her to] to live on her life time So it dont Shoe like that I wont to kil her or decfrode her out of enny thing but I did not intend to live with her So I dont cuar for what I have dun for I shod do the vary Same if it was to do over a gane So if you donk like it you Can lump it or enny boddy els for a dis a disatisfy mind wod A cosd me to went thru with my profty and then I shod A being bound to her then So when I git out of the nose to som good plas i am in hopse that I shal git a long a gane like I wonst did So Mr Roash you have a grat meny Children to ten to and you dont no what youre Children is to cume to but I hop that thay will do well and marry suiv [?] good anegils but not like into old Sally but it may bee som purson that [struck through: to] thay can see plasior with and live a saddisfide life and in Joy all the cumferts of this life is my wish So Mr Roash I cum unto a close thar is bee[interlined: n] grat meny words sed but not to enny grat amount So I think thar is no youse of my Riting to you So nothing more at present July the 20 1845
Bryan Adams
About the original
No address panel survives with these two pages; the second page is blank below the signature.
“Mr Roash” is not given a first name in this letter. He has a son named David, and the writer says he holds property from “Jessa [?] Chapman.” “Old Sally,” “old Sal,” is the writer’s wife, whom Mr. Roach calls an “angel” (here “anegel”). The writer has left her and is living with another woman.
Source: Bryan Adams to Mr. Roach, 20 July 1845. Roach Family Papers (#346), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, Box 1, Folder a (Correspondence, 1820–1897). Collection guide. Digitized folder: ECU Digital Collections, 0346-b1-fa.
Part of the Roach Family Papers collection on East Carolina Roots.
