LETTER TO HIS BROTHER WILLIAM E. GREEN, in Worcester, Massachusetts, concerning an incident between the "aristocrats" and the "democrats".
New York: May 26, 1795. One page autograph letter signed. Single sheet approximately 160 words. After opening with some family news Green writes; "By the time this reaches your hand we shall have some News from France there is a vessel expected dayley there was a dredful squabble in the coffeehouse the other day the soldiers put up a liberty Cap and two Cullers one French and one American the aristocr ["the" crossed out and last word unfinished] there is two sects of people the Tories or aristocrats & the whigs or democrats when the Cullers were put up the aristocrats took down the French Culler and then Got into a skiff and road down the river the Frenchmen got into an armebote (?) and followed on until night but could not overtake them...." [This is likely a reference to the on-going disputes between those Americans sympathetic to the French, and the French Revolution (which had further descended into chaos by 1795) and those who favored British ties].
Meltiah Green (1779-1800) was the son of Dr. John Green (1736-1799) and Mary Ruggles Green. He worked in the merchant sea trade, while his older brother, William E. Green (1777-1865) was a Brown University graduate, lawyer and farmer. There were ten siblings in this family. Meltiah died young of yellow fever in St. Bartholomew, West Indies. [Correspondence held at The American Antiquarian Society]. Item #63914
Price: $250.00