368
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. x. NOV. 7, me
CHARLES WALLER. OF WICKHAM, NEAR
CROYDON. An unpublished manuscript,
written by a lady of Newport, R.I., in 1843,
covering recollections of her grandparents,
includes among other items the following
quotation from a letter written by the
author's grandfather, Thomas Wickham
(1736-1816), a merchant of Newport. His
wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and
Mary (Winthrop) Wanton, Joseph Wanton
being the last Colonial Governor of Rhode
Island, who was deposed at the breaking
out of the revolution.
- I append the extract in full, thinking it
may be of general interest as a side-light on the period to which it refers :
" Extract from the copy of a letter written by my respected grandfather to ' Mr. Charles Waller, at Wickham, near Croydon, Surrey, Great Britain,' and dated 21 April, 1783. " I have a very grateful sense, my dear Waller, of your kind expressions of friendship for me and mine. We have lived long enough together to be well acquainted with each other. I know they are sincere. During a three years' (to say the best of it) very unpleasant situation, eleven months of which I was in prison, condemned to pay a fine of five thousand dollars in specie, not paper, it was often I pleased myself with reflecting that I still had friends in the world, tho' at a distance. I imagine you wish to know how I came off ; I will tell you. Petitioning the assembly, they re- mitted the fine to 500 dollars, which, on paying, I was liberated, tho' obliged to procure securities for my peaceable behavior during the war. It is impossible, my dear Sir, to tell you the pangs I suffered in that imprisonment : the death of my dear son, whose funeral I was not permitted to attend, and soon after the very dangerous illness of Mrs. Wickham, rendered my situation truly deplorable. You, who are well acquainted with my temper and disposition, will wonder perhaps that I survived such distress. I was spared and my everlasting gratitude is due to Heaven. Forgive me, my dear friend, for teasing you with such a pitiable detail of my history, but you desire me to be particular and as I flatter myself you kindly interest yourself in our fate, I am thinking of entertaining, and not of being tedious to you .... I cannot at present determine how to dispose of myself, whether I shall continue at Newport, or remove elsewhere. I have seen enough of the world, and have learned to despise it. Often have I wished to be removed to some little remote corner of it, by the side of a few choice friends, whom I love, and leave the noise and bustle to them who like it ; I feel myself not calculated for it. I have not done the least business since we parted and must now go upon something what, I don't know.
I have written a letter of an enormous size and have yet a thousand things to say, but will defer it to another opportunity the general Peace will afford frequent ones without the risk of being interrupted.
" Many of the Refugees are gone to Nova Scotia many more talk of going and many know not what to do. When I have concluded on my plan,
I will inform you where and what 1 may be.
Shall we not meet again, my dear W.? Will you
ever see America again, or must 1 come and
embrace you at my namesake Town ? "
The writer desires information or refer- ences in regard to the above Charles Waller. Anything concerning his ancestry or bio- graphical data will be appreciated. What were his interests in America ? Was he a merchant, a traveller ? or did he come in some official capacity ? He evidently left Newport about the time it was evacuated by the British. W. M. W.
Buffalo, N.Y.
WILL OF MRS. MARY KINDERLEY. I should be glad to hear of living descendants of the following, named in the will of Mrs. Mary Kinderley of Bedford Row, dated 1818, proved 1822 :
Richard Bristowe Burnell (first husband).
Rev. John Fretwell of Railthly, co. Lines.
Bridget Mosman of Worksop, widow.
Lucinda, wife of the Rev. Robert Benson of Micklegate, York, and their sons Robert Haggard Benson and the Rev. Henry Bristowe Benson, and their daughter Harriet Benson.
Mary, wife of Robert Read of Church Lane, Grantham, co. Lines, and their sons Robert Read, John Kirton Read, and William Kinderley Read, and their daughter Mary Kirton Read.
Ann Bull Bristowe, wife of the Rev. Joseph Bull Bristowe of Ringwood, co. Hants.
John udlow or Z/udlow of Monument Yard and Ann Gertrude his wife.
John Alexander of Lincoln's Inn.
John Stevens, No. 36, Little James Street, near Manchester Square.
Thomas Munden, son of Thomas and Eleanor Munden, No. 5, Cumberland Place near Portman Square.
Mrs. Elizabeth Birch of Evenjobb, neai Presteign, co. Radnor, her daughter Eliza beth Williams, and her son John Birch o; Leominster, co. Hereford, yeoman.
Peter Pegge Burnell of Winckburn, co; Notts.
John Manley of Bedford Row anc Catherine his wife, and their daughter: Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth, and Louisa, anc their son William Manley.
Mary, wife of Nicholas Hall of Brighton
Joana Relf, widow of Dr. Relf, and he. sister Sarah Worthington.
Charlotte Maria, wife of George Edmund' of Chancery Lane, one of the daughters o; "my late friend" Mrs. Charlotte Marit White, late of Soho Square, and two othei
