Letter from Joseph Wall, September 17, 1867

[Letter from Joseph Wall at Boston, September 17, 1867. It is probably addressed to Mary Louisa Mitchell Binckley (1821-1878) but it could also be directed to Charlotta aka Charlotte Stocker Binckley ~ "Mother B." (1788-1877). Wall was an associate of John Milton Binckley (1821-1878).]

Savin Hill  Sept. 17, 1867

My dear Mrs. Binckley,

I did not reach home till Monday morning as the cars do not run East of New York on Sunday for fear of shocking the Puritanical sensibilities of New England.

On my way home from the horse cars I passed three little gipsies, unnoticing and unnoticed, who, on a second look, turned out to be my own children.

My daughter Alba is much grown and does not wear a chignon; her sister Dora, should have been her brother, for she is a very tomboy and infringes considerably on the privilege of the opposite sex to be ugly; Avery, the older boy, is much like others of his species. I subscribe, of course, to all that is said of the baby, the sweetest, the most beautiful &c. The children are all delightfully weather stained by the sea-breezes. I found my wife better than I expected to find her.

I wish you could see the beautiful scenery around us. The ships sailing in and out of Boston harbor are within a mile or so of us, richly colored meadows intervene between us and the ocean; on the right the sea meanders to within a few hundred feet of us, a blue ribbon of it comes up to connect with the creek at the foot of our garden. Yet, with all its beauty, I am thinking of selling the place; because it is too near Feniana [Irish].

I see the newspaper scribblers continue to rack their brains to complete their sketches of Milton; with all their ingenuity they have not discovered or invented any thing injurious to his character as a man or to impair the estimation he is held in by those who know him.

I suppose he is enjoying himself with his family at Abingdon [Virginia] regardless of the petty and miserable personalities of his enemies. 

My wife joins me in much love to you
Very truly yours
Joseph Wall

[PS] Mrs. Charlotte Binckley
Please write soon and address Boston, Mass. 

Original manuscript in the John Milton Binckley Papers, 1816-1943. Library of Congress Manuscript Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. This is my rough transcription. 

Many thanks to William Myers for sending scanned copies of the documents from the Binckley papers, and also to Mary Davy and Sally Young for their assistance.