2 pp, 8 x 10, ALS, January 15, 1816, D.H. Beardsley writes to John Gardner, an attorney in York, PA, with regards to notable abolitionist.
“I send three or four old books and as I mean, no offense by it, I hope you will take none. If you are in want of Coke, you certainly have a great bargaining them at 9 dollars. When I saw you last, you told me it was your intention to spend a part of the fall or winter in Baltimore. I really wish you would come and spend a few weeks here, I want someone to converse with. I have no companion to whom I can unbend my mind, and I live the life of a hermit in the midst of a populous city. I go every evening to my school room where I remain commonly till ten o’clock and then go home and go to bed, rising very early next morning, and spending the day you know how happy should I be! You have no really wants, they are all imaginary and such as you can dispel with a thought you are ungrateful my friend, to find fault with that situation in life, which is so much above what it is enjoyed by the majority of mankind. Rather bless Heaven that your station in life which is so much above what, upon an equal distribution of the good things of this life would have fallen to you there.
“As my income will entirely cease after the first of April, I find it will be absolutely necessary for me to lessen my expenses that I may be able to earn wages next winter. I understand Mr. Goodyear will leave the bank at York in the spring, and that Mr. Schmidt will take his place as cashier. Now the question I am going to ask is, who will take Mr. Schmidt’s place as clerk? Do you suppose that I have any intention of taking his place perhaps it would not be consistent with our plans altogether; and besides, perhaps I am not qualified, or could not get the place if I were. Please give my respects to my Yankee brethren, Mr. Carter, Mr. Merrill, Mr. Stevens and be assured you will ever find me.
“Yours
“D.H. Beardsley”
Beardsley was David Hamlin Beardsley (1789-1870), who was born in Connecticut, a son of Squire Beardsley and Hannah Hamlin. He married Cassandra Hersh (1797-1846) in Baltimore. He was unsuccessful in his attempt at running a school. Beardsley did indeed operate a school in Baltimore, advertising in the local newspaper: “Select School for Girls” (Oct. 1814 Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser). In 1826, he moved to Ohio, where he became the Collector for the Ohio Canal and held that position for 23 years.
JOHN GARDNER (1790-1840) of York, PA, was the son of Phillip Gardner (1748-1804) and Anna Elizabeth Spyker (1749-1804) who were both in Pennsylvania and raised their family in Hellam Township. John Gardner studied law, attended Dickinson but did not graduate. He was admitted to the Bar in 1812. He practiced law and was active in politics in York County. He served as a State Representative in 1822. He owned a grist mill, served as secretary of the York County Colonization Society.
Beardsley mentions his “Yankee brethren, Mr. Carter, Mr. Merrill, Mr. Stevens.”
Merrill was JAMES MERRILL (1790-1841), who was a lawyer. He had been born in Vermont and graduated from Dartmouth in 1812 and moved to York, PA, with his classmate THADDEUS STEVENS, where he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1815.
STEVENS (1792-1868) accepted a teaching position at a one-room school in York. He studied law in the evenings and passed the Bar exam in a year. He set up practice in Gettysburg and later moved to Lancaster in 1833. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In his will, he left $50,000 to establish a school for the relief and refuge of homeless, indigent orphans.
Stevens was an uncompromising politician of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. He is best remembered as a leader of the Radical Republicans, the faction in Congress that pushed for full civil rights for formerly enslaved people and harsh terms for those formerly involved in the Confederacy. Stevens advocated for the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, believing that Johnson obstructed Reconstruction and enabled white supremacist power.
THOMAS WOODYEAR was The York Bank cashier from 1813-1817. He was born in Baltimore in 1786 and died there in 1827.
Folds, toning. Seal tear on the integral address leaf.
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