It has been a month since I wrote Mother Paterson Part II, so I thought I'd better get to Part III:
The scan here, Page 1 of the Jane Eliza Neilsen letter of 31 Dec. 1837, seems to have a problem w/ light-dark, but it may be seen better by an adjustment w/ Picasa, which I really like, maybe because it has most of the bells and whistles that a really expensive program has, although I have never had the pleasure of playing around w/ a really expensive program, primarily because they are really expensive.
Anyway, I want to focus on the contents of the letter here, because, well, because Mother is pretty darn interesting. She predicted the Civil War well before it took place- some 23 years.
"Predicted" is used w/ license here. She actually warned that it
would occur if the opposing political parties involved, Whigs and Democrats, tried to force the issue. The issue, of course, was slavery. But while it looks as if Mother had some wonderful attribute like clairvoyance or an impeccable understanding of national politics, it might be simply that her "vision" of the future was being talked about all the time by well-read people, and had been talked about w/ regularity since 1788, the year of her birth, and the year
The Federalist Papers were taking shape in the national press. Since
1833, especially in South Carolina, it was probably something that people were discussing at dinner every other night- if the dinner table was of the class of Mother's table.
Jane E. Neilsen was from New York State, with property on the Hudson up stream from New York City. She was a Rensselaer, one of the most wealthy and powerful families of New York City at the time. It appears, but more research is needed, that the family had a home in Pocotaligo, SC, a town just outside of Charleston. The name of the property was "Spottsylvania." This name is written on the byline of her letters from Pocotaligo, but so far, no reference to this place can found in any other work, paper or map, but there is a
State of South Carolina battle marker at the edge of a busy highway. The area residents had been hostile to Union forces in a battle in 1862 in which Union forces were ambushed by the Confederates. In his campaign, Sherman used Pocotaligo as a base in Jan. 1865, and U.S. Grant paid a visit during that time. Sherman may have done his part to depopulate the town. It appears to have never recovered from the war, and its post office closed in 1890.
More, more, more soon.
I live in the Perth Amboy, NJ house built by Jane Eliza's daughter, Cornelia, who appears to be referenced in the letter!
ReplyDeleteJane Eliza was originally from Charleston, SC. She married Wm Bell Paterson and afterward lived for the most part in Perth Amboy, NJ, with property also in Morristown, NJ. The Patersons were New Jerseyans - William Bell being the son of William Paterson, framer of the US Constitution, Governor of NJ, US Supreme Court Justice. Paterson, NJ is named after Wm Bell's father. It was Wm Bell's sister, Cornelia, who married the NY Patroon, Stephen Van Renssallaer. So the Van Renssalaers of New York were in-laws of the Patersons.
I do not think that the Patersons owned any property in South Carolina.
Based on my research findings, Jane Eliza was probably visiting the home of her half sister - Mary Augusta Barron, who in 1837-38 was wife of Wm. Heyward Jr of Pocotaligo, SC.
Interestingly, Mary Augusta's first husband was Lt. Benj. S. Grimke, USN, who was brother of the famous abolitionist and suffragette sisters, Angelina and Sarah Grimke, who originally hailed from Charleston, SC.
Fantastic reply, MEP! Thank you so much for filling me in here. I thought for sure "Spottsylvania" was a plantation. This assumption is based on the amount of money the Van Renssellaers had around this time- One of the 10 most wealthiest families in the US. I know some of the end story to the NY estate. Stephen and William, twins and heirs, (this is confused in the various historical research,) had to split the estate. They sold it. That was the end of the patroonship. I am writing here w/o my notes so I'll look at them later today and write some more. Also, I'll put up the entire letter for you to read. JE rivals Chestnut in her opinions and observations. Got to go for now.
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