Letter from Samuel Avery to the General Assembly of Connecticut

September 30, 1741

Mimeograph transcription of a letter to the General Assembly about a debt incurred by the author while doing his duty for his colony. In 1737, Avery was sent to Shearborn in the Mass. Bay Colony to fetch Ben Uncas Jr. home to marry the daughter of the sachem Cesar. Uncas had been an indentured apprentice and his master wanted compensation for the time that Uncas had left on his contract. Avery willingly paid the 40 pounds, assuming that the government would reimburse him because it had been desirous of the marriage. However, Avery was never paid back the 40 pounds and quickly fell into debt. His letter relates that he was at the gates of the prison several times and was only spared imprisonment by the good graces of his friends. Avery asks the Court that his debt be erased or that he be paid back the original 40 pounds owed him. On October 3, the Court granted Avery fifty pounds.

Mohegan

2 pages

DOC.1741–09–30C

Letter

Indian Papers Vol. I

Avery, Samuel
Uncas, Ben
Russell, Thomas
Cesar
Chapman, Jeremiah

apprentice
bond
debt
prison
jail
goal
memorialist