TITLE: Letter from John Crook in London to John Bowne, William Richardson, “and the rest concerned in my Letter of Attorney”
DOCUMENT ID: BFP 2018.1.02-14
DATE: 24 November 1675 (Old Style) / 4 December (New Style)
John Crook writes to John Bowne, William Richardson, and others named in his letter of attorney (probably BFP #2018.1.01-17). This letter represents a follow-up to correspondence from two months earlier (see BFP #2018.1.02-12) concerning a business dispute with Nathaniel Sylvester over a shipment of goods to Crook's deceased kinsman, Latimer Sampson, for which Sylvester owes him an overdue accounting. Following a didactic religious salutation, Crook responds to seven points of contention referenced in a prior communication from Sylvester, then urges his proxies to speedily resolve the issue on his behalf and send him whatever funds they are able to recover.
Notes:
Letter-writer John Crook (1617-1699) was a wealthy English Quaker known for hosting George Fox before a large crowd at his estate, Beckerings Park in Bedfordshire, in May 1658. Like George Fox, Crook was an advocate of silent prayer.
Addressee William Richardson (c.1646-1692) was a Rhode Island-born Quaker of Flushing and Westchester, NY. He may have been a relative of Francis Richardson, friend of John Bowne. His name also appears on an associated power of attorney signed by Crook, which identifies him as "Master of the Ship Mayflower of Kent." (See BFP #2018.1.01-17.)
Nathaniel Sylvester (1610-1680) was the proprietor of Sylvester Manor, a 17th-century provisioning plantation on Shelter Island, New York. His daughter Grizzell Sylvester (1654-1691) was engaged to be married to John Crook's recently deceased nephew Latimer Sampson, the recipient of the disputed shipment of goods. Sampson left part of Horse Neck, Long Island to his fiancée; if she also was the beneficiary of any of Sampson's other assets, that may explain the Sylvesters' reluctance to surrender or pay for the cargo.
An interesting historical post-script: following Simpson's death, Grizzell Sylvester married James Lloyd. Their son Henry Lloyd built his estate on Horse Neck, then known as Lloyd's Neck. The first recorded African-American poet, Jupiter Hammon (1711-c.1806), was born enslaved on Henry's estate.