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Item
Number: DM4099
The Letter:
Sept 17th, 1846 letter from Harriet deKay to her brother John Daboll discussing
family matters.
Cover is addressed to “John L. Daboll / Mount Morris / Livingston Co /
NY” with a blue CDS containing the words “Byron N.Y. Sep 17”
Size: 15
1/2" wide x 9 3/4" high, folded to 7 3/4" wide x 9 3/4" high and written on
pages 1 and 3 only. Very good condition.
Background Information:
The writer, Harriet (Daboll) DeKay was born in Connecticut in 1807, the
daughter of Russell Daboll and Mary (Lester) Daboll. She married
William DeKay, a farmer from Byron, Genesee County, New York and died in
1888. Her father, Russell Daboll, was living in Mount Morris, Livingston
County by 1830. Her brother, Russell Daboll, Jr. was also a resident of
Byron, Genesee County for many years.
The recipient, John Lester Daboll, was Harriet’s brother, born in
1811 and was for many years a resident of Mount Morris, Livingston County, NY,
as was their youngest brother, Elisha Allen Daboll, born in 1821.
In the letter, Harriet describes a trip her husband William and “Jerome”
had just made to Michigan and mentions the relatives they visited. “Ezra”,
“Horace”, “Bonaparte”, and “John” are most likely Harriet’s
and John’s first cousins, the Buddington brothers, formerly of New
York and now living in Utica, Michigan. “Aunt Rhoda” is likely Rhoda
Daboll, sister of Russell Daboll. She was born in Groton, Connecticut
in 1782 and married Thomas A. Buddington. She was the mother of the
Horace Buddington (b. 1811), Ezra Buddington, (b. 1813), Napoleon
Bonaparte Buddington (b 1821) and John Daboll Buddington (b.1826)
mentioned in the letter. We cannot confirm with certainty that the “Sally”
mentioned is another sister of Russell Daboll (Sally Daboll Haley,
1787 – 1874). Harriet’s letter also discusses their plans to travel to
Michigan in the early fall, before “…it gets to be bad going…”
The reference to “Jerome” is to her son Jerome J. DeKay. Jerome DeKay
was born in 1827 and died in 1848. Another son, Charles W., was 16 at the
time the letter was written and is not mentioned. He remained in Byron, and was
for a time the local postmaster and justice of the peace. He died in 1914.
Although this branch of Harriet’s family consistently used the spelling “Daboll”,
other more distant branches preferred the more common “Dibble” spelling.
[Transcription of
Letter]
Dear Brother,
We received your letter on Monday and I hope you will all get better soon. I
have long looked for a letter from some of you to cheer up my drooping spirits a
little if you did not come out to see me. But the long esspected has come at
last and William and Jerome arrived last Sunday night about
midnight. He went away from home the 13th of August and was to write so that I
could get a letter in in about ten days from the time he started and I never
heard a word till he come and brought it and you can judge for your self whether
I was down hearted or not – it being the first time he fail’d of writing to me
when he said he would. He went back to Canada and the old [Bass?] did not get
the job he expected to and they concluded to take a tour to Michigan before they
returned. He see Ezra and Horace Bonaparte and John Aunt Rhoda
and Sally and some of our Byron friends in his route through 6
countys. And he says made a poor till enough of it too. I should like to call in
and see you all and see how you get along with that Ba____ gal about this time.
William is going to write to Jacob next Sunday - he wants to see
about some work there is to do here and then he will know what to say to
Jacob when he will be there &. William thinks we shall be out there
before it gets to be bad going this fall whether he goes out there to work or
not. If he goes to work Jerome will have to go with him and I cant stay
so long and I may not be out till winter. William will tell you all when
he comes. I am in in a great hurry about a little weaving this week and I must
stop my letter short so no more at present. We are all well and keep about
trying to do something so good bye for this time. Give my respects to all of our
real friends, do come and see us if you can. Father and mother did not call to
our house – I guess they did not go on the Holley Road. Aunt Rhoda and
Ezra expects to be down this month. They were all well and in a thriving
condition when William was there except Horace he was a grunting a
little, &.
[signed] Harriet deKay to John L. Daboll
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