1810 - Letter from a father to his son providing $250 related to a legal problem with regard to bail, harm to a bull by his dogs, and a proposed usurious loan

Philadelphia, 1810. Envelope or Cover. Very good. This one-page stampless folded letter was sent by Joseph Fearon of Philadelphia to his son, John on Bald Eagle Creek in Lycoming (now Clinton) County, Pennsylvania. It is datelined "Philadelphia 25th March 1810" with a circular "PHI" postmark dated "27 MR" (ASCC p. 345). It bears a "PAID" handstamp and a manuscript, triple-rate "51" cent rate mark indicating it had contained to enclosures. In nice shape with a small hole where its wax seal has been removed.

The letter is addressed to John at

"Bald Eagle Creek & to care / of the Postmaster at Dunsburg / post paid Lycoming County / Pennsylvania".

In this letter, Joseph sends his son $250 in banknotes to assist him in resolving an apparent legal dispute involving harm to a bull by a neighbor's dogs. It reads in part:

"I enclose you in this letter Two Hundred & Fifty Dollars in Bank notes you say he is willing to allow you ten percent interest - you cannot take Such Interest . . . the law will not allow you more than lawful Interests which you have a right to have & if you can stop the price of your Bull his sons killed by setting their dogs at him. . ..

"I send this $250 as you say in your leter you have $37 to pay [your] bail for him - the man you pay now - well less on the Sum. In your next make a Statement how much remainders & when to be paid - Send down the certificate as soon as Mr. Walton gives his name to it. . .."

. Joseph Fearon was a "soapboiler" who sold tallow and candles in Philadelphia. His son was one of the first settlers in the Beech Creek - Bald Eagle Creek region of Pennsylvania, just northeast of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, the home of the American Philatelic Society (APS).

At the time of this letter, most state laws capped interest rates at 6%.

(For more information, see various online genealogical listings related to the Fearson family, Maynard's Historical View of Clinton County, the Philadelphia Directory for 1810-1811, and Benmelech's and Moskowitz's The Political Economy of Financial Regulation: Evidence from U.S. State Usury Laws in the 19th Century.)

Although no similar items are for sale in the trade, some have appeared at auction per the Rare Book Hub, or are contained in institutional collections per OCLC, online searches show some Fearon papers are held by the Winterthur Library and the Historical Society of Philadelphia.

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