[Partial letter from Robert Townsend Webster to Morton Pennypacker regarding Robert Townsend Jr., circa 1919]
Type
Label
[Partial letter from Robert Townsend Webster to Morton Pennypacker regarding Robert Townsend Jr., circa 1919]
Language
eng
Index
no index present
Literary Form
non fiction
Main title
[Partial letter from Robert Townsend Webster to Morton Pennypacker regarding Robert Townsend Jr., circa 1919]
Summary
Original letter missing, first noted as such on May 3, 1983; the following was taken from the envelope it was in, presumably written by Morton Pennypacker: "from old envelop[sic]: letter from R.T. Webster, who was the first of his generation to look at them. But he did not know what they were, and never discovered, for shortly after returning them he died. Letter taken with me to show Miss Coles." This letter was recorded in June 1943 as written in 1919; it's likely the "them" referred to in the letter are the Robert Townsend account books and letters. Who "Miss Coles" was is yet to be determined [4/18/13]. See next note field for text of typed note found in folderThe following is from the typed page found in the folder; the top half is torn off, and the only word visible is "began," which closes a paragraph. What remains is the following, definitely written by Morton Pennypacker: "Someone must have informed Junior Townsend this his mother's bones were among those of the prison-ship martyrs for the next trace we get of him is in 1808 when shortly after he joined the Tammany Society of the City of New York he subscribed to the committee to erect a monument and was one of the most active in attention to that work." Below this Pennypacker includes a transcription of a letter by Abraham Woodhull, aka Culper Sr., to George Washington, dated November 12, 1780, informing him of Robert Townsend's [Culper Jr.] sorrow over the imprisonment of a several of their dear friends, "in particular one that hath been ever serviceable to this correspondence. This step so dejected the spirits of C. Juns. [Culper Jr.] that he resolved to leave New York for a time." [Printed in Pennypacker's book "General Washington's Spies" on p. 189]
Target audience
adult
Creator
Subject
- Spies -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 18th century
- Long Island (N.Y.) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- New York (State) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- New York (N.Y.) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Prisoners and prisons
- Webster, Robert Townsend -- Correspondence
- Culper Spy Ring
- Spies -- New York (State) -- Oyster Bay (Town) -- History -- 18th century
- Oyster Bay (N.Y. : Town) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- Pennypacker, Morton, 1872-1956 -- Correspondence
- New York (N.Y.) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- Townsend, Robert, 1753-1838
- United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Secret service
- Townsend, Robert, Jr
Content
Incoming Resources
- Has instance1
Outgoing Resources
- Creator1
- Subject13
- Spies -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 18th century
- Long Island (N.Y.) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- New York (State) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- New York (N.Y.) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Prisoners and prisons
- Webster, Robert Townsend -- Correspondence
- Culper Spy Ring
- Spies -- New York (State) -- Oyster Bay (Town) -- History -- 18th century
- Oyster Bay (N.Y. : Town) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- Pennypacker, Morton, 1872-1956 -- Correspondence
- New York (N.Y.) -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- Townsend, Robert, 1753-1838
- United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Secret service
- Townsend, Robert, Jr
- Content1