1808 STAMPLESS Letter--ENGLAND to Wilmington, DELAWA (03/14/2011)...

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1808 STAMPLESS Letter--ENGLAND to Wilmington, DELAWARE

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1808 STAMPLESS Letter--ENGLAND to Wilmington, DELAWARE

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Sold Date: 03/14/2011
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Stamps

1808 Letter To James Brindley

From His English Brother Matthew

Alton Mills, England to Wilmington, Delaware

Brother Matthew Writes:

Our Brother Henry Was Killed During a Quarrel

What Improvements Are Going on in America?

-- -- NO RESERVE -- --

James Brindley (1745-1820) was born in England , and his father Joseph was the brother of the celebrated English canal engineer, James Brindley (1716-1772) . He was the first of six children: James , Matthew, Elizabeth, Susannah, Sarah , and Mary.

After apparently apprenticing under his famous uncle -- known today in Great Britain as the " Father of English Canals " -- young James sailed to colonial America in 1774 , settling in Wilmington, Delaware , where he married his wife Elizabeth in 1779.

He would eventually build, advise or consult on the following canal projects: Maryland's Potomac Canal , Virginia's James River Project , Little Falls and Great Falls canals, Pennsylvania's Conewago, Tulpehocken (Swatara Route) , and Swatara canals, South Carolina's Santee Canal , and the Susquehanna Canal in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Brindley knew and associated with future U.S. President George Washington (who worked as a surveyor and engineer), and Washington mentions Brindley by name in a letter. Washington wrote "... Mr. James Brindley , nephew of the celebrated person of the same name...possesses I presume, more practical knowledge of Cuts & Locks for the improvement of inland navigation, than any man amongst us..."

According to a Delaware historical account, Washington had coffee in the Brindley home in Wilmington the morning of the Battle of the Brandywine which occured on September 11, 1777 . Washington suffered a defeat, and two weeks later the British marched into Philadelphia . Historical records detail Brindley's sympathy with the colonists , and in 1778 he took the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity , and eventually became a Second Lieutenant in Capt. John Garrett's Militia.

Brindley became a wealthy and prominent citizen of Delaware and was actively working right up until his death in 1820 at age 75. Although he never achieved the international celebrity of his more famous English uncle, his valuable contributions to early American transportation helped to build America and improve early American commerce in the first decades of its existence.

Matthew Brindley (1749-1820) was one of two sons born to Joseph and Sarah Bennet Brindley , the other being James (the recipient of this letter ). Father Joseph would later marry a second time and have two more children, Lydia and Henry. Half-brother Henry will be referred to in the following letter .

While his more adventuresome four-years-older brother sailed off to America in 1774 to spend his life consulting and building canals, and farming, Matthew stayed home and worked in the local wire business, which although unnamed in the letter, I believe to be the Cheadle Brass Wire Company , but I'm not totally sure of this.

Ironicially, both brothers would pass away in 1820.

Item Description -- Please Read CAREFULLY!

This is an original 1808 handwritten letter sent from Alton Mills, England to Wilmington, Delaware . Alton Mills is south of Manchester, and east of Liverpool. This letter was sent to American canal builder James Brindley (1745-1820) . It is written by Brindley's brother -- Matthew Brindley -- still living in Alton, Staffordshire England. He writes of improvements he's made to the wire manufacturing business, tells of his brother's violent death from a fight, wants to know what industrial progress is being made in America, and gives an account of his family.

Letter consists of a single large sheet of paper, approximately 13 by 16. " It has been folded vertically through the center to create four 8 x 13" pages . The first page (cover) has written script; the next two pages are blank , and the fourth page (back cover) contains the address, wax seal remnan...