The Dorr Letters Project

Abby Lord to Thomas Wilson Dorr :
Electronic Transcription

Introduction

In this lengthy letter to Thomas Dorr, Abby Lord holds out hope that the People’s Constitution can still be adopted. She relates how her husband Henry was working to get males registered to vote in the elections set to take place in the spring of 1843. Towards the end of the letter, Lord describes a humorous scene in the Rhode Island Supreme Judicial Court relating to a trial of Dorrite prisoners.

Letter

Providence Dec the 29th
1842
Gov Dorr,

Sir judge of my astonishment
on opening A Phrenological Journal to find
my first letter giving an account of your papers
the one you did receive must have appeared
rather enigmatical without the first and as it
relates to your papers I have taken the
liberty to write a third to explain the matter
and send the first with it do not attribute
the neglect to me I shall throw it all on to
my Lord he understood me that I had but
one

I hope the time is not far distant when
your R.I. friends will have at the gratification
of comining with you nearer home the prospect
brightens the Suffrage party one and all. Male
and Female but have but one all absorbing object
and that is but the adoption of the Peoples constitution
and to call home their Gov. the Regestering
goes on with great animation my Husband has
ben engaged these 2 weeks in seeing that
the men all register their names and get
their certicficates

you doubtles have heard
a discription of the Supreme Court so called
I cannot refrain from decribing some of the
incidents that occured while I while was


Attendance. the Pris‸onor seemed as unconcerned
as aneyone in the room the Judges looked the most like
culprits they looked to me like persons that had done something for
which they had ought to be hanged and were awaiting their
sentance while the grave question was being decided
whether the Prisnor was guilty or not. the Door opened
and three dirty looking candy boys came in and the
Jury and most of the men in the court room were
engaged in eating Molasses candy I ashure you it
made somewhat of cracking it was to much for my
gravity I laught out [...] Judge Staples caught
the infection and said it was a yankey trick
Judge Derfee rolled up his white eyes and
fetched along drawn sigh as though his Dignity
had suffered, having an engagement at
Mrs C R Williams this evening I will conclude

please give ‸my compliments to all the
friends I saw in N.H. and please tel all the
kind friends you have found there they have
the most heartfelt thanks of all the suffrage
Ladies in R.I. for the kind and unremitting
attentions they have paid their Gov.

Father Angell sends his best respects
to you

my Husband wishes to be remembered
to you

Most Resptfly
Abby H. Lord

Questions

Did Lord go to New Hampshire to visit Dorr?

Why do you think Lord was so concerned about Dorr’s personal papers?

Who were the other female Dorrites involved in the quest to get Dorr’s papers returned to him?