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Collections >> The First Century of the First State University >>
Primary document
Title: Letter from Pleasant Henderson to Walter Alves,
July 14, 1799: Electronic Edition.
Author: Henderson, Pleasant, 1756-1840
Funding from the University Library, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill supported the electronic publication of this
title.
Text transcribed by
Bari Helms
Images scanned by
Bari Helms
Text encoded by
Amanda Page
First Edition,
2005
Size of electronic edition: ca. 8K
Publisher: The University Library, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
2005
The electronic edition is a part of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American
South.
Languages used in the text:
English
Revision history:
2005-06-23, Amanda Page finished TEI/XML encoding.
Source(s):
Title of collection: University of North Carolina Papers
(#40005), University Archives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Title of document: Letter from Pleasant Henderson to Walter
Alves, July 14, 1799
Author: Henderson
Description: 4 pages, 4 page images
Note:
Call number 40005 (University Archives,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Editorial practices
The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 5 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines.
Transcript of the personal correspondence. Originals are in the University Archives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved.
Page images can be viewed and compared in parallel with the text.
Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line.
Letters, words and passages marked as deleted or added in originals have been encoded accordingly.
All quotation marks, em dashes and ampersand have been transcribed as entity references.
All double right and left quotation marks are encoded as ".
All single right and left quotation marks are encoded as '.
All em dashes are encoded as —.
Indentation in lines has not been preserved.
For more information about transcription and other editorial decisions, see the section Editorial Practices.
The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 5 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines.
Transcript of the personal correspondence. Originals are in the University Archives, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved.
Page images can be viewed and compared in parallel with the text.
Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line.
Letters, words and passages marked as deleted or added in originals have been encoded accordingly.
All quotation marks, em dashes and ampersand have been transcribed as entity references.
All double right and left quotation marks are encoded as ".
All single right and left quotation marks are encoded as '.
All em dashes are encoded as —.
Indentation in lines has not been preserved.
For more information about transcription and other editorial decisions, see the section Editorial Practices.
Page 1
Chapel Hill
14th July 1799
My dear Sir,
It was only yesterday evening that I understood or had any
knowledge that the Committee of visitation reported the other day on the manner
of my supplying the Commons table and the nature of the report i.e. that I had
so invariably furnished mutton, many of the Boys disliking the meat, that they
were almost starved, & that the Bacon was too fat to be eaten; this report
my dear Sir, came like a thunder bolt on me, because I knew it was founded in
information false as Hell, understand me, I mean whoever gave this information,
as to the mutton, uttered a false & malicious lye.
Page 2
Judge yourself, from the fact, which I pledge my honor is the case,
that in the whole course of the Session I bought only eleven mutton, weighing
in the whole about 500 pounds weight making only about 12 or 13 dinners, &
when apportioned among the Boys not seven pounds a piece, here Sir, does this
appear like forcing mutton on them? I had no early inducement to purchase
mutton in preference to Beef, the price for both is the same; the fact is I had
no alternative, Beef was not to be had, neither could I buy shoats or chickens,
& fresh meat I was compelled by my contract to furnish. I make the
statement merely to ease my own mind & to give you a true knowledge of the
business for I had a head that you opposed the report.
Page 2
My dear Sir, I cannot
Page 3
[help]
reflecting on the disingenuous conduct of the Committee &
Board in this particular, because had any one of you let me
know the thing, satisfaction could have been given, & my assertion proved
that the information was false.
Page 3
Buoyed with a conscienceness that I have fully & amply
complied with my contract, I view this treatment as particularly injurious
& unjust.
The manner in which, I conceive, the board altered my contract,
shall be the subject of another letter or a personal conference, in the mean
time permit me to assure you that appearances are indicative of if not ruin,
the most severe stroke been sustained. Present my respects to
Mrs Alves & [complements] to yr Brother.
Page 4
With respect to the latter part of the report, I admit the Bacon
is fat, but as the Boys eat at the hams not saving one for my family, could the
Committee conceive that the midlings were to be thrown away, as they eat the
hams certainly they ought also to use the fatter part. The hams were used when
vegetables were scarce.
I put this in by way of a postscript.