In November Coles was back in
Vandalia--Exactly when Coles returned to Vandalia is unclear. On Oct.
25 he wrote to his sister Mary Carter from Vandalia, mainly concerning the
Soulard suit, still pending, but also complaining that now that he has
leisure to go to Missouri for Isaac, Isaac hasn't written him (Edward
Coles to Mary Carter, Oct. 25, 1823, University of Virginia Library). It
is one of the ironies of Coles' life that just when he was devoting
himself so completely to anti-slavery, he should be forced to spend
additional time tending to Isaac's slave plantation in Missouri. But on
April 10, 1823, Isaac finally married, at the age of forty-three, and was
no longer interested in coming out to Missouri. His wife, Luisa Nevison,
had considerable property in Norfolk, which even after her death on Sept.
5, 1824, continued to occupy Isaac's attention. ("Almanac Dates,"
Historical Society of Pennsylvania. See also, William B. Coles, ed.,
The Coles Family of Virginia, New York, 1931, p. 94. See
Coles' letter to his niece Rebecca, cited earlier, for some details of his
efforts on Isaac's behalf.) Sometime in late December Coles visited
Isaac's Missouri estate. On Dec. 25, 1823, he paid $170.00 to a John
McQuerry to meet the expenses of El Prado for 1824. On Feb. 12, 1824,
Isaac, at his wife's property near Norfolk, writes to sister Betsey that
he has gotten a letter from Edward written in January that gives a long
account of El Prado, which has been badly managed by an overseer named
Simmons. Isaac laments that it will always be so since the distance is too
great to hope for better (Roberts Coles Collection). Back
The auction has afforded me--Edward
Coles to Roberts Vaux, Dec. 11, 1823, in Alvord, pp. 133-134. The quote in
the following paragraph is from a postscript to this letter. Back
two-thirds of Coles' farm--Edward Coles to Morris
Birkbeck, Jan. 29, 1824, in Alvord, pp. 148-151. See also the Jan. 21
letter to Vaux cited below, and Edward Coles to W.C. Flagg, 1861,
Illinois State Historical Society Journal (1910) 59-64. Back
the Spectator reports--Edwardsville
Spectator, Dec. 13, 1823. Back
As Coles explains to Vaux--Edward Coles to
Roberts Vaux, Jan. 21, 1824, in Alvord, pp. 166-170. Back
The commissioners to whom May had addressed
his letter--Norton, p. 140. Back
Benjamin Spencer--Ibid., p. 101.
Contains the information on John Barber as well. Back
Hail
Mason--Ibid., p. 334. Thomas Lippincott writes of the Mason
brothers: There were three brothers then in Edwardsville . . . who
occupied conspicuous positions--James, Paris and Hail Mason. The first of
these, James Mason, was, as I have said, proprietor of the old town plot.
He was a genial, pleasant man, seeking mainly the acquisition of wealth
and having no political ambition. His household, was ever a place of
delightful resort, not only from his own cordial good fellowship, but
especially rendered so by the cordial, interesting conversation of his
wife. Paris Mason was an industrious man and carried on a mill at the foot
of the street, where the Cahokia was dammed for that purpose. The third,
Hail Mason, was for a number of years a justice of the peace and a worthy
citizen. He afterwards became a preacher in the Methodist connection
(Ibid., p. 140). Back
My attorneys contended--Edward Coles
to Andrew Stevenson, April 7, 1824, Princeton University Library. All of
the subsequent quotes to Stevenson are from this letter. Back
On March 31,
1824--Since on March 23, 1824, the Republican Advocate announced Edwards'
appointment as Minister to Mexico, it is likely that Coles knew of the
appointment well before his interview with Hubbard.
Back
My delay in the
acknowledgment--Roberts Vaux to Edward Coles, June 14, 1824, in Alvord,
pp. 173-174. Back
The pages of the
Intelligencer--In a letter to Thomas Lippincott, Coles recalls his
contributions to the Intelligencer at that time. My labor in the cause
was so great, he writes, that during the several months which passed
between the purchasing of the Illinois Intelligencer [and the end of
the campaign] there were few numbers of that paper which did not contain
some article from my pen, either original essays--the most methodical and
lengthy of which were contained in nine numbers over the signature of "One
of Many." Also numerous extracts from the writings and speeches of the most
celebrated men of America and Europe, many of which were published under
the title of "The Voice of Virtue--Wisdom and Experience on the Subject of
Negro Slavery" (Edward Coles to Thomas Lippincott, Sept. 1860, extract
in the Illinois State Historical Society Journal, vol. 3, no. 4 (Jan.
1911) 62. Back
Physical
combat increased--Norton, p. 337. Includes statistics and an account
of the dispute between Smith and Warren.
Back
That summer
the Covenanters--Republican Advocate, July 6 & 13, 1824.
Back