Correspondence of Tristram Dalton, 1783-1791.

ArchivalResource

Dalton, Tristram, 1738-1817. Correspondence of Tristram Dalton, 1783-1791.

Correspondence of Tristram Dalton, 1783-1791.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/220929385

All letters were written to Michael Hodge, town clerk and collector of customs at Newburyport, except for one letter to Dalton's brother-in-law Stephen Hooper. The correspondence consists of three sets of letters. The first set, June 1783 - June 1787, were written from Boston when Dalton was a member of the Massachusetts General Court. These letters discuss actions of the General Court as they affected Newburyport and efforts to pass laws to deal with Shay's Rebellion including Dalton's opposition to the Tender Act. The letters also report details of the military actions against the rebels as well as the treatment of Daniel Shay, Luke Day, John Wheeler and other rebel leaders. A second set of letters, January 1788 - February 1788, were written when Dalton was a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention working for the ratification of the United States Constitution. The letters describe the fight for ratification including Elbridge Gerry's opposition and the roles of John Adams and Gov. Hancock in assuring ratification. A third set of letters, May 1789 - March 1791, from New York and Philadelphia cover the period when Dalton served in the first sessions of the United State Senate, having been appointed for a two-year term. The letters are mainly concerned with tax and trade legislation that affected Newburyport merchant, the debate on assuming the debts of the states and the controversy over the permanent location of the nation's capital. The letters also mention such non-legislative matters as family illnesses, malicious rumors about Dalton, rental of properties in Maine, and the visit of George Washington to Newburyport.

143 ALS ; 22-33 cm.

New England Historic Genealogical Society