The Huyck Bain Crandell Collection, Document BH034

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1810-10-24 Letter, James Huyck Writes His Mother from Gt Barrigton

"I never enjoyed my health better than I have this season I have had A very sore finger a few days ago and to come to the real fact it hant well yet I have been A pulling hides yesterday and I am afraid that I have catch'd cold in my finger..."

Image: BH034 pg 1.jpg

Image: BH034 pg 2.jpg

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Transcription

Obverse

Great Barrington Oct 24 1810

Dear Mother

I have an opportunity to write to you to inform you of my good state of health and hoping that these few lines will enjoy you in the same blessing. I never enjoyed my health better than I have this season I have had A very sore finger a few days ago and to come to the real fact it hant well yet I have been A pulling hides yesterday and I am afraid that I have catch'd cold in my finger, but Miss Rosseter is A good doctor it always makes me think of my Mother when Miss Rosseter is A fixing my hand or something of the like

Reverse

I wrote a letter to you in September - I thought it might be that you had not Received it. I wrote to you about the colour of that cloth my great coat I should like to have it A drab and the rest Black and it should disappoint me very much if it should not be done but it is better than two months yet before I shall want it is quite likely that Mr. Van Deusen will hand you this letter for he is A going to Schodack in short and if Mr. Van Duesen does call and see you you must hand him my gren{?} bon'{?} I shall want it next spring and Bouse{?} will let us go A hunting sometimes and if Elizabeth will knit me a pair of striped mittens I will pay her for it Remember my love to my sisters and unkle{sic} John in particular and so I remain yours James Huyck Christina Huyck

Spine

Miss Christina Huyck Kinderhook

Commentary

Notes:

James/Jacobus Huyck — born 1799, died 1829. So in October 1810 he was only 11 years old. A remarkably mature and articulate letter for an 11-year-old, though not impossible for a well-educated child of the period. The sore finger, the hide pulling, the coat order — all take on a different character if written by a child rather than a young adult.

“Pulling hides” — James is working in a tannery or leather trade in Great Barrington, consistent with the hide and leather thread running through the entire archive from the earliest Kinderhook documents. Actually — “pulling hides” for an 11-year-old suggests he was already working, possibly apprenticed or employed in Great Barrington. Child labor in trades was entirely normal in 1810.

Miss Rosseter — a local woman in Great Barrington caring for James’s injured finger, the comparison to his mother touching — “it always makes me think of my Mother when Miss Rosseter is fixing my hand.”

“The colour of that cloth my great coat — a drab and the rest black” — James ordering cloth from home for a great coat, specifying colors. Drab was a standard grey-brown woollen cloth color of the period. The cloth being made at home or locally confirms the textile production we’ve seen throughout both account books continuing into the 19th century.

Mr. Van Deusen — carrying the letter to Schodack, then onward — Robert Van Deusen’s mill appeared in Elizabeth’s grain memoranda in 1773, and the family continues as community intermediaries.

“If Elizabeth will knit me a pair of striped mittens” — Elizabeth is a family member at home, likely James’s sister. Striped mittens appearing in Andries’s inventory as “1 paer Gobraido Niante” — embroidered mittens — a nice continuity of domestic textile production.

“Remember my love to my sisters and uncle John in particular” — James has sisters at home and an Uncle John — possibly his mother's brother, Johannes Van Slyck.

“Christina Huyck” — written at the bottom, confirming the letter was addressed to or passed through Christina Huyck — James' sister.

Why these letters are in the collection — Burger was Arent’s brother. Family correspondence naturally flowed through Pomponick as the family homestead, with Christina keeping letters from her brother-in-law’s family alongside the farm’s commercial papers. The archive was a family archive in the fullest sense — not just commercial records but the accumulated paper trail of an extended family’s life.

— Notes by Claude.ai 4.6 2026-05-09 - jhc

Metadata

Document: BH034

Date: 1810-10-24

Language: English

Type: Letter

Subject: Social

Principals: Margaret Huyck, James Huyck, Christina Huyck

Other Persons Mentioned: Miss Rosseter, Mr. Van Deusen

Places Mentioned: Great Barrington, Kinderhook, Schodack

— page revised 2026-06-15 - jhc

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