Robert Lord Sargent 1831 Letter from Mobile, Alabama

The images in this post are scans of an 1831 letter written by Robert Lord Sargent from Mobile Alabama to his son Winthrop Sargent in Monroe, Maine. The scans are provided through the generosity of the Penobscot Marine Museum and are posted with permission. Many thanks to Niles Parker for his assistance in obtaining the scan. The transcript of the letter is provided with the encouragement that the reader look at the scans of the original documents. The transcript is broken according to the line breaks in the original document. The images can be enlarged by double-clicking on the them.

LETTER FROM ROBERT L. SARGENT
TO WINTHROP SARGENT

Winthrop Sargent

Monroe, Me.

State of Maine

Robert L. Sargent

1831 Letter Page 1

above and below

Mobile March 18th 1831

Dear Wife and Children I am still alive

through the mercy of God in Jesus Christ

Am in good health am at work for a mr. ____

Bebe __ Clark at one Dollar and fifty cents

per Day and Vitaels & Drink. I bear you on my mind very

much waking and sleeping i often dream

of being presant with you and discribing

the country I have pased through but my

mind is more intent on the Scriptures.

Theay impress me with thear truths more

and more every day. I feel thankfull to the

Father of all our mercys for preserving

my life so long and giving me grace to beleve

on my Saviour. My Dear Relations one and

All, I am concerned about your health

and how you make out for your Dayly

Bread /which is sure /if you fear God/ But more

for your precious souls. It has pained my heart

for fear any of you should live in Sin

And fail of the Grace of God when my

mind is led out to the Lord in prayer.

I have bin imprest for you with a most

tender affection of Soul that the Lord

would Call you all by his Grace and

give you to feel your need of a Savour

by your acknoledgin your Sins and no

longer neglecting to call on his Name

And remember me when you have

access to God’s throne through Jesus Christ.

When we shall meet together again, none

Knows but the LORD.

Robert L. Sargent

1831 Letter Page 2

above and below

Page 2

If you wish to see me, your father Remember

you must Ask leave of GOD. But let us be

contented(?) we shall Se and know one another

in a nother State of of Existence where my

hopes and wishes will be fully satisfyd forever.

I have to work hard for an old man but

I see it is good to learn obedence by the

things wich I suffer. I want you to conform

your Selvs to your preasant conditions And

be shure not to murmer or complain of your

Lot. But have faith in God. He will bring

all our ________ to a happy Ishue. Let not sin

Reighn in your mortial Body but Serve the Lord.

My Dear lovs(?) I have not exprest the love

and hope that is in my Brest. You must give(?)

what your freind(?) has gone through

In my mind, although I have feed at the rich-

ist tabils (sic) and Do Still Live on the best

And have not any temtations to sin.

I have a Bass Voil for Moses and a

new gun for Noah and a complet

set of tools for Johnson and a brass pistol

I have not Cash Enough to Come home

as i whant to. i have a mind to go

out to Texes 500 miles to the west

in the provence of Mexico i need some

of their Spainis dollars. I intend to

come home by the way of long Island

and see Johnson Chaise and Visit Block

Island. If the Lord will. I shall see

you again

Robert L. Sargent

1831 Letter Page 3

above and below

Page 3

Pray for me be kind to your mother.

I send my love to hir and you all tell

Mr. Alline(?) and all I owe I have plans(?) to come

home able to pay them of before i Die. I have

good meetings and have pleasant weather.

This 15 day of march I have worked 15 days

on rail ways to take up ships. i am

Very Comfortable Except when i

think about you. You must

do as well as you can.

I leve you all in the hands

of God praying him to preserve(?)

you all in Jesus Christ and

call you by his Grace. Dear

Children, live in love and peace

& the God of Peace will bless you.

I long to see you all and hear

from you. If you Send me a

letter to Mobile I think i can

get it. I would have you write

as soon as you git this and fail

not to let me know how you all

Do. I remain your loving father

until Death.

Robt L. Sargent

The original copy of this letter is on file at the Penobscot Marine Museum in the Sargent file at the Stephen Phillips Memorial Library, which is open by appointment. The scans of this letter are posted with the permission and generosity of the Penobscot Marine Museum.

Sargent Ancestors Leading to Joshua Dodge Sargent

1840 Census Showing
Johnson C. Sargent
living in Monroe, Maine

The focus of this blog is from Joshua Dodge Sargent and back, with the hope that other branches of his family may find this blog and be able to offer information on Joshua and family and prior generations. Here is what is known by us about Sargent generations leading down to Joshua Dodge Sargent of Alton, Maine.

Andrew Sargent, the first Sargent ancestor known to us, was born around 1600 in Bristol, England. He married Mary Wathen on the 28th of September, 1623 in St. Stephen, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. Mary Wathen was born abt 1597 in Bristol, [parish], Gloucestershire, England and died 18 Feb 1629. They had a son:

___________

William (or Williame) Sargent, son of Andrew Sargent, was born 20 JUN 1624. Gloucester VR, Volume 2, page 482, marriage record calls Williame "carpenter". Gloucester VR, Volume 3, page 274 death record says "93 years". He married Abegele (Abigail) Clark in Ipswich, Massachusetts on July 10th of 1651.

"William Sargent married Abigail Clark at a 'general traine at Ipswich' and the couple raised a family of seven children (2 died young) in Gloucester. Three sons married and raised families in Gloucester; three married and settled out of town. Son Andrew removed to Ipswich, had at least two children and is the ancestor of later famiies in Kittery, York, and Frenchman Bay towns, all in Maine. Son William removed to Boston and then Weymouth, and his youngest son Jonathan removed to York, Maine, becoming the ancestor of a number of families in the York, Wells, and Kennebunk Areas. Son Samuel moved to Annisquam, north of Gloucester, and was the ancestor of most of the Sargents in that area." - click here to view the site this information was taken from.

Read more information about William and Samuel Sargent

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Samuell Sargent, son of Williame Sargent, was born 22 March 1660 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He married Mary Norwood on 24 May 1689 and died after 1746. For Birth date, see Gloucester Vital Records, Volume 1, Page 624. For marriage, see Gloucester VR, Volume, page 391.

SAMUEL married Mary Norwood, May 24, 1689. She died April 27, 1718; and he next married, June 19, 1725, Mrs. Ruth Newman. His father gave him, in 1694, the western end of his dwelling-house; but the place of his permanent residence was at Hogskin Cove. He had a grant of land on the easterly side of the cove, in 1695, "to set up fishing upon," and was one of the first settlers in that section of the town. He frequently served as a selectman, and, in 1729, as representative. The date of his death is not known, but it is certain that he was living as late as 1746. Of his ten children, six were sons, of whom four appear to have married in town. The oldest (Samuel), born in 1690, married Mary Emerson in 1713; and died about 1762, leaving a son Samuel, and a grandson Samuel not then twenty-one years old. The latter may have been the same Samuel who died in April, 1833, aged eighty-four. William, second son of Samuel Sargent, sen., born in 1692, married Susanna Haraden in 1726, and had several children. Francis, the next son, born in 1694, married Mary York in 1722, and had the birth of nine children recorded on the town-books. Solomon, the youngest of these sons, born in 1708, married Sarah Somes in 1735, and had three sons and a daughter born before 1742."

This information was taken from information about William and Samuel Sargent.

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Solomon Sargent, son of Samuell Sargent, was born 12 January 1708 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In 1735 Solomon married Sarah (Harvey) Somes (b. 12 Jan 1708 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts, USA), and they had three sons and a daughter born before 1742.

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Winthrop Sargent was born about 8 November 1737. For birth records see Gloucester vital records, Volume 1, Page 635. He served as a soldier in the United States Revolutionary War.

Winthrop married Mary Lord 31 December, 1765, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Winthrop Sargent and Robert L. Sargent, his son, are listed in the 1800 Census as living in Prospect, Maine. In those days, many people were "from away", as Mainers say, and both Winthrop Sargent and Robert L. Sargent are listed as being from Beverly (assuming Massachusetts). Winthrop married Sarah Stimpson in 16 December 1801. Winthrop is listed in the 1810 Census as well, but not in the 1820 Census.

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Robert Lord Sargent was born about 6 October, 1771 in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Marblehead Vital Records, Vol. 1, page 456. He married Mary Dodge who was residing in Islesboro, ME. She was the daughter of Simon Dodge, and the aunt of Johnson Chase Sargent's wife, who married her first cousin. Robert L. Sargent is listed in the 1800 census as living in Prospect, Maine. He would have been 29 years at the time.

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Johnson Chase Sargent, son of Robert Lord Sargent, was born 23 Jun 1811 in Belfast, Maine and died 9 February 1874. He married Eliza Dodge in October of 1835. The 1860 Census shows the following children living in the household:

1. Walter F. Sargent, 23 yrs
2. Rosine (Rosina) Sargent, 21 yrs
3. Watson B. Sargent, 20 yrs
4. Johnson C. Sargent, 18 yrs
5. Mary M. Sargent, 14 yrs
6. Julia R. Sargent, 10 yrs
7. Joshua D. Sargent, 8 yrs

The 1870 Census only shows Watson B. and Julia R. living at home with Johnson Chase, Sr. and wife Eliza. Joshua Dodge Sargent, pictured above had presumably gone to Alton, following in his older brother Johnson C. Sargent's footsteps.