Letter addressed to:

"Emanuel Kinnard near Sadsbury Meeting House to the Care of Joseph Kersey near Downingtown Pennsylvania.

For Mary Kinnard"

From: Joseph Gibbins, Birmingham, England
Transcribed by Duncan Rea Williams, December 2001

"Birmingham 15th of the 9th month 1809,

Dear Cousin Mary Kinnard,

It was very agreeable for me to receive thy letter of the 6th month last, & to hear from thee my near relative settled in a distant land, that I have not seen nor do I ever expect to see, but for whom I nevertheless feel a degree of affection as being descended from the same grandfather and grandmother. I very well remember our grandfather tho I was only about 5 years old when he died, & I have many times heard thy mother very affectionately spoken of by my father, & by my Uncle and Aunt Brueton now no more, who having no child, & of my mother dying when I was very young, they took me under their own paternal care & brought me up as their own son, & with their kind affection the blessing of providence accompanying my honest endeavors I have been enabled to make my way in life, and to rear a large family of children I trust in a reputable manner & as thou desinest me to give thee an account of our family I shall descend into the particulars. In the year 1778 at the age of 22 I married a very worthy young woman near 20, named Martha Bevington, of an ancient & respectable family of Friends in the south part of this country & we have had 17 children 12 of whom are now living, 8 sons & 4 daughters the youngest 10 years old our two oldest are married perhaps it may not be unacceptable to thee if I state the names and ages of those living. Anne 30, married in the 4th month of the present year to Croudson Tunstall of Hamptwich in Cheshire, Elizabeth 29, married in 1802 to Joseph Lovell settled in Birmingham & has 4 children, 3 sons and 1 daughter, he is a son of Edith Lovell who was drowned in the year 1782 on her passage to England after paying a religious visit to Friends in Ireland. Briceton 26, Mary 24, Joseph 22, William 18, Bevington 17, James 16, John 14, Thomas 13, Martha 11 and George 10. We buried a Thomas named after my father & grandfather in the year 1796, my wife being then with child of our present Thomas.

My sister Susanna born in 1757 & myself were the only children my father had by his first marriage, but soon after the death of my own mother in 1763, he married a second wife, a sister to Martha Routh, who a few years since paid a religious visit to some parts of North America. My father had several children by this second marriage who all died in their infancy except two sons, Thomas who was drowned in bathing at about the age of 20, and Henry who is now living, but has been an unsettled & unsteady character I cannot say positively where he is the last I heard of him was in London. My sister married in the year 1782 to a friend in Birmingham named Cornelius Hands, they had several children who all died young and she herself departed this life in the year 1788, & her husband is since deceased. My uncle Joseph Brueton was much afflicted with an asthma for several years & could not bear to live within the smoke of the town, he dyeing in 1 mo 1786 my Aunt removed to Birmingham to a house adjoining to my own, & my father who had for many years resided at Stockport in Cheshire removed an the death of my mother in law in 1795 to Birmingham, & resided with my aunt Brueton, but she dying in 1797 I took him into my own family, and acted by him the part of a dutiful son, he was a very affectionate & a kind & tender grandfather to our children but was taken from us by death in the year 1803 aged 76 years, and he was the youngest of the 8 children of his father so he happened to be the survivor of them all. My uncle Josiah Gibbins my fathers only brother died at Stourbridge in 1794 one son of his & 3 daughters are now living John Ann Elizabeth & Mary, John the eldest about my own age is married & settled at Coventry 18 miles from Birmingham but has no child, his mother now resides with him & his younger sister; Elizabeth has a situation in a friends family in London, & Ann is now at Bewdley in Worchester. My aunt Sarah Palmer died in Birmingham in 1781 aged 70, her daughter Rebecca who married from amongst Friends at an early period of life is with her husband John Woodhill still living, but infirm thru age, they have had 17 children, 12 of them are deceased, My aunt Phebe Palmer died in 1761 it is recorded of her by the friend who kept the register at that time “she was an ornament to the Christian profession”. I wish it could have been so said of her son Thomas now in America, his immoral conduct so grieved his father that it was thought has sencd his end, but I should hope he may have become reformed & if that is the case I wish all his past errors to be as much as possible forgotten & forgiven. I received thy letter by Pofs from Liverpool but havenot yet seen thy friend lately landed there Benjamin White; he is now visiting Friends in the County of York in the Northern part of England. I think we have not had any American friend in the ministry since Jelpe Hersey, he was a valuable man & his services in this part truly acceptable; he several times visited us at Birmingham & in 1 mo 1805 had a public meeting in this place for those not of our persuasion by whom his ministry was well received, & in the minds of some I trust a lasting impression made for their good. William Jackson was once at Birmingham Meeting in 2 mo 1805, I consider him as a father in the Church; These friends made but a short stay in this noted several other friends who came over about 15 years ago were longer time in England tho thy not much at Birmingham. Sarah Harrison was at Birmingham in 1795 & 1797, & Obed Speakman, Charity Cook & Mary Swett has a meeting appointed for the towns people in 5 mo 1798 & William Saveny has another public meeting here in the same month I believe very satisfactory. Sarah Talbot was at Birmingham in 8 mo 1799, & Thomas Scattergood in the 10^th mo 1799 had a meeting appointed at Lichfield 16 miles from Birmingham; a place where no friends meeting in our time had been held, but where many of the Clergy & high professors of the Church of England reside, about a thousand of the town people attended & he was very remarkable led amongst them, he mentioned the circumstance of George Fox as it is  recorded in his journal, when under a religious concern from a sense he had of the blood of the martyrs ( there having been in Diocletian’s time 1000 Christians slain in that city) he put off his shoes & went up & down the streets crying woe to the bloody city of Lichfield. The next day tho had a public meeting at Birmingham & desired the company of the principle tradesmen & merchant of this place who many of them attended; it was a very large meeting & his testimony on this occasion had a solemn weighty savor and on the minds of many present a tendering effect.

David Sands tho so many years in this country was not much at Birmingham I think only twice in passing thro’ the place. Joseph Cloud was with us about a week, his stay in England was very short. I remember divens other friends from your land being at Birmingham. Dear Ian Woolman & Job Geott who finished their course here, are fresh in my memory; also James Thorton who lodged at my house in the year 1788; Wm Matthews, Rebecca Jones, Rebecca Wright, Mahetabel Jenkins, Sam Smith & Ra Jordan, Elizabeth Coggeshall was a sweet minded woman; the friend who came over with her, Hannah Barnard, displayed much eloquence in the gallery, but was not approved as orthodox. I have at different times as opportunity has offered enquired after thee, we first heard of my mother’s death by Sarah Harrison my Aunt Brueton was then living & it afforded us comfort to find her memory so respectfully spoken of.

I hope Benjamin White will lodge at my house if he should come to Birmingham & I can assure thee my dear cousin it will be pleasant to me & to my wife & family to receive a letter thee sometime hence informing us of thine & thy husband & daughters welfare, my address is Joseph Gibbins Birmingham. Not much of our family is left at Stourbridge the place of mine & my fathers nativity & where in my minority I have spent many happy days when on a visit to my relatives. What changes are made by time but I hope and trust under the permission & direction of divine Providence that I am in the right place for me & then no matter where or what I am I can but pass the remainder of my time to the honor our great creator & say in sincerity of heart thy will be done. I am concerned in some Copper works at Swansea, my son Joseph a resident there at present & may perhaps continue. My oldest son is in business for himself in Birmingham in the glass trade & I have sons apprentice at 3 different places, one in London & another son just turned 14 now ready to go out. I find it a great charge & a great care being desirous of doing a fatherly part by all my children. I shall be glad to hear of thy daughters health & comfort in life do give my love to her & that of my wife & family & to thy husband tho a stranger to us all and I remain my 1^st Cousin my wife joining therein. Thy very affectionate cousin