UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 CT 
 
 STATEMENT OF FACTS 
 
 MR. BENJAMIN JOY, 
 
 EXECUTOR OF THE LAST WIU, AND TESTAMENT 
 
 f TBZ tATE 
 
 JOSEPHjBARRELL, ESQ. 
 
 V* 
 
 AUGUST, 1816,
 
 IT will perhaps be matter of surprise to Mr. 
 , on perusing the following pages, to perceive that 
 we have not rigidly adhered to our late determination, 
 of publishing verbatim the letter we transmitted to 
 him at Washington. He will, if he pleases, avail 
 himself of the permission we now freely give him, t 
 communicate to his friends such parts of that letter as 
 we have declined publishing. He will find that no 
 charge against himself is omitted. If we have thought 
 proper to conceal from the publick view the faults of 
 another, we conceive it requires no apology. We ex- 
 pect, however, that Mr. JOY will not take advantage 
 of our leniency, by endeavours to prop his declining 
 character upon one, which perhaps might be destroyed 
 with equal facility as his own.
 
 STATEMENT. 
 
 ' Sure if there be wretch, 
 
 'On whom High Heaven will sh-d its <lepeit curse, 
 T he, regardless of the widow's woe, 
 The orphan's tear !" 
 
 DISSENTIONS among members of the same family, 
 >re seldom attended by circumstances, which authorize an ap- 
 peal to the publick opinion. But in the present instance, so 
 many and so aggravated are the injuries we have sustained from, 
 the base conduct of one, who has uniformly professed himself our 
 Iriend, that we think ourselves fully justified in presenting to the 
 publick consideration a brief statement of the grounds of our 
 .quarrel, and the causes that have produced it. That statement 
 .carries with ft our apology for its publication. 
 
 In consequence of the unfortunate speculation in the Georgia 
 Lands, and other losses of considerable magnitude, the affairs of 
 our father, the late JOSEPH BARRELL, Esq. of Charlestown, had 
 become considerably involved some years previous to his death. 
 He died in October, 1804. Sosne of us were at that time mere 
 children, and all too young and too unpractised in business, to 
 take any active part in the settlement of the estate. Mr. BEN- 
 .JAM.IN Joy,, a gentleman of large fortune, and connected with our 
 father's family by his marriage with our sister, was appointed, in 
 conjunction with the two eldest of our number, the executor of 
 our father's wilj. Upon this gentleman devolved the sole man- 
 agement of the estate. We were not aware, until recently in- 
 formed by Mr. Joy, of the particular circumstances that had in- 
 volved the estate of our father prior to his decease. He remark- 
 ed to us at that time generally, that the property was much in- 
 cumbered, and that unless something should be eventually realiz- 
 ed from the Georgia Speculation, his claims upon the estate for 
 money advanced our father, and for which he had satisfactory 
 vouchers, would absorb the whole property. But, he added if 
 the Georgia Lands come to any thing, there will probably, be 
 something considerable left for you. These remarks have not 
 been forgotten. They are distinctly recollected by us all. With 
 that ingenuous confidence so natural to man in the early period 
 
 4035O4
 
 f life, we relied upon the information we had received from Mr. 
 Joy ; believing; it impossible he could abuse the important trust 
 with which he was invested, and appropriate to his own use any 
 part of a property, which in equity belonged to the fatherless and 
 the widow. Our father's property was not pledged to Mr. Joy. 
 It was conveyed to him prior to his decease absolutely. But its 
 estimated value at that period exceeded the debt in discharge of 
 which it was surrendered. That we have no legal claim there- 
 fore, for any part of the estate is too obvious to require illustra- 
 tion. But upon every principle of integrity and honour, Mr. Joj 
 wan bound to manage the property he had received from his de- 
 ceased friend, in such manner as should be thought most advan- 
 tageous for the interest of a young and helpless family, deprived 
 of their natural protector, and committed to his charge. This 
 he solemnly promised he would do. Several years elapsed with- 
 out affording any prospect that the estate would ever realize a 
 dollar from the Georgia Speculation. During this period we for- 
 bore, from motives of delicacy, to make any enquiries respecting 
 the tituation of affairs, and Mr. Joy did not think proper to com- 
 municate to us any thing upon the subject. Attempts however at 
 almost every session of Congress, were made to compromise with 
 the United Slates the claims of the Georgia purchasers. The 
 possibility that the claimants might eventually effect a compro-'- 
 misp.'was occasionally the subject of conversation between Mr. 
 Joy and ourselves. He never gave us much encouragement that 
 Huo!i compromise would he effected, but uniformly assured us, 
 that if it was, ice should realize something from the estate of our 
 fafhrr. I wish, say* he. to receive only the money I have ex- 
 peeled, with simple interest. I shall never get that.* I wiR 
 make a sacrifice of Jifty thousand dollars, if you can find any 
 frie ud* to come forward and pay me the balance due from the es- 
 tate, and I will surrender to you all the property I ever received 
 frimi your father. These remarks we thought indicated a gener- 
 bus disposition and were so often repeated and so uniformly ac- 
 companied by assurances of his friendship and regard, that we 
 never doubted that in the event of the settlement of the Georgia 
 claim, he would settle the estate upon terms the most liberal. 
 
 At the several sessions of Congress in the years 1813, 1814, 
 1815, Mr. Joy was employed at Washington, as, the agent 
 of the N. E. M. L. Company. During the last eighteen months 
 lie was engaged in this business, his promises were not so liberal, 
 as when there was no prospect that his agency would prove suc- 
 cessful. We then, however, received from him assurances, that 
 
 ' It i- proper 10 remurk here, tlmt AT THAT TIME there was no prospect that 
 *ny thing would be ever retlixed from the Georgia purchase.
 
 6 
 
 there might be something "handsome" left for us, after he was 
 /?/"' repaid both the principal and interest of the several sums ht 
 had advanced on account of the estate. During the session of Con- 
 grss in 1814, the compromise was finally effected, ;ind Mr. Joy 
 has since received, or is entitled to receive more than one hint J 
 dred and sixty thousand d liars in Mississippi Stock, on account f 
 of our father s interest in the Georgia Speculation ; and this ex- 
 elusive of that proportion claimed liy Jones, Jeffrey and Ilu&sall, 
 referred to in our letter to Mr. Joy at Washington. 
 
 A few weeks prior to his departure for Washington in Decem- 
 ber last. . s it was then certain that a considerable property would 
 be realized from the Georgia purchase, we enquired in the most 
 respectful manner of Mr. Joy what amount would probably be 
 left for us after the settlement of the estate ; when we were in- 
 formed, that we had nothing to expect, as the value of the whole 
 property, including what he should receive from the Georgia / 
 claim (under the compromise with the United States) would not 
 by some thousands repav him the amount he had advanced for 
 the estate. Surprised at this extraordinary remark, so inconsist- 
 ent with former declarations, we requested from him a statement 
 of his claim, which he had before promised us, and which he then 
 said he would, as soon as practicable, prepare and deliver us. 
 We waited week after week in the hope of receiving this state- 
 ment, which he assured us would prove, to our satisfaction, that 
 we had no equitable claims to any part of the property. We 
 were before sensible, that the confidence so injudiciously reposed 
 in him by our father, had placed him beyond the reach of laic. 
 On the first day of December last, one of our number, who at that 
 time intended in the course of a few weeks to leave Boston fora 
 distant part of the United States, addressed to Mr. Joy the letter, 
 first published in the Appendix. To this letter Mr. Joy replied; 
 verbally, that '* he had no time to answer letters.' 1 He. however, 
 pledged his word to another of our number, to whom he made tiie 
 reply, that before he left Boston he would certainly deliver to us 
 astateaient of his claims upon "the estate of our father, and ex- 
 plain the same to our satisfaction. Notwithstanding this solemn 
 engagement, on the following Sunday he placed a statement of 
 his claims in the hands of GIDEON SNOW, Esq. which he remark- 
 ed to that gentletnan was imperfect and unfinished, authorizing 
 him to permit us to e,vamine\t, but expressly prohibiting his de- 
 livering it to us, or suffering us to take a copy, and immediately 
 left Boston for Washington.* 
 
 * Thi statement commenced with ronn<! charge of 5!-,930 due Mr Joy 
 fi-orn the enate, on the first <ly of January, 1800, without sixiiiig i'> what n>ai>- 
 Der it accrued. Upon this sum from that jteriuil to the first 0y of January Uit,
 
 Indignant at the imposition practiced upon us, suspicious ojf 
 tn's intentions to defraud us, and having lost entirely the confiL- 
 tlence we had previously placed in him. we at first resolved to 
 publish immediately a statement of the injuries we had sustained. 
 But on reflection, aware that he might complain that we had tak- 
 en advantage of his absence and preferred charges against him 
 at the puhtick tribunal, which at a distance from -home he had ne 
 opportunity to refute, we determined upon addressing; to him a 
 letter at Washington, detailing; our causes of complaint and re- 
 quiring from him \ PROMISE TO SUBMIT ALL MATTERS 
 IN DISPUTE BKTWERN US TO THE DECISION OF HON- 
 EST AND DISINTERESTED MEN. That letter which is the 
 second published in the appendix, prior to its being forwarded 
 was presented to Mrs. Joy for her perusal. At her solicitation 
 and at the request of Mr. Snow, we concluded not to forward, 
 our letter to Washington, until Mrs. Joy should receive an an- 
 swer to a letter which she engaged immediately to write to Mr. 
 Joy on the subject. The reply was such as we anticipated. It 
 contained a direct refusal to comply with our reasonable propo~ 
 sition. Our letter to Mr. Joy will explain why we did not im- 
 mediately pursue the course we had resolved upon. The letters 
 also which afterwards passed between Mr. Joy and our sister 
 {which perhaps he will not think proper to expose) and his let- 
 ters to Mr. Snow upon the subject of our controversy, form addi- 
 tional reasons for '-the delay which has since attended our pro- 
 ceedings. Since Mr. Joy's return from Washington in May last, 
 other letters have been addressed to him ; which with his answers 
 are also published in the appendix, in the order they were writ- 
 ten and received. 
 
 It would be vain to attempt to satisfy our friends by legal proof, 
 that Mr. Joy refuses to surrender a property which of right be- 
 longs to us. All the papers relative to the estate are in his pos- 
 session. We rely principally upon his oirn verbal declarations 
 at different periods since the death of our lather, and the statement 
 which was a few tnonths since in the hands of Mr. Snow, which 
 we have seen, to prove that he possesses property which does not 
 belong to him. We can shew however to the satisfaction of any 
 reasonable mind, that vf the whole property had been sold in the 
 year 1806 (exclusive of the Georgia property which at that time 
 was not worth any thing,) that the balance due Mr. Joy on the 
 
 and apon other s"ns all* ged i" have been advanced on acctirt 'I (he t8t<tte, in (he 
 per o.l ilint ini-.i-viMiiri, Mr. Jor t'ti! charged ihr estate iili HANK IN I EKEST 
 <;OM I'OUND'f'I) cneli su^cenli"g ye-*r; n moi'.t ^TaeMOmlating a claim, n</t on- 
 4jr i" di't'Ct oj>pos lion to cvt-ry jiri-'Cip't of equity ami justice, h't grossly usurious 
 d >ik- .1 sui] (Ins, 100. alte i ejected (.ronuses to adjuti his claims upon tte e*- 
 le u[>o;i tei me bulb l;Jvi! and friendly.
 
 ifst clay of January last unth accumulating interest, would have* 
 Mfcen but forty thousand dollars ; and that nearlv eighty thousand 
 dollars would now he in possession of Mr. Joy bovond Hie amount 
 of his demand.* We can prove to the satisfaction of disinter- 
 ested men, that the estate in the hands of one influenced by hu- 
 mane and honourable motives, nay, one disposed to act honestly, 
 but not to exceed the bounds of strict justice, would have been 
 so disposed of, that an ample fortune would now remain to the 
 widow and children of our deceased parent. 
 
 Let it not be alleged that these charges are of a nature too 
 vague and indefinite to be entitled to the publick credit. Let it 
 be recollected that we have been unwearied in our exertions to 
 adjust our concerns with Mr. Joy on friendly terms ; that we 
 have suffered months to pass (regardless of the lapse of time so 
 valuable at our period of life) in the hope that all our difficulties 
 would be amicably adjusted : that we have urged Mr. Joy by 
 every motive which we thought could influence him to do us justice 
 without obliging usbv an appeal to the pubiick opinion, to compel 
 him ; that we have not attempted to wrest from him a property 
 we think our own, but which he claims as his ; that we have riot 
 required the surrender of any part of that property in his posses- 
 sion, which was once our father's: but THAT WE HAVE 
 MERELY INSISTED THAT MEN OF HONOUR, INTEG- 
 RITY AND INTELLIGENCE, AND MEN POO PERFECT- 
 LY INDIFFERENT AND DISINTERESTED IN THE RE- 
 SULT OF OUR CONTROVERSY SHOULD BE AUTHOR- 
 IZED TO DECIDE UPON OUR CLAIMS. AND THAT 
 THEIR DECISION SHOULD BE CONCLUSIVE AND BIND- 
 ING UPON BOTH PARTIES. WE HAVE ASKED. AND 
 WE DESIRE NOTHING MORE: AND WE HAVE IN TUB 
 MOST SOLEMN MANNER PLEDGED OURSELVES TO 
 MR. JOY TO SUBMIT TO THEIR DECISION. 
 We once more solicit the attention of our friends to the peculiar 
 tircumstances of our present situation. Our father but a few years 
 uefore his death, was possessed of a property which he thought, 
 
 notwithstanding the embarrassment of his affairs, wuuld' eventual 
 ly prove a large fortune to his children. The whole of this prop- 
 erty was conveyed absolutely to Mr. Joy prior to his decease, la- 
 the belief that the latter would manage it to the most advantage^ 
 
 * We have no written vouchers from Mr. Joy in support of these lads. The 
 reason why we do not possess them is so obvious, ihi.1 it is, perhaps, unnecessary 
 to aasigo them. Il must not be fnrgiiten, that the sia'ement delivered to Mr. 
 Snow, was jfEVER IN OUR POSSESSION, and has s nee been returned to Mr. 
 Joy. We appexl to the toimer gentleman- to the slateroent i< self, (which Mr. 
 Joy can exhibit if he thinks proper) in support of the correctness oi our assertions. 
 We pledge ourselves to our fiiend, that we have insetted nothing in 
 , whieh is not known l>r Mr. Joy to be STRICTLY TRUE.
 
 i 
 
 and if at a future period he should realize the amount due hira 
 he would return the surplus to our father or in (he event of his 
 death, divide it among the children committed to his care. Let 
 it not be forgotten that Mr. Joy has uniformly admitted* that in 
 the event of a compromise between the United States and the 
 Georgia Claimants, the value of the estate would considerably ex- 
 ceed the amount of his claims upon it. That compromise has* been 
 effected and we are now told that his demands unon the estate 
 exceed its value by many thousands ! Can it he expected that 
 we should rest satisfied with his bare assertion, that the whole 
 property is in equity his own ? Is it unreasonable that under 
 these circumstances we should insist upon his proving: his title to 
 the whole ? and, \\hether our claims upon Mr. Joy are or are not 
 u- ell founded, is not, we ask, his refusal to comply with a propo- 
 sition that would be readily acceded to by any honest man simi- 
 larly circumstanced, evincive of a consciousness of his want of 
 integrity and a determination to defraud us ? 
 
 Let it not be said that we have rashly imposed upon the puhlick 
 a Statement of our grievances, before we were certain that Mr. Joy 
 would not eventually accede to our proposition. Human life it 
 ever of uncertain duration. The possession of perfect health af- 
 lords no assurance against sudden dissolution. But when to the 
 inevitable ills arid accidents of life, to which all men are alike 
 exposed, are added the uncertain consequences of disease : and 
 when as in the present instance, the decease of the individual 
 would inevitably prove fatal to our hopes, as no human power 
 could subsequently render us justice, we do believe that we shall 
 not be accused of having been too precipitate in the course we 
 have pursued. The fact too that the accumulating compound inter- 
 est is rapidly increasing his claims upon the estate, while the prop- 
 erty in his possession is diminishing in value, and according to hit 
 representation is totally unproductive, affords another serious ob, 
 jection to our submitting to further delay. There is another cir- 
 cumstance which \ve conceive would alone justify us in our de- 
 termination, no longer to procrastinate the publick statement of 
 our wrongs. We refer to the disposition which has uniformly 
 been evinced by Mr. Joy through the course of a lojig life never to 
 adjust an account with any one. as long as he could with impuni- 
 ty procrastinate a settlement. In support of this assertion we 
 need only refer to a recent instance, fresh in the tnemoiy of big 
 acquaintance, in which he refused to adjust an account of great 
 magnitude, and of long standing, during the life of an individual, 
 now no more, whose personal attenoance was perhaps essential 
 to a correct settlement. But we confidently appeal indiscrimi 
 nately, to all those who have ever transacted business with Mrj 
 Joy, to support us in our assertion of his procrastinating dipo 
 sition.
 
 We have now completed the statement we proposed. "We 
 have endeavoured to render it as concise as its nature would au- 
 thorize. We submit it to the candid consideration of our friends ; 
 in the belief that it will excite the sympathy of those who feel 
 interested in the future welfare of a family, whose prospects in 
 life were once unclouded, and in the hope that it will produce such 
 feelings of indignation in all, as may yet procure us the act of 
 justice which we have so long and so fruitlessly endeavoured to 
 obtain by measures of a friendly nature. 
 
 CHARLES BARRELL. 
 HENRY F. BARRELL. 
 GEORGE BARRELL. 
 8AMUEL BROWN BARREL^
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 BOSTON, December 1st, 1815. 
 BENJAMIN JOY, Esq. 
 
 DEAH SIR The misunderstanding which exists between your- 
 Self and the members of our family is a source of much regret to 
 me. I have until within a few weeks, uniformly indulged the be- 
 lief, that you wuuld never disappoint our hopes of eventually re- 
 alizing something from the estate of our late father ; hopes which 
 were originally excited and have since been encouraged by the assur- 
 ances we have at different times received from you, that in the event 
 of the settlement of the Georgia Claims, and on the terms too of the 
 late compromise with the United States, something would undoubt- 
 edly be left for us arid probably something considerable. I am 
 aware that you have hitherto realized nothing from the amount of 
 the Treasury Notes which you have received on account of the*- 
 estate; but I believe your opinion fully coincides with my own, 
 that if they are invested in the way you propose, your estate 
 will eventually realize a sum from them which will exceed the 
 amount of your demands against the estate of our tat-.- father. 
 "We do not indulge in unreasonable expectation* : af>d if you feel 
 disposed, every thing may yet be arranged to our mutual sati- c- 
 tion, and the unpleasant feelings which have been exciteii i, 1:11 
 remarks recently made by you, may he entirely removed. I have 
 been induced to write you this evening, in consequence of your 
 proposal to my brother Henry to assist you on Sunday ne.vt in com- 
 pleting the statement of your claims against the estate. I under- 
 stood from you on Wednesday, that you had determined to leave 
 town on Tuesday next for Washington, and if so it will be im- 
 possible for us, after Sunday, to examine that statement and ex- 
 press to you our opinion of it prior to your departure. Before 
 your return I shall leave Boston for the Mississippi Territory, 
 wlrere I shall certainly reside some years : perhaps I may remain 
 there during life. But at all events we, shall pr bably never meet 
 again. I am very desirous that all our difficulties should be am- 
 icably adjusted before 1 leave Boston, and this I think may be as 
 easily effected in two days, as in as many years. I beg therefore 
 that you would postpone your departure until we have had time 
 to examine your statement and confer with you on the subject of 
 it. A trifling delay may prove advantageous both to yourself 
 and us, it will certainly shew a disposition on your part to sep- 
 arate on friendly terms. Your reply in the course of tomorrow 
 much oblige me. 
 
 I am, Sir$ with respect, vour friend and obedient servant. 
 SAMUEL BROWN iiAKRELL.
 
 11 
 
 BOSTON, December, 1815. 
 BENJAMIN JOY, Esq. 
 SIR, 
 
 We sincerely regret that \ve are under the n-ecegsity of address- 
 ing you in any other than the most fiiendlv terms. We formerly 
 firmly relied upon your exertions for our interest, in the belief, 
 that the man who possessed tlie Confidence of our father, and up- 
 on whom the management of his large property, with the care and 
 Srotection of his widow and orphan children devolved at his 
 eath. could not abuse the important trust with which he was in-? 
 vested. After the anxiety and suffering of eleven years, during 
 the whole of which time, you have uniformly encouraged the be- 
 lief that you were making; great sacrifices to secure to us and 
 our other some portion of an immense property, which had be- 
 come embarrassed and involved by the Georgia Speculation, and 
 when you have at iast, secured to yourself, what Congress have 
 considered an equivalent for the surrender of our father's inter- 
 est in the Georgia claim, and which with the property you before 
 held you admit nearly repays you and we believe much more than 
 repays you for all that you have ever advanced on account of the 
 estate, with compound interest, we are told, that we have nothing 
 to expect either from your generosity or justice 1 
 
 W.c are aware that we have no claim upon you that can be en- 
 forced in a Court of Law, and from your late conduct, we have 
 every icason to believe, that we can no longer rely upon your dis- 
 position to submit to a decision of our claim, at the tribunal of 
 conscience. We were taught to believe by that parent, whose 
 memory we venerate, and who we trust is now in Heaven, that 
 honesty never shrunk from examination ! We hope, Sir, to be 
 hereafter satisfied, that your late clandestine departure for Wash- 
 ington did not arise from a fear to encounter the frowns and re- 
 proaches of the injured orphan. You promised one of our num- 
 ber that you would not leave Boston, until you had delivered to 
 MS, a statement of your claim againstthe estate of our late father. 
 You have violated this promise, and have deposited this statement 
 in the hands of a gentleman for our inspection, but upon the ex- 
 pi ess condition that neither of us should be entrusted with the 
 original, or suffered to take a copy. This circumstance alone, 
 would excite the suspicion of any disinterested individual, that', 
 our fears, recently expressed to you, were not entirely unfounded. 
 
 We learn from your own statement that in January, 1806, your 
 claim against the estate at simple interest, which is all the law al- 
 lows, and is more than you once said you would charge the estate^ 
 amounted to abou ninety nine thousand dollars. If you had sold 
 at that period the .Pleasant Hill Farm, the seventy seven Shares 
 in the Middlesex Canal, the Eastern Lands and the Ohio Shares,,
 
 48 
 
 j'tu would hate realized from the proceeds, the principal part if 
 not the full amount of jour demand against the estate. You have 
 since been obliged to pay. as appears from your statement, at 
 sundry times, the further sum of eleven thousand two hundred and 
 forty one dollars. But your statement also shews, that you have 
 received on account of the estate, since the year 1806, twenty 
 seven thousand live hundred and sixty seven dollars. The conclu- 
 sion then we draw from that statement, a conclusion which we 
 think liberal, as well as fair is, that had you disposed of the prop- 
 erty before specified in January, 1806, we should now be entitled, 
 upon every principal of equity to the avails of the Georgia iMnds, 
 ami of any thing which may be hereafter realized from the claim 
 against John Hoskins, William P. White, the Virginia purchase, 
 the North and South Carolina State Notes, and in fine to the 
 avails of all the remaining property of our late father in your pos- 
 session. 
 
 We have been informed that the amount due from William P. 
 "White might have been secured to the estate, had you pursued 
 those measures which were recommended by a gentleman friend- 
 ly to our interest. We do not know that there is any foundation 
 for this charge, but the negligence and inattention which has 
 marked your conduct in the management of the estate generally, 
 certainly justifies our suspicions that it may prove correct. 
 
 We solemnly protest against your charge of COMPOUND INTER- 
 EST ! Were we at the mercy of a hard hearted money broker, 
 who \ as from existing circumstances placed beyond the reach of 
 law, and whose conscience formed no barrier between the orphan 
 ami oppression, we should submit to the loss of our property, 
 and look to Hirti who is the avenger of the orphans' wrongs, hi 
 the iiumble hope of obtaining redress hereafter. But from the 
 husband of her. whose father was our father, from the man who 
 has uniformly professed himself our friend, from one who has 
 heretofore repeatedly expressed a determination to make large 
 sacrifices for the benefit of our family, and who has from time to 
 time encouraged the belief, that upon the liberal terms on which 
 his claim upon the estate should be adjusted, a considerable prop- 
 erty would eventually be divided between the widow and or- 
 phan children <>f our father, we expected a degree of liberality 
 in the settlement of our concerns, which would have received, as 
 it would have merited, our gratitude and esteem. 
 
 We think proper in this place to express our displeasure on 
 another item in your statement We refer to the amount allowed 
 the estate for the wine you received from Pleasant Hill. You 
 expressed at the time of our father's decease, from regard to our 
 feelings, as well as from your own pretended sense of delicacy on 
 the subject your determination not to expose this article at pub-
 
 lick auction, but retain it for your own use. observing, that yon 
 would allow for it a liberal sum. For upwards of twelve hundred 
 bottles of wi r ie. a considerable portion of which you know was 
 superior in quality to any in the country on account of its great 
 age besides a quantity contained in demijohns, and some old 
 spirit it appears from your statement, that you have credited 
 the estate with the sum of eleven hundred dollars* probably about 
 one third of the amount it would have produced at publick sale I 
 Do you believe, any other than yourself would consider this a 
 liberal allowance ? We would here remind you that our aged 
 mother, whose infirmities have required, and whose health would 
 have been benefitted from the use of old wine, has never received 
 from the vast quantity our father left, (the whole of which you 
 appropriated to your own use,) a single bottle ! 
 
 We complain of the manner in which you have managed the 
 Pleasant Hill estate Had you disposed of it at the time of our 
 father's decease, we believe it would have produced a sum which, 
 at COM POUND INTKREST, would have nearly equalled one 
 half the amount of your whole claim against the estate ; or had, 
 it been since that period, improved to the most advantage, you 
 would have realized from it, what would now form a consider- 
 able item on the credit side of your account. We believe too, 
 that had you not been obstinately bent upon pursuing your own 
 course, a course directly opposite to that which our interest re- 
 quired, the value of the estate might have been greatly enhanced, 
 by being connected with Boston by the bridge which now termi- 
 nates upon Lechmere's point. While we are on this subject, \ve 
 would express our surprise that you should have charged the es- 
 tate with the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars, paid to pro- 
 fessional gentlemen for their services in opposing the plans of Mr. 
 Cragie and hi* associates, which (if we have not been misinformed) 
 had they been effected agreeable to propositions made to you, 
 would have proved of incalculable benefit to the estate. We no- 
 tice this charge, not with a view of quarrelling about trifles, but 
 because we consider it indicative of a disposition on your part, to 
 crowd into your statement any charge, wliether founded injustice 
 or not, for the purpose of swelling the amount of your demand, to 
 a sum that shall completely absorb the whole of the property left 
 by our father, and enable you with at least some shew of justice, 
 to appropriate the whole to your own use, and that cf your chil- 
 dren. 
 
 We are not satisfied with the terms on which you propose ad- 
 justing the claim of Jones, Jeffrey and Russell. We do not see 
 how your honour, or credit is involved in that settlement, and 
 we now express to you our opinion that you ought to pay those 
 gentlemen or their representatives, what you may by an action 
 at law be compelled to pay, and no more.
 
 We complain of your unfeeling conduct, since the death of om 
 lather, toua ds our surviving parent. You know, perhaps, (we 
 fid"? never known, nor has our mother) hv what means she became 
 divested of the property to which hy taw, she would have been 
 entitled. a> the widow of oar father ! We know however that her 
 right of dower has been formally relinquished, but until after our 
 rs decease, she wa not aware of the sacrifice she had made ! 
 She did however fofmttfty relinquish all her right in your favour, 
 and what, has bee.n the consequence ? Did she after our father's 
 .death, receive that delicate and respectful attention which was 
 due to the widow of your wife's fattier ? We ask not, if she 
 was supported by you in that style of life, to which s:e had been 
 accustomed from her infancy ! We ask not if she has been indulg- 
 ed in all those comforts which her advanced age required ! But 
 we ask. if she has been supplied by you. with more than the ne- 
 cessnries of lift, and at nil times 'mm these ? Driven sooner than 
 a due regard to decency would authorize, after our father's de- 
 cease, from the family mansion, she was refused admittance into 
 your family, and compelled to reside in a hoarding house ! In this 
 nimble situation however, surrounded by her children, she would 
 have hoeu happy ! but on the paltry plea, that you could not af- 
 ford to support her in this humble establishment, you hurried her 
 to an obscure residence at a distance from Boston, where you 
 knew her sorrows and her suffering?* would be unnoticed by the 
 world And there she has si;ice been obliged to remain, depriv- 
 ed of the society of her children, and of the few friends she left 
 behind her. You know that she has o/fewand anxiously express- 
 ed a wish to return to a place which contains ell that is most 
 dear to her in life; arid you know likewise, that her feelings have 
 tieen wounded, by repeated and pressing invitations to other mem- 
 bers of the family where she resides,' to visit you, while her so- 
 licitaiions have passed unnoticed! If you can reconcile to your- 
 self such conduct, we know not why we should rely upon your 
 feelings of generosity or justice. 
 
 We have other causes of complaint of a minor nature, which 
 cannot be comprised in the compass of a letter, but which we 
 may be compelled hereafter to submit to the consideration of 
 yourself and others in another form. 
 
 \\ e have not forgotten the intimations we have from time to 
 time received from you. that in order to secure a fortune to our 
 family^yuu had made such sacrifircs of your property, as had in- 
 volved vou in much difficulty, and so far reduced your income, 
 as to deprive your family of the comforts of life, and sometimes 
 distressed you to supply th<?m with its necessaries! To these in- 
 timations we reply that if the sacrifices you have made for us, 
 have indeed been' followed by such painful consequences yet if
 
 10 
 
 *i the moment when your benevolent exertions for our interest, 
 have been crowned with success, you choose to abandon us. and 
 appropriate the whole property to your own use and that of your 
 children, all obligation on our part, with all claims on our grati- 
 tude are removed ! But the fact we kow to be otherwise, and 
 although you have made large ad-ances on account of the estate, 
 we are not ignorant that if the residue of your immense fortune, 
 had not been invested in property which lias proved unproduc- 
 tive (and for which tve are by no means accountable, ) you would 
 have realized to the preseut day an income, that would have af- 
 forded you and your family, all the comforts, conveniences, and 
 even luxuries of life we ascribe, Sir, to your mismanagement the 
 present deplorable situation of our atVairs, and we ask, if, upon 
 principles of equity and justice we ought to be the sufferers ? 
 
 Notwithstanding all that has passed, we beg you to believe our 
 assurances, that we are still sincerely desirous of closing here, 
 a contest, which in its consequences, cannot be productive of good, 
 either to you or ourselves, and which we think if continued, will at 
 a future period, be deeply regretted by you ! That Being who 
 will one day be the Judge, as he is now the protector of the or- 
 phan, knows the motives which influence us ii the course we are 
 pursuing! You will one day know, and approve them ! 
 
 We propose then as the most effectual, as well as the most 
 proper mode of reconciling all our difficulties, that it be submit- 
 ted to the decision of three impartial, indepentlent, honest men. to 
 decide finally on the subject in controversy, and ^determine vliat 
 proportion, if any. of our lute father's property in your possession, 
 should be surrendered to MS, and we shall readily agree to the ap- 
 pointment of any gentlemen of integrity and honour, whom you 
 may think proper to name. If their opinion of yyur proceedings 
 coincides with yours, we solemnly pledge ourselves to remain si- 
 lent on the suhject/oreyer ! \Ve shall delay farther proceedings 
 for the period of twenty one days, from the date of this letter. At 
 the expiration of that time, if we do not receive a decided and sat- 
 isfactory reply, we are determined to submit a statement of oui- 
 grievances to the consideration of our friends, and recollect. Sir, 
 that you and you only must be accountable for the consequences. 
 
 \Ve beg you to reflect seriously upon the subject of this letter 
 before you finally determine upon the course you will pursue I 
 The consequences of a refusal to accede to the proposition we 
 have made to you, without proposing some other mode of%ijust- 
 uieut equally satisfactory, may be serious both to yourself and to 
 as. \Ve are determined rigidly to adhere to the resolution we 
 have formed, if you any longer defer a settlement, which ought to 
 have been concluded many years ago. but we assure you, that we 
 hall with reluctance pursue a course which must necessarily pro-
 
 1C 
 
 duce a final separation between ourselves and the members of 
 your family. We have written you freely on the subject of our 
 grievances ; but recollect. Sir, that our letter has been submitted 
 to the perusal of no one but our sister. It is not yet known abroad 
 that we are on anv other terms than those of friendship, with, 
 yourself and your family. It is for you to determine if it shall 
 ever be known, that the harmony, which formerly existed between 
 us, has been interrupted. 
 
 P. S. January 9, 1816. At the earnest solicitation of our 
 sister and Mr. Snow, we have been prevailed upon to defer for- 
 warding our letter until the present time. It was the opinion of 
 both, that our request was of so reasonable a nature, that you 
 could not refuse your compliance, ll'e are not disappointed at 
 the determination you have formed, and expressed in your several 
 replies to their letters, for we were before fully impressed with 
 the opinion that we had nothing to expect either from your gen- 
 erosity or justice. We shall now pursue the course which our 
 judgment dictates, and we beg you not to deceive yourself with 
 the belief that we shall vary from the determination we originally 
 formed, and whicff we have explicitly stated in our letter. Since 
 that letter was written, we have examined more particularly tlie 
 statement you left with Mr. Snow. We notice with feelings 
 which it would be in vain to express, a charge of more than Thir- 
 ty Thousand Dollars paid on account of the Middlesex Canal. 
 You cannot bejgnorant that if that property had been sold soon 
 after our father's death, it would have made a difference in your 
 claims against the estate at the present time of more than forty 
 thousand dollars. Your claim would have been diminished many 
 thousands, if you had given it away !* Recollect. Sir, that all we 
 ask of you is an unequivocal promise that you will, on your retit n 
 to Boston, submit your statement, with its vouchers, to the inspec- 
 tion of disinterested men, whom you shall appoin , and of whom 
 we shall approve, and abide their decision on the subject. 
 
 We would remind you that we are no longer mere children, 
 such as we unfortunately were at the time of our father's decease, 
 but men, fully sensible of our rights, and resolutely det< rmined to 
 maintain them. We beg you to reflect, that by complying with 
 our reasonable request, you will relieve the wounded feelings of 
 
 ' We are lajipy to find ourselves incorrect IN OWE INSTANCE in our chge 
 agiinst Mr. Joy At the time our led' r was transmitted t<> Washington we had 
 lieeu abie to examine the Suit-merit only in very partial and mi|>erleci m n er. 
 On fuilher examination afterward, we (band that ACCORDING TO IHE STATB- 
 .-LVT, the | rut ip;il part of the money advanced l>> Mr. Joy on nccoun: t 'he 
 \lidiliesex Cai.al, wns paid prior to the dt-ceHSe of our father. This en or, we 
 tt.i-ik, under the ncsTRt CTIOXS with wnich we were pernwted to examine the 
 l, requires no apology;
 
 17 
 
 jour afflicted wife, and whatever may be the determination of 
 those to whose decision tiie subject of our differences shall be 
 submitted, secure to yourself the respect and esteem of those who 
 now address you. 
 
 We shall await your reply to our letter until the fifteenth day 
 of February next, and NO LONGER. If it should prove satisfac- 
 tory, we shall cheerfully await your return fos a final settlement; 
 but if your answer does not accord with our wishes, or if we should 
 not receive your reply prior to that period, we solemnly assure yoir, 
 that we willimmediately submit to the inspection of onr friends a 
 full and explicit statement of the injuries we have sustained. 
 
 CHARLES BARRELL, 
 HENRY F. BARRELL, 
 GKORGE BARRELL, 
 SAMUEL BROWN BARRELL. 
 
 WASHINGTON, 7th February, 1816. 
 Messrs. Charles, Henry F. George and Samuel B. Barrel!, 
 
 SIRS Some days since I received your letter of December^ 
 with Postscript of 9th January. In reply I shall repress the feel- 
 ings of indignation which its language seems intended and is cal- 
 culated to excite, nor shall I stoop to answer the charges therein. 
 
 made against me, or 
 
 I would merely state, that my conduct in regard to any thing 
 which relates to your father or his affairs, and even to any branch 
 of his family, has been such that so far from shrinking from an in- 
 vestigation, it is my determined purpose to have one made so 
 soon as I return to Boston, and am able to prepare the Statements 
 with attendant documents for the inspection of some friends of 
 the family. This, my determination, was made known to you. 
 before I left Boston, and I think is stated in a letter to Henry F. 
 Barrel), when I was leaving town, and my letters since, which I 
 understand from you, you have seen, to Mrs. Joy, and Mr. Snow, 
 have evinced it as strongly as words can. If those declarations 
 are not sufficient to satisfy you on that subject, nothing I can say 
 or write, will. Had I not have informed your sister that I should 
 answer any letter you might write me, you probably would not 
 receive this reply, as I cannot conceive myself called upon, to 
 answer such an one as that above mentioned. 
 
 B. JOY.
 
 BOSTON, 8th June, 1816. 
 BENJAMIN JOY, Esq. 
 
 SIR We delayed addressing; you on the subject of *our af- 
 fairs immediately after your return from Washington, in the 
 hope that we should receive from you some information respect- 
 ing the course you intended to pursue, and satisfactory assurances 
 that a settlement would be effected with us at an early period, 
 either by direct personal communication, or through the medium 
 tof intelligent and upright i*en. 
 
 We renewedly assure you of our sincere desire that all exist- 
 ing differences may he amicably adjusted. We require of you 
 no sacrifices ; we ask for nothing more than we are entitled to 
 upon principles of equity and justice } and we cannot believe you 
 averse to a settlement with us upon terms which every honest 
 *tan will pronounce just and reasonable. We beg your early 
 written reply to this letter, and are, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servants. 
 
 BOSTON, 10th June, 1816. 
 
 SIRS In reply to yours of the 8th inst. I would inform you, 
 that as soon as I shall have settled my business with the New 
 England Missisippi Land Company, (which I trust will be soon) 
 I shall immediately apply myself to the settlement of every thing 
 relative to your late father's affairs. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 B. JOY. 
 Messrs. Charles, Henry F. George & Samuel B. Barrell. 
 
 BOSTON, 81st July, 1816. Tuesday evening, 7 o'clock. 
 BENJAMIN JOY, Esq. 
 
 SIR We feel both disappointed and mortified, that our ex- 
 ertions to adjust amicably the difficulties which have so long ex- 
 isted between you and us, have proved unavailing. You solemn* 
 ly promised us six weeks since, that you would as soon as prac- 
 ticable, prepare and deliver to us a statement of our family con- 
 cerns ; and encouraged a belief, that it would be completed 
 \vithin ten days. We now learn with feelings of indignation, 
 that you have not yet commenced that statement, and we are firm- 
 ly resolved that the settlement of our late father's estate shall be 
 no longer procrastinated. We now require from you an unequiv- 
 ocal engagement in writing, that your statement sliall be complet- 
 ed and presented to us within a reasonable limited period ; and 
 %ve require that you give us such engagement in the course of to- 
 morrow, 
 
 We arc, Sir, your much injured reJativeSr
 
 19 
 
 BOSTON, 1st A^JBst, 181G. 
 SIRS I have received your letter of yesterday evening, and 
 in reply would observe, that whoever informed you that I had 
 not commenced the statement you therein mention, has stated a 
 falsehood : on the contrary, with as great a desire to accomplish 
 it as any one can have, 1 have expended as much time on the 
 business, as my pressing and very necessary applications to some 
 of my concerns, and the state of my health would allow; and 
 have gotten many of the materials ready for the finishing it. 
 What time it may further require for me to bring it to a close, it 
 is out of my power precisely to determine. I can only say, that 
 I am as desirous of having a complete statement of my concerns 
 with your father and his family ready for to be exhibited to all 
 persons interested therein, as you, or any others interested there- 
 in, can be, and I shall lose no time, consistent with a proper at- 
 tention to my health, to effect it. If this will not satisfy you, I 
 shall despair of ever doing it. 
 
 B. JOY. 
 Messrs. Charles, Henry F. George and Samuel B. Barrcll. 
 
 BOSTON, August 12, 1816. 
 BENJAMIN JOY, Esq. 
 
 SIR More than ten days have elapsed since the receipt of 
 your last letter in reply to ours of the 31st. ultimo. You de- 
 ceive yourself if you imagine we are longer to be delayed by 
 promises which you have repeatedly made to us, aud invariably 
 violated. We now give yu until Monday next to complete and 
 deliver to us, the statement to which we are entitled, and we 
 solemnly pledge ourselves to you that we will submit to no farther 
 delay, nor will we be longer influenced by any excuses you may 
 make for not having completed it. 
 
 We have no longer any confidence in your professions of being 
 disposed to settle with us upon amicable and honourable terms 
 This is the last time we shall address you upon the subject of our 
 family concerns our next step will be to submit a statement of 
 ur injuries to the consideration of the publick. 
 
 We are, Sir, your obedient servants. 
 
 BOSTON, 19th August, 1816. 
 BENJAMIN JOY, Esq. 
 
 SIR The enclosed documents we now send you for your 
 perusal. Unless we previously receive from you a satisfactory 
 communication on the subject, they will be placed in the hands 
 of the printer on Wednesday morning. 
 
 We are, Sir, your obedient servants, 
 
 4035O4
 
 so 
 
 [Early o^PPednesday morning, the 21st August, Mr. Snow 
 called upon one of our number, and enquired if nothing could pre- 
 vail upon us to abandon our resolution of making our difficulties 
 publick He was informed, that an obligation from Mr. Joy in 
 writing, to submit all matters in dispute between him and ?fs. to 
 l/ie ultimate decision of honest and impartial men, AT AN\ 
 TIMK MOST CONVENIENT IO HIM WITHIN THE PE- 
 RIOD OF A TWELVE MONTH, would prove satisfactory, 
 and prevent us from proceeding further in the course we had com- 
 menced. He exacted a promise, that our papers should not be 
 left with the Printer until after three o'clock in the afternoon ; be- 
 fore which period he engaged to inform us if he hail succeeded in 
 prevailing upon Mr. Joy to accede to our terms. Within the 
 time limited, we heard nothing more from him upon the sub- 
 ject.]
 
 This book is DUE on the last 
 date stamped below 
 
 5m-6,'41(8644) 
 
 UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA;
 
 A 001435179 5