Reuben Swift letter to Thomas Rotch, Scipio, 1 mo 15th 1818

               
  B-187-1
  Sippio 1 mo 15th 1818     Respected friend
                               Thomas Roch I take
  Liberty tow troble thee with a broken line to inform
  thee of my [illegible] to cum with my familey to Candel
  if thee should think proper after stateing to thee my
  Situation, which will be as floows. I came into this village
  [illegible] in Sippeo in 18  month verey por and 
  destitute of everey thing but friends them I found
  which proved verey kind and remain to be so but
  at the same time haveing maney old dets hanging
 
  over me has made it exceeding hard geting along
  however have bin favourd to pay up sum of them and
  most of the rest have bin so coind as to give up there
  demands which I have grate reason to be thankful for
  yet the Cuntrey I am in is verey full of cabnetmakers
  and our work is got to be verey low and provish on high
  price of land so high that it is noways likely I shell ever
  be able to obtain aney and my fameley often haveing a
  visit by Humphrey Davis on his return from the
  verey desirous to com if thee should think proper and
  and my sons have a lot of land and take the pay in
  [illegible] wood as well as cabnet work allso Humphrey
  Observed thee would like to have a plowmaker of I may
  inform thee I have made the wood part of 800 pence
  State of New York for which three friends have the
  Patent Rite for nameley Jonathan Swan and Jethro
  Wood of this town and Thomas Freeborn of the citey
  New York how makes and vendors abundence of them.