Scope and Contents

Has considered the pros and cons of getting release from his debts; he cannot go into bankruptcy; if he did, Bell and Overend Gurney & Co[mpany] would be able to make Cropper Hodgson & Co[mpany] pay £12,000 and interest; he also lost money to William, who borrowed it to begin trading Corn with some westerners; when it was time for him to pay the money William had borrowed, he could not; Mr. Hogg told the creditors that money was on the way, so they let him James go; no money was paid; the notes recorded in his books, and therefore can be connected with William; told the Confederates that he could not be sure of how much money he had, since he  had not sold all of his cotton; does not want to be questioned about that; (10 July) notes his surprise at his idea that Rutson's child is legitimate; until Rutson admitted the fact, he had always claimed that he and his wife were being maligned; thinks it would have been have been better if he [Rutson] had told the truth from the beginning; if it were him he would try to keep a low profile, but Rutson is shoving his family into every social situation he can; thinks it will backfire on him; has not told him that Aunt Ann will call at Salisbury, because it will make him [Rutson] feel "ugly"; Mr. Wood still has the $600, and he doesn't expect to get it back; is not surprised that Mr. Magee will not say anything about Adams; they were in a coutr case againt each other; (15 [July]) Rutson' child was born at Newton. 4pp. Cy of ALS Bears ANS from Rutson Maury, New York, New York, to his sister, Ann Maury, [Liverpool, England], undated. Asking her to keep this sheet and send the other one to Fontaine.\ Including Cy of ALS from James Maury, New Orleans, Louisiana, to his Uncle Rutson Maury, New York, New York, 8 July 1863. Says that if he writes a long letter, he [RM] should not feel obligated to write an equally long letter back; thinks that Mrs. Cox's letters to him have been looked at; she should be more careful, since her relative is the C[onfederate] S[tates] Secretary of War; Vicksburg is said to have fallen, but no one believes it; (10 July) they hear that Port Hudson has fallen, which seems more likely to be true than the same news about Vicksburg; since Yankee and Confederate reports lie, he won't believe anything until he has proof; (12 July) discusses what he [RM]  said about Matthew or as Rutson calls him Fontaine; disagrees with him that Matthew lacks perserverance; he stuck with Engineering even though his health was impaired and he was in debt because he was honest; does not blame him for quitting that job; thinks his effort to learn to class cotton for little or no pay also shows perseverance; asks what evil Matthew "imbibed" here [New Orleans?]; knows that he [RM] would never say that himself, so he knows someone must ahve told him so; knows the cause of Matthew's sickness; it began while he was working on the R[ail] R[oad], not in New Orleans; (15 [July]) Matthew told him that he would rather come back to New Orleans than stay in Liverpool; their tempers are similiar and they get along well even though they find it hard to get along with others;  neither of them are very extravagant; if the South becomes independent, Matthew will be able to make a good living in the R[ail] R[oad] business; he could always make a living  in cotton-classing if he had to; the Confederates regret the loss of Vicksburg and Port Hudson; does not think that common freight boats will be allowed on the [Mississippi] River just because those two cities have been captured; there was a rumor yesterday that Lee had killed Meade and destroyed his army; is disgusted with Jeff[erson] Davis [President of the C.S.A]; everyone seems to think he is only an opinionated cotton-planter, asnd he thought he could run the country the way he ran his plantation; he now wants Free Trade; thinks that both governments are corrupt; thinks that Gen[era]l [George] Washington wuold be disgusted with this state of affairs; his garden is doing very well; doesn;t have time to write to Matthew today, but he wrote about him on a separate shee so he wouldn't have to copy it. 4pp. Including Cy of ALS from Rutson Maury, 365 4th Street, New York, New York to Miss Lippett, Providence, R[hode] I[sland], 26 July 1863. Walker, Sarah, and William suggested to him that he invite Miss Lippett to come visit; he told them that he would do so after they knew of the plans of some other possible guests; the guests, their cousin J[ody] W. Maury and his wife, plan to leave next Tuesday; Ann is visiting some of their English cousins who live near London; Sarah, William and he attended the funeral of Mrs. Denning Duer, the eldest daughter of the late James G. King, this afternoon; she died of a heart complaint; if she would prefer to visit them in the Fall she could be welcome then too; the Riots have ended; they had no problems during the riots in their part of 4th Street or Irving Place, where Matthew lives; Matthew and his family have gone to their country quarters at Cornwall in Orange Co[unty], New York, on the Hudson [River]; they have not heard from nan since 11 May [1863; their neice Harriet is spending the summer with her husband and two of her children in Stillwater, Minnesota; expects Peace and Reunion by teh spring of 1865; does not expect to see much more serious fighting. 4pp. [Sent on 29 July (1863) from Rutson Maury, New York, N.Y., to his sister Ann Maury, London, England]