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1830 Antique Handwritten Letter Note Payment Demand John Fenton Sam Davis Rheumatism Confined Bed signed
Double sided Approximately 5" by 8"
Rare ca. 1868 Handwritten Debt Collection Letter — Sick in Bed, Note at Risk of Protest
A fascinating two-page 19th-century manuscript letter, written on lined paper and folded for delivery, presenting a vivid snapshot of small-town American commerce and personal finance circa 1830.
The writer urgently contacts John B. Fenton, explaining that a promissory note for $100 — a substantial sum in the era — is due that very day, but the writer is confined to bed with rheumatism and unable to attend to business personally. The tone is insistent: Fenton is instructed to pay the note immediately and settle matters by Monday "without fail," with the pointed warning not to allow the note to be protested — a formal legal process that would damage credit and reputation.
A second notation references a Sam L. Davis note for $100, payable at what appears to be a National Bank, with an endorsement instruction referencing "A. Datz" — suggesting this letter may have functioned as both a demand letter and an assignment or endorsement instrument.
The reverse (page 2) carries a partial continuation in what may be a different hand, with J.L. Davis promising to pay the $100 cash within ten days — potentially the debtor's own written acknowledgment on the same sheet.
Highlights:
- ca. 1868 date based on internal evidence
- $100 promissory note — significant antebellum debt amount
- Writer bedridden with rheumatism — humanizing period detail
- Threat of formal note protest — legal/banking context
- Multiple hands; possible debtor acknowledgment on reverse
- National Bank reference adds financial history interest
- Lined period paper, folded and delivered
