Simeon Hawks was a Tory (in favor of Britain) and having vowed that “he would go where the devil couldn’t find him” he was, by 1780, established as an overseer on a plantation with 120 enslaved people on the island of Jamaica, West Indies. In this letter, he inquires about his Deerfield, Massachusetts, family and wonders why his brothers do not write to him. He reminds his brother that he owns property in Conway, Massachusetts, and is afraid that the government has confiscated it. It was not unusual for the Commonwealth to take possession of land owned by those who were loyal to the Crown. He also says that he received word that his sister and brother-in-law are going to Canada. They must also have been Tories.
Hawks, Simeon. Letter to Zadock Hawks. October 8, 1788. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l04-029/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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