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LETTER FROM EDWARD MOORE OF BANK HALL, 1672, TO HIS COUSIN. |
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I received yours and return my hearty
thanks: being not a little sensible of your resentments with me, but
truly my grief was such, that I cannot express it, & I thank God all the
afflictions I ever had before in this world are as nothing to it, 2 days
before my wifes coming to London it pleased God to visit my daughter
with the small pox and when she mended my eldest son William fell sick
who after 5 days died: a child so generously bemoaned as I think the
like never was in our parts - whilst he was sick 50 or 60 people a day
of my tenants coming or sending to see him. But when he was gone, and
having another child lying a dying in the house I resolved to bury him
very private between 12 and 1 of the clock at night in order that low
not sent not to the minister or sexton til 3 or 4 of the clock in the
afternoon neither let any servant in my house know it til then - And
when night came, I resolved to carry him in my coach privately only with
40 or 50. But truly before he went out of the house there were not so
little as 800 people, And about a mile from Liverpool, on foot, the
Mayor with the mace and wand, the aldermen and the common council and at
least 700 or 800 people met the corpse so that when we came to the
church there was not so little as 16 hundred people and number not seen
this in man's memory as before at that church, and which was much more
strange, I believe the like lamentation was not seen about us at any
funeral in man's memory for there was as may be judged not so little as
600 people at any one time in the church who wept bitterly: truly I bore
the affliction pretty well till I saw and heard such a great and general
lamentation amongst my neighbours. And such a sad and mournful tone
through the whole church (I thought then my heart would have broke
thinking whereby I might easily perceive my loss was far greater than I
could imagine. To lose him who though but 14 years old had found so true
and general a resentment at his grave by all his neighbours: - O dear
Cousin by how much I saw he had gained in the affection of the people by
so much it renewed my griefs and made them seem even unsupportable that
when I came home I fell sick and kept my bed near three weeks) not of
grief, but it brought upon me an old pain insomuch that all people
thought I should have died. Then in 4 days me youngest son Thomas died,
who was buried at one of the clock, as the former, with many hundreds
that met him. Then my wife sent her two sons that yet were, to the
parsonage house a mile and a half from us where it pleased God after
some 5 or 6 days to visit my son Fenwick with the small pox and after 4
days he died and I buried him at another church in a burial place
belonging to Bank Hall." |
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MOORE DEEDS, 902, LIVERPOOL RECORD
OFFICE |
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