Letters from Timothy Boutelle, 1801-1807 Digital

Contains correspondence from Timothy Boutelle to Lemuel Shaw, dated 1801-1807, regarding U.S. postal laws and other legal topics; gaps in their correspondence; and mutual friend and classmate, Timothy Flint, who had become a minister. In 1803, Boutelle moved from Leominster to Waterville, Maine (then Massachusetts), which had been incorporated as a town in June 1802, and he writes that he believes that Waterville may become a seat of government, and provides details about his law office, the local library, and the natural surroundings. He also voices dissatisfaction with both his professional and social prospects in Maine, and writes that he plans to apply to practice law in Worcester County, Massachusetts, but has also given thought to moving to a western state. In the spring of 1804, Boutelle briefly returned to Leominster, where he rejoined Abijah Bigelow’s office, and he writes to Shaw about his hopes of gaining admission to the bar in Worcester County. After he was admitted in September, he returned Maine. His letters further comment on Shaw’s contemplated move from Boston to practice law in Barnstable, and “grievous” behavior of local sheriff’s deputies in Waterville. The last letter, dated July 19, 1807, refers to an ongoing legal action brought by Shaw, and Boutelle’s involvement, and the conflict between Great Britain and America over Royal Navy sailors deserting ships that were blockading French vessels in the Chesapeake Bay. “If the Chesapeake business ends only in what many confidently expect, a predatory war on the high seas, it will prove in no small degree injurious to me as I have some property afloat which will probably fall sacrifice,” he writes; three days later, the battle known as the Chesapeake-Leopard affair between British warship HMS Leopard and American frigate USS Chesapeake took place off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia.