Letter from F. W. Dancy to Capt William Moody

Date: 10 Sep 1834 [unknown]
Location: Athens, Alabama
Surnames/tags: Dancy Moody

Athens Alabama, Sept. 10th. 1834

Dear Capt.

Yours of the 15th ult. came safe to hand a few days since - it being the first that I have received from you since my return to Alabama; and which I now hasten to answer, hoping that hereafter you will be more prompt in answering my letters, as nothing gives me more pleasure than to hear from one from whom I have received - yet for the past favors I hope I shall not prove ungrateful.

This year has been to me one of the great moments, and circumstances placed me in a situation, which I little expected when we parted. I had settled myself in this place and was moving along pretty smoothly until June when I met with the youngest daughter of your esteemed friend, the late colonel Daniel Mason of the Western District with whom I became an enamored accordingly I addressed her and married her in the town of Jackson Tennessee on 31 July.

I need two trips to the District making in the hole about 600 miles in the heat of summer; so you can see I've been a traveler. I am now again at my old stand in Athens, but have not as yet gone to housekeeping nor do I think I shall until next year, as I expect to spend the coming winter in Kentucky at the medical school in Lexington.

I should return to Philadelphia and visit you on my way but fear the climate would again produced by old disease.

The crops in this country until lately were very promising, but the worm has and is still destroying great quantities of the cotton, so much so that many who suppose they would make thousand or twelve hundred - will not make more than half that amount, though our mutual friend S. B. Sykes who started for your country a few days since will give you a full history of the crops. I think he is much pleased with the country - and hope he may prevail on you to move and settle amongst us.

The people among us are all getting religious and truly happy am I to see it - all I fear is that they will not hang on to that which is right. There is nothing surely which tends more to moralize the race - of men- nothing so well calculated to enforce a salutary laws of our country as true religion -and sorry am I to hear that you were not among the goodly number who as you write me has lately fallen at the foot of the redeemed and also I do regret that I was not found among the number who in our own country had this year taken up at the cross. Remember me very affectionately to Aunt - John moody and Lady. If you will answer this immediately I shall receive it before I start to Kentucky.

Your friend,

F. W. Dancy

Rebecca sent her love to Aunt and yourself.

Addressed to:

Capt, William Moody

Dancy's Store

Northampton cty

N. Carolina

Postmarked: ATHENS AL SEP 13

Postage: 25

Notes

VLR (Virginia Leigh Refo)

This letter and some others were transcribed by my great-aunt, Mary Eulah (Leigh) Hays, "Minnie", daughter of Dr. H.G. Leigh and Martha Alice (Moody) Leigh.

A letter from Dr. Francis W. Dancy (1810-1890) to William Moody. Francis is nephew of William's wife, Mary Mason (Dancy) Moody. He is the son of her half brother, David Mason Dancy. David was one of three children born to Francis Dancy, Sr. and his first wife Sally (Parham) Turner. The other two children were Francis Dancy, Jr. and William Dancy. Mary is one of four children born to second wife, Mary Winfield (Mason) Mason and Francis Dancy, Sr. Mary Mason (Dancy) Moody is referred to as "Aunt". Col. Daniel Mason, father of Rebecca Elizabeth Mason, the author's new wife, was the son of Henry Mason and the same above mentioned Mary Winfield (Mason) Mason Dancy--she was married to her cousin Henry Mason, before she married Francis Dancy, Sr. (see letter # 7). Rebecca's brother was Henry D. Mason, author of that letter.

Not much is known about Capt. William Moody. He appears in 1807 in Northampton Co., NC purchasing the first of many parcels of land. Not long thereafter he married the orphaned daughter of a rich man. He himself became a rich man, with much property and many slaves. His plantation was called "Mount Forest", and among other things, he raised race horses. He represented Northampton Co. in the North Carolina General Assembly as a Representative in 1817 and as a Senator from 1836 until his death in 1839. His parentage is unknown, and a great puzzle to me.

S. B. Sykes is Rev. Simon Burr Sykes (see letter # 20), son of William Sykes and Burchette Lundy (Turner) Sykes, and a friend of Capt. Moody and relative of his wife by marriage. Rev. Sykes was also a relative of his son's, John Mason Moody's, wife, Martha William (Wright) Moody, referred to in this letter as "John Moody and Lady".

Acknowledgement

• Many thanks to cousin Virginia Leigh Refo for transcribing this letter in the early 2000 as well as others in the collection. The originals were donated to the Library of Virginia in 2004 by Liz Edens Vermillion with the help of Virginia Refo [Moody Family Papers, 1750-1881. Accession 40535, Personal Papers Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.]