Boston to Barbados, 1651. Folded letter written and addressed in Secretary's hand (a common form of writing in the 17th century), datelined "Boston Aprill 15th 1651", written by Samuel Maverick and addressed to his son, Nathaniel Maverick, at Barbados, writer's note at bottom "Mr. F[erncase?] I pray be carefull of this letter, if you stay two morrow, I shall bring you some other papers, yours Sam Mavericke", letter discusses business and trade relating to white sugar and cotton, also refers to Capt. Briggs and his second payment, sender's manuscript "P" at top )"Par"), manuscript notation at upper right of address panel appears to read "No. II", manuscript "No. 2" on top flap refers to the number in the correspondence, docketed on one flap "two from Sam. Maverick to his son Nathaniel April 15th 1651, acknowledged in our court duty and recorded June 25, 1653", opened for display, some overall soiling, accompanied by six additional items either undated or from 1649 and 1652 including two from Samuel to Nathaniel, as well as 1660 summary of court documents in Barbados, including one undated with docketing "Mr. Maverick letter of instructions to his sonne to sell Noddles Island", the 1649-docketed two-page letter contains details of contract between Samuel Maverick and Capt. Briggs

VERY FINE. AS FAR AS WE CAN DETERMINE AFTER CONSULTING EXPERTS IN COLONIAL MAIL -- AND PERTAINING ONLY TO MATERIAL OUTSIDE OF ARCHIVES -- THIS IS THE EARLIEST LETTER DATELINED AT BOSTON AND THE EARLIEST LETTER TO BARBADOS. THE ACCOMPANYING CORRESPONDENCE IS RELATED TO CLAIMS OF OWNERSHIP OF NODDLE'S ISLAND IN EAST BOSTON.

The writer, Samuel Maverick, came to America in 1624 and settled Winnisimet. In 1628 he married Amias, the widow of David Thompson, and inherited all of their land, which included Noddle's (Nottell's) Island -- the land has since been filled in and is the location of Logan Airport. By 1629 Maverick was firmly established on Noddle's Island (with a fortified mansion and artillery), a year before John Winthrop's fleet entered Massachusetts Bay and established Boston. In 1633 he received a formal grant from the Puritans to settle Noddle's Island in exchange for a yearly payment. A staunch Royalist, he also held patents for land in Maine. In 1635 he went to Virginia and remained there for about a year, where he took delivery of a 40-ton vessel made in Barbados. In 1640 he received a grant of 600 acres in Boston and 400 acres in Braintree. Maverick Square in Boston is named for him. His son Nathaniel was born in 1630 in Massachusetts. After 1656 Nathaniel settled in Barbados full time, where he was a planter and merchant at St. Lucy's.

According to the book A Colonial History of East Boston, in 1648 a petition to King Charles was drawn up by Samuel Maverick and others requesting several liberties they did not then enjoy, including baptizing children. The petition was discovered by the Massachusetts government, and the petitioners were imprisoned. A fine of £150 sterling was imposed on Maverick, who resolved not to pay. In anticipation of a seizure of Noddle's Island to satisfy the fine, Samuel deeded the island to his eldest son Nathaniel, but he kept the paperwork hidden. Nathaniel somehow got knowledge of the deed and "By a craft Wile contrary to his Father's knowledge gott the deed into his custody." On July 26, 1650, Samuel, his wife and Nathaniel sold Noddle's Island to Capt. George Briggs of Barbados. The following day Capt. Briggs conveyed the island to Nathaniel Maverick, and immediately after (that same day) Nathaniel transferred it to Colonel John Burch in Barbados. At this point differences arose, and Samuel claimed possession of the island on the grounds that certain conditions of sale had been broken. Lawsuits were filed in several courts, and in 1653 the sale of the island was completed after the transfer of £700 of sugar delivered to a store house in Barbados. The correspondence offered here is from court papers relating to the fulfillment of the contract. Included is an inventory of 16 items, signed by Edward Winslow in the 1660's, as are five of the items on the list.

In consultations with Colonial mail and Boston Postal History experts, we found no recorded examples in private hands of a Boston dateline written prior to the 1680's. Theodore Proud's book on Barbados records the earliest outbound mail from Barbados as 1657 and the earliest inbound mail as a 1663 letter from the King of England.

By November 5, 1639, the post office for the collection of mail was established in Boston by order of the General Court of Massachusetts. On November 4, 1646, Richard Fairbanks was designated postmaster. No examples of markings from the Fairbanks post office have been discovered, so we cannot determine if the marking at upper right was applied by Fairbanks or anyone else connected to the fledgling colonial postal system. It appears to read "No. II", which is the letter number annotated on the back.

P.F. certificate 199229, which states "It is a genuine usage from Boston Massachusetts" no longer accompanies. Accompanied by copy of A Colonial History of Boston by Victor F Casaburi, which thoroughly describes the events.

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