Roxbury, Jan. 1st, 1646

My dear little Grandson,

I wrote you on the 9th ultimo, and promised you that I would write you a series of letters, containing an account of my life, from my earliest childhood. Now this being your birth day, it appears to be a very proper time  for me to commence my history. So, after wishing you, very many happy returns of this eventful day; and a great many happy New Years, to your mother, father, sister and brother I will begin my story --

I was born in Gloucester, Cape Ann, in the county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, on the 7th day of March, 1784. My Father, John Osborne Sargent commanded a vessel in the Merchant service, in the West India trade, he was the son of Epes Sargent Esq., a gentleman of family and reputation, not rich, but an honourable upright man, and very highly respected. My Mother's name was Lydia, a daughter of Colo. Joseph Foster, he too, was an honourable, upright man, respected by all that knew him, was noted for his great resolution and energy of character, which he made manifest, In several instances, during the struggle, for the Independence of these United States; the beloved country, in which we now dwell, so quietly, and happy; for which great blessing, we must ever be grateful to God, the giver of all good, and never cease to remember with gratitude, our forefathers, that achieved this inestimable blessing -- At the age of of two years, I had the great misfortune to lose my mother; there were 3 of us children now left, without a mother's care, at an age, when a mother is most needed: my oldest sister Amelia Bernard was about four years older than I, and my youngest sister, Frances, was about two years older. Of my mother, I have no recollection, being too young at the time of her death to remember anything about her, she was a beautiful, and very lovely woman, highly respected and esteemed by every one that knew her -- We were now all left in the care of a most excellent woman, Mrs. Odell. She had been brought up in my Grandmother Sargent's family, and being of a quiet, kind disposition, she always took a lively interest in us children, and I may add here, that interest for us, continued to the latest period of her life; and she lived to a good Old age, and died greatly lamented, by every one that knew he r-- She had the care of my father's house, and of us children, until his death, which took place about three years after my mother's; so, at the age of five, I was left without either Father or Mother. On the death of my Father, we (all three of us), my sisters and myself, went to live at our Grandfather Foster's == I have but a faint recollection of my father: the day he died, I have a very vivid recollection of, but child as I then was, grief doubtless gave place to the joys incident to children so young. My sister, no doubt, felt our loss more keenly, being several years older than myself - My Father has always been represented to me, as a man greatly beloved, and highly respected, he lived in hard times, and never had much opportunity to acquire property, and consequently died poo r-- You now find me an orphan boy, living with my Grandfather. My Grandmother-in-law was very kind to me, and took as much care of me, and my sisters, as she could under all circumstances. Yet we could not help feeling the want of a mother's care; however, we were everything to each other, and my sisters, being very good and kind, they in a great measure, by their constant care of me supplied the place of a mother - in due time I was sent to school, to an old lady, to teach me my letters &c. I do not think however that I made very rapid progress in learning, the schools were not so good in those days. as they are now. At the age of about nine, I was sent to a man's school, to learn to write, the master's name was Rogers, a descendant from the martyr, John Rogers, that was burnt in Smithfield, and I verily thought he would have made a martyr of me; the first day I went to school he furnished me with pen, ink and paper, set me a copy of strokes, pot-hook and trammels, and without teaching me how to hold my pen, ordered me to write my copy; well, I went to work and did the best I could, filled my paper with all sorts of queer looking things, blotted my paper very much, and then being called for, took my copy up to my master; and what do you suppose he did to me? I will tell you he Called me a careless blockhead told me to hold out my hand, which I was compelled to do, and received a severe ferruling on my bare hand, which nearly blistered it; I was then ordered back to my seat, and without any instruction, ordered to try again, which I did, and with no better success, and how I finally learned to write, I am sure I cannot tell; this was the method of learning boys to write in those days, they have a better way now -- I went finally from that school to a better one, where I finished my education, such as it was, and at the age of fourteen, left school altogether -- During the time I lived with my Grandfather I had to work hard, he was an industrious man, and would suffer no idlers about him, I had however as much time for play, probably, as was necessary, and have no great reason to complain: Yet, I often thought should be much happier, if I had a Father, and Mother, to care for me, encourage me, and cheer me, through the days of my childhood -- Now having arrived at the age of fifteen it became necessary for me to fix my mind upon some occupation, whereby I might obtain a living, and a respectable standing in society; in this, to me, at that time, there was but little choice, being born, and thus far brought up, upon a small promontory nearly surrounded by the Ocean and being accustomed to the almost incessant roar of the billows dashing upon the rockbound coast, my thoughts, almost instinctively turned seaward. At this time an opportunity presented for me to procure a berth as cabin boy, on board a ship then fitting out in Boston for China, the Capt. being an acquaintance of our family, and the Chief Mate being a cousin of mine, my Grandfather consented to my going, and took measures to engage the situation for me, the ship was to sail in a few weeks, and now you may imagine me making preparations for my departure -- The first thing to be provided was a "sailor's chest", to contain all my worldly goods, consisting of a good quantity of clothing suitable for such a voyage; there was what is called a till to the chest, this is a little apartment in one end, used for the purpose of containing sundry little articles, such as a sailor's palm and needles, mailing spikes, fids, sail hooks, twine, palm irons, flints, steel tinder-box and tinder, matches, and a roll of brimstone to make matches with -- so much for the till; under the till was a work-bag containing needles, pins, thimbles, tape, thread, buttons, scissors &c. in short everything useful, for mending clothes; so you see, I was well fitted with all things useful; in addition to what I have named, I had books, paper, quills, ink and wafers, so that I had no excuse for not writing home, whenever an opportunity presented -- My sisters made me a quantity of hard gingerbread, and I made me a little box to put it in my chest to regale myself with, upon the mighty deep, where there are more "kicks than coppers", and where coppers will not buy cake; well, now I am all ready, and the time has arrived for me to take my departure from all that is dear to me, -- this you may depend, required a stout heart, and a firm resolve -- Now picture to yourself a cold but clear morning, in the month of February, the ground nearly covered with snow, a coach badly provided with the necessary means of making passengers comfortable, drawn up to the front door of our house, the driver blowing his fingers to keep them warm, engaged strapping on the sailor's little red chest, and now the little sailor himself, taking leave of his sisters at the threshold of the door; and now he enters the coach, the door is closed, he waves a last adieu, and the coach rolls rapidly upon its destined way -- After a cold and cheerless ride, I arrived in Boston, quite late in the afternoon, found the ship and went on board, and the day following took my station as  cabin boy, of the ship Eliza, belonging to Francis Amory Esq., commanded by James Odell - super cargo John Waters Esq. First mate, Charles Lenox Sargent, second mate, Gilbert Gardner, with a crew and petty officers, amounting to about thirty in number; the ship was three hundred tons burthens, and mounted eighteen guns, to protect us from French cruisers, and pirates, that infested the straits we had to pass through, to reach the China Seas; and in those seas -- On the 6th day of March 1799 we set sail from Boston bound to Canton. I was very seasick soon after we got into rough water and as the weather was very bad for the first ten days, during which time we had experienced more than one violent gale of wind, my sickness continued: after that time, I began to get a little accustomed to a sea life, my spirits revived and I began to think, I should finally have sufficient strength, to endure all the hardships incident to a sailor's life. Having now been at sea about twenty days, and seen nothing to interrupt the monotony of the scenery around us, I heard the cheering sound of "sail ho!" (this proclamation means a vessel in sight), it was early in the morning, and I hastened upon deck to take a look at the strange sail, to get a better view, I thought I would venture up the shrouds, which I did, and had a fair sight of the ship, but I had to pay dearly for my temerity, for being yet unaccustomed to the roll of the ship, in coming down, I fell upon deck, and at the time thought I had nearly, or quite, got my death blow, but as it proved, I was not essentially hurt, and probably learnt a lesson by that fall, that many times afterwards saved my life-- The ship, we came up with; she proved to be the Olive Branch, from the Cape of Good Hope, bound to the United States, what part, I have now forgotten, we requested the Captain to report the “Ship Eliza“ all well”, and passed on our way.-- In the thirtieth day after we left Boston, land was seen, which proved to be St. Antonio, one of the Cape de Verd Islands, it being the first foreign land I had ever seen, I viewed it with intense interest, as we sailed along; it is a high bluff Island; we were at such a distance from it as we passed, that I had no opportunity of noting anything particularly remarkable about it. We now ran pleasantly along through variable winds, trade winds, now and then encountering squalls, and sometimes calms; crossed the Equator; when the old fashioned custom of shaving those on board, that had never crossed it before, took place, a description of which, I will now give you -- At the time appointed for performing the ceremony, the decks are all cleared up, (the Capt. having previously given notice at 12 o'clock that by observation, the ship was in South Latitude, and had consequently crossed the equinoctial line) and after dinner, that part of the crew that had to pay the penalty of crossing the Equator, ordered below decks, and the hatches barred down. And now they being all safe below, preparations are made for receiving on board "Old Neptune"; so, one of the ugliest and most waggish of the crew was selected, to represent the God of the seas, and arrayed in a suitable costume for the occasion -- Another was dressed to represent the wife of Old Neptune, and another to officiate as barber for the occasion. Another preparation was, to have a large hogshead filled with water, place alongside of the long boat, with a board across it, for the victim to sit upon during the process of shaving, and on top of the long boat directly over the hogshead of water, a large tub filled with water was placed; a bucket filled with tar, grease,&c. &c. for lather, and a brush was provided, with an iron hoop for a razor, for the use of the barber; all these arrangements being made, a man was sent out on the end of the jib boom to hail the ship, and enquire if any of old Neptune's children were on board, and being answered in the affirmative, he requested the Capt. to back his main top sail, and permit him to come on poard, this was accordingly done; and now commences the scene; a gun carriage was fitted up for old Neptune to ride upon, which he mounted as soon as he came up on the bows of the ship, and was hauled aft by the sailors, where he had an interview with the Capt., and ordered him, to bring forward each of his children to be shaved, and receive the necessary advice, and instruction, in order that they may be initiated in due form, as members of his extensive family -- I think there were as many as twelve to g€o through the operation at this time, they were brought forward one at a time, seated upon the board provided for them, on the top of the hogshead of water, and the tubfull [sic] poured over their heads -- I was the last victime brought forward, but the sailors all having a friendly feeling towards me, I was not so harshly treated as the rest were -—- After this operation was gone through with, each one was taken separately to the pump, where he was made to run his arm down up to the shoulder, and take sundry salt water oaths -- All this having been gone through with, a general dashing of  water commenced, and no one on deck escaped a drenching -- We had a passenger on board, (Sullivan Door[sic], then a young man, and since the father of the celebrated Govenor [sic] Dorr, that made so much noise in the little State of Rhode Island), he thought to escape a ducking, and stood in the companion way, grinning at the sport, when the Mate let him have a bucket of water in his face, that sent him dripping, and whining below - Now, after an afternoon of merriment and confusion, all was quiet, some more quiet than they ought to be, from too free a use of the bottle - This pernicious custom which I have been describing, is now done away with, such frolics are too apt to be carried to excess; and often were, no doubt.- A better state of things now prevails, seamen are now, more temperate and well behaved -- Having now crossed the equator, we made the best of our way along, towards the Cape of Good Hope, in approaching which, the weather became stormy, and comparatively cold; in passing the Cape, we met with innumerable birds, among which were the Albatross, a very large sea bird, und large quantities of Cape Pigeons, these are likewise a sea bird, about the size of our doves, or house pidgeons, and resembling them in appearance; we used to catch a great many of them with hook and line, they are not very palatable, but will do to eat, in the absence of better food -- after passing the Cape, nothing very remarkable happened, we were in continual alarm, lest we should be overtaken by an enemy, and captured; and on the appearance of every sail, all hands were called to quarters, and the ship prepared for battle, yet as good luck would have it, we never encountered a hostile foe. After quite a long passage we arrived in the Straits of Malacca, by which passage, our Captain had determined to enter the China Seas, instead of the shorter route, through the Straits of Sunday, thereby avoiding the french cruisers, said to be hovering in, and about the Island Java.-- Being short of water, and fresh provisions, we stopped at the Port of Malacca, to obtain a supply, and there I first had a taste of the delicious fruits of that climate, which were highly grateful to me, after being deprived for so long a time of everything of the kind --  As soon as we anchored in the harbour of Malacca, we were surrounded with boats from the shore, loaded with fruits, fowls, pigs, vegetables, coffee, sago, nutmegs, mace, pepper, sugar, rice, canes, sugar cane and many other things - such as birds, monkeys, babboons, &c. &c. -- The fruits were oranges, limes, pineapples, mangustines, guavas, cocoa nuts, and many other kinds, that I have forgotten the names of -- Our stay in Malacca was short, just long enough to procure the necessary refreshments, and then, we again set sail, and proceeded on our.way, through the straits of Singapore into the China sea; in passing these straits, we were continually surrounded by piratical vessels, called proas, but they soon found, that our ship was well prepared for battle; and very wisely kept at a respectful distance -- After quite a long passage through the straits and through the China seas, we arrived at Macao where we obtained a Pilot to take the ship to her anchorage at Wampoo, the place where all ships lie, some eighteen, or twenty miles from Canton. Our Capt. and super cargo went up to Canton in the ship's barge, manned with a fine looking set of lads, all in uniform fitted for the occasion, and making a very handsome display: a handsome awning was spread over the boat, and over all, waved the glorious stars, and stripes -- Now having skimmed pretty rapidly along and brought the good ship Eliza in safety to her port of destination, you will want to Know, I presume, how I have been occupied during the voyage thus far; how I like the seas, &c. &c. -- Well, I will endeavor to tell you -- Being the youngest on board, that is "Cabin boy", and being at the beck and call, both night and day, of the Captain and Officers, my task was not a very easy one, yet I always found a pleasure in performing, with alacrity, anything I was called upon to do, and by that means secured the approbation, and kind treatment of every one on board -- In this place it may not be amiss for me to remind you, of the folly of saying I can't do this, and I cant do that, when your Father or Mother wish you to do something, that perhaps, at the time is not particularly agreeable to do, or that you would rather avoid doing altogether, or that may appear difficult to accomplish: rather say, my dear Father, or Mother, I will try, and if any boy of my size and age can do it I think I can; by taking this course, in your way through life you can do wonders, and in after life, look back with satisfaction, and wonder, that you have been able to do so much -- As I Was determined to make a sailor of myself, it was rather hard for me to be confined to the duty of waiting upon the Cabin. I was very much disposed, to mix with the crew, not to learn of their vices, but to gain a knowledge of seamanship; I soon accustomed myself to going aloft, and I well remember the first time I was ordered aloft, in a dark squally hight, to furl the mizen top gallant sail; it is true, I mounted aloft with fear that I should not succeed in what I was ordered to do, yet I was determined to try, and after struggling with the wind, that took the sail away from me as fast as I rolled it up, by dint of perseverance, succeeded in rolling up, and making fast the sail, and having once succeeded, I was ever after, able to manage it, or any other light sail, that I was called upon to take care of -- The duty of going aloft to “hand and reef", in a short time, became a pleasure to me, and the sound of the boatswain's "call" and his hoarse voice, calling all hands to reef topsails, which had been rather a terrific sound, was no longer unpleasant to my ear. I always joyfully obeyed the summons and eagerly pressed forward to do my part, and generally succeeded the first on the yard, when a topsail was to be reefed This willingness to do all that I was able to do, proved of great advantage to me, both with the officers and seamen, I was looked upon as a good bright lad, that had all the courage, and energy in him, necessary to make a good seaman, and I was consequently treated, as I think I deserved to be, more like a very clever young man, than a little “Cabin boy"-- The Mate of the ship was very kind to me and instructed me in the art of navigation; this Was a great advantage to me, as it afforded me the means of qualifying myself for an officer of a ship; this instruction he gave me, while we were lying in Wampoo, waiting for Cargo -- So you see, taking all things together, I had little or nothing to complain of --

You now, probably, want to hear something about the people; manners, Customs, &c. of the inhabitants of this region; on this subject, as my story must necessarily be a long one, I shall touch but lightly, and for further information, refer you to books on the subject, that your good father will procure for you, as soon as you are able to read and understand them -- The first strange faces, that I saw, were in Malacca, these were principally Malays, they were of a colour resembling our Native Indians, which you have doubtless seen, and were very much 1ike them in appearance, their costume was very loose, white, cotton trowsers, that came down to the knees, a kind of scarf, or sash, that they generally wore about the waist, this was of variegated colours, the texture, of silk, and cotton, woven quite tastefully, these scarfs were generally quite long, one end of which was frequently thrown carelessly over the shoulder; on the head they wear a turban, generally of the same materials as the scarf; in their belt appeared a short dirk, or sword, called a crep; without this weapon of war, I never saw a Malay -- They chew beetle nut, and chenan, this with young beginners, first turns their teeth a blood red, afterwards  they become black, and have I think, a very disgusting appearance -- In religion they are Mahometans; as our stay was very short in Malacca, I, of course had at that time, but little acquaintance with them -- In the course of my history, I shall probably have something more, to say about these people. On our arrival at Macoa I had my first sight of China, and the people of China, which to me was a novelty, that has never been obliterated from the tablet of my memory -- Soon after we cast anchor, we were surrounded with boats, I was going to say from the shore, but this was hardly the case, as the boats contained whole families, that had no other habitation; they lived by fishing, and seldom went on shore, except to barter their fish for rice, which is their chief subsistance -- Although they appeared extremely poor they were cheerful, and happy -- on our way up the river Tigress to Wampoo, a great many boats came alongside with washwomen on board, to engage the washing during the time the ship stays in Wampoo, this they do very cheap, I paid only half a doliar for my washing for more than two months -- These women are never allowed to come on board ship, the laws of China on this subject, are extremely severe, fo a breach of which, the penalty would be death -- This must suffice for my first letter, if my health and strength is spared me, I will continue my story in another letter soon --  Most truly your affectionate Grandfather --

E. S.