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In this 18th century letter written by twenty-six-year-old Justin Hitchcock (1752-1822) to the parents of twenty-two-year-old Mercy Hoyt (1756-1834), he follows the custom of the time and asks their permission to continue seeing her. Hitchcock explains that he is seeking "a partner in this life" and, although would not plan to marry during [Revolutionary] war time ("whilst our public affairs are in so unhappy a situation") or until he is financially more secure, he asks for their blessing for the future. The couple was married nineteen months later on November 25, 1779.

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