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Broomcorn was a significant crop in the Connecticut River Valley for about fifty years in the 19th century as farmers looked for alternatives to the beef cattle business. Dennis (1778-1842) and Baxter (1793-1862) Stebbins of Deerfield, Massachusetts, were in the business of manufacturing brooms. Dennis, on Lot 39, had a broom shop behind his house. Mr. Morton, the writer of the letter offers to take the Stebbinses' brooms to sell in New York City. It seems he has done business with them before and now needs a way to pay his debts.

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