New Carlisle 22d Nov 1840
My dear Brother

The description you gave
of the weather with you at the date of your
last letter would answer very well for
that which is inflicted upon us at this present.
The last two days have been the most gloomy
& disagreeable of any those I have experienced
for the last six months, rain & sleet, mud
& ice, alternating in agreeable succession, &
highly characteristic of the gloomy month of
November when (according to the French author) the
people of England hang & drown themselves" which
conduct on the part of the English I am
not at present disposed to wonder at.

By a letter which I have just received from
home I learn that the weather during your
visit there was also very unpleasant. This must
have been unfortunate for you as going from
the city quite an object would be the pure
country air, which in good weather alone would
be any better than that at your place of residence

If I could have shared the visit with you
the weather would have made but little difference
with me, as I would willingly be confined to the
house & I presume you enjoyed yourself
notwithstanding the disappointment.

I hope to be able to go East in the Spring. I wish
much to see you all again: of course you would
suppose I must have a strong desire to see my boy
again; two years at his age makes a great change
& I doubt whether I should know him if I met
him unexpectedly, although mother thinks that I
should.
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Samuel Barnard Williams was living in New Carlisle, Ohio, in 1840 when he wrote this letter to his brother Elisha who was in Boston, Massachusetts. The presidential election of 1840 is generally seen as the first modern election, with slogans such as "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", rallies and electioneering by incumbent politicians. Williams refers to "Old Tip"-- a popular nickname for Whig Party candidate William Henry Harrison. In 1840, state offices in Ohio were held by Democrats--the party of Martin Van Buren who was the incumbent president. Williams comments about the heavy spending and electioneering by the state politicians in hopes of the Democratic Party winning the state. He is quite happy with the outcome of the election as the Whig party won both nationally and in Massachusetts where John Davis was elected governor. He mentions that Ohio was the first state to vote because up until 1845, there was no federally set day for the election. States could pick their own dates to choose members of the electoral college and voting was often carried out over several days.

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