"His hypocritical balderdash of self-defence + pretended injuries"

William White Chew was a prolific writer. He wrote notes to himself on scraps of paper, in journals, and in the form of memos. He wrote to family and friends in voluminous letters that he drafted repeatedly, as well as letters to the editor, newspaper articles, and other public communications. His journals contain detailed descriptions of his day to day life, records of family strife, and his deep despair about his life situation.

In his journals from 1843-1844, William White Chew recounts, on a daily basis, his brother Anthony's deteriorating behavior, which was fueled by alcoholism and his family's enabling. William is clearly outraged at the disgrace Anthony is bringing to the family, and more particularly, the effect he has on his parents in their old age. In this entry from 1843, he describes an especially difficult evening when Anthony returns from town drunk with a friend:

"...in violent resentment against me for being better than he, for his being a disgrace to the family + I otherwise, he let out a volley of foul abuse of me before his parents...as if the utter corruption the brandy has filled him with, mind + body + feelings, and the iniquitous career he has led for years from bad to worse, the sins of various kinds + degrees he has committed + continually perpetrates, the indecency + criminality of his presumption tonight in bringing thro'...some vagabond to sleep in his bed with him--as if all these matters were peccadillies!" (p. 92)

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More than any other series in this collection, William White Chew's papers create a clear sketch of his character, his political and moral opinions, and his passions.
In this poem, he laments the love he has for his cousin Mary Bayard, who is already married.

It begins "And dost thou ask, and wilt thou hear / The common story I can tell, / Of early--lasting--gnawing care, / Which sometimes makes this world a hell?"

A later stanza laments, "From round my heart, the wreath of snow, / With which I've made it seem so cold, / The flame thou'lt see within, is meant / Alone to prove to thee the truth / Of feelings doubled, which were sent / To mildew (God knows why) my youth."



His life was lived with passion and drama, and his writings provide us a glimpse into the world he inhabited.

"I am almost bewildered + know not what I write, documents, I have none to send."

Benjamin Chew Jr. was long-time attorney for Richard and Mary Penn. Over the course of many years, Richard Penn's financial situation worsened--for a time, he relied upon his cousin to provide him with financial support, and later, he caused a great rift in the family by seeking compensation for property he felt he was owed by his father's will. He associated with agents who were able to persuade him to become involved in land ventures that were not to his benefit. At the end of his life, he was mired in debt due to his own decisions and his ill health, which made management of his affairs difficult.

In this letter, Mr. Penn's hysteria rises to a boiling point, and he writes to Benjamin Chew, "Your great friendship towards me has been the cause of my death an event which has not yet taken place as you will see, but I hear it will not be long ere it happens. I have been so much vexed perplexed and disappointed in your not enabling Mr. Coates to put in bail for me....I am told this business of attachment might easily have been prevented at the beginning; that was not done and therefore I must suffer."



In the letter following this, Mr. Penn begins to Benjamin Chew, "I am sorry any thing I should have written to you caused any pain to your feelings. I certainly never meant it. You must attribute it to my distress which accumulates every day....For God's sake, do every thing you can to extricate me + if the Francis family will have the Luzerne lands they must in short, I am almost bewildered + I know not what I write, documents, I have none to send...."

Some bewilderment, indeed! There is a very similar kind of exchange between Mary Penn and Benjamin Chew in 1812, a year after Richard Penn's death. Mrs. Penn appointed another attorney to represent her, and then apologized to Benjamin Chew for hurting his feelings, explaining that she did what was necessary, and hoped that it would not hurt their friendship.