Between December 17, 1837, and January 1, 1838, Lucy Williams Hawes and her aunt, Mary D. Taber, wrote 4 letters (11 pages) from Buffalo, New York, about the Canadian rebellions of 1837-1838. Lucy Williams Hawes wrote 2 letters to her father, Richard Williams of New Bedford, Massachusetts (December 29, 1837, and January 1, 1838) and 1 letter to her brother-in-law, Lawrence Grinnell (December 30, 1837). Mary D. Taber and her daughter, also named Mary, wrote one letter to her sister, Rebeckah Smith Williams (December 17, 1837).
The letters pertain to news and rumors about the Canadian rebellions, particularly in the area around Buffalo. Mary Taber related a story about William Lyon Mackenzie, who had come to her home in search of a boat; Taber vowed to assist the rebels' supporters, despite her Quaker beliefs. Taber and Hawes commented on public opinion and on the war's impact on Buffalo citizens. Hawes noted the war preparations of residents, including her husband Samuel, and mentioned the constant flow of people and news around the city. She heard cannon fire from the Niagara River, and reported on the fighting around Navy Island. In her final 2 letters, Hawes wrote an account of the deaths of two civilians who were sleeping onboard the Caroline when it was burned by Canadian royalists. She also reported that a group of men had been washed over Niagara Falls and shared her suspicion that three African Americans had been sent over the falls after being suspected of acts of espionage against American volunteers.
Lucy Ricketson Williams was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on August 2, 1812, the daughter of New Bedford postmaster Richard Williams (1782-1845) and Rebeckah Ricketson Smith (1789-1873), one of the nineteen children of Zerviah Ricketson and Abraham Smith. Lucy Ricketson Williams had 12 siblings: Joseph Ricketson, Eliza Smith, Rebecca Smith (1814-1893), Richard, Zeruah Smith, Samuel Tallman, Eliza Smith, Maria, Sybil Tisdale, Lemuel, George, and Abby Smith. Lucy Ricketson Williams married Samuel Willis Hawes (d. 1882) on June 1, 1835, and they had three children: Rebecca Williams Hawes (b. 1836), Richard Williams Hawes (b. 1837), and Samuel Willis Hawes (1840-1841). Lucy Williams Hawes died on February 4, 1894. Rebecca Smith Williams married Lawrence Grinnell (1811-1893) on October 8, 1835, and they had four children: Frederick, Laura Williams, Mary Russell, and Richard Williams.
Two of Rebeckah Ricketson Smith's sisters married into the Taber family, also of New Bedford. Mary D. Smith (1779-1855) married Daniel W. Taber (1778-1822), and they had four surviving children: Phebe Davis (b. 1805), Elizabeth Smith (b. 1808), Mary Russell (b. 1813), and William Daniel (1818-1894).
