Margaret Draper's paper was the only one published in Boston during the siege. It had been published without intermission for 72 years. She died in London in 1807, and was included in the confiscation and banishment Act.
LIST OF CONFISCATED ESTATES BELONGING TO MARGARET DRAPER IN SUFFOLK COUNTY AND TO WHOM SOLD.
To Richard Devens, Feb. 7, 1783; Lib. 137, fol. 48; Land and buildings in Boston, Newbury St. W.; heirs of Benjamin Church S. and E., Josiah Waters, Jr. N.
RICHARD CLARKE.
Richard Clarke was the son of Francis Clarke, merchant, a descendant of an old Boston family. Richard graduated at Harvard College in 1729. He and his sons were the consignees of a part of the tea destroyed in Boston by the celebrated "Tea Party" December 1773. In a letter from Messrs. Clarke & Sons to Mr. Abram Dupuis they say: "On the morning of the 2nd inst. about one o'clock, we were roused out of our sleep by a violent knocking at the door of our house, and on looking out of the window we saw (for the moon shone very bright) two men in the courtyard. One of them said he brought us a letter from the country. A servant took the letter from him at the door, the contents of which was as follows:
Richard Clarke & Son:
The Freemen of this Province understand from good authority, that there is a quantity of tea consigned to your house by the East India Company, which is destructive to the happiness of every well wisher to the country. It is therefore expected that you personally appear at Liberty Tree, on Wednesday next, at twelve o'clock at noon day, to make a public resignation of your commission, agreeable to a notification of this day for that purpose.
Fail not upon your peril.
O. C.
"In this you may observe a design to create a public belief that the factors had consented to resign their trust on Wednesday, the 3d inst., on which day we were summoned by the above-mentioned letter, to appear at Liberty Tree at 12 o'clock noon. All the bells of the meeting houses for public worship were set a-ringing at 11 o'clock, and continued ringing till twelve; the town cryer went thro' the town summoning the people to assemble at 'Liberty Tree.' By these methods, and some more secret ones, made use of by the authors of this design, a number of people supposed by some to be about 500, and by others more, were collected by the time and place mentioned in the printed notification.
"They consisted mostly of people of the lowest rank, very few reputable tradesmen, as we are informed, appeared amongst them. The gentlemen who are supposed the designed factors for the East India Company, viz: Mr. Thos. Hutchinson, Mr. Faneuil, Mr. Winslow and Messrs. Clarke, met in the forenoon of the 3rd inst., at the latter's warehouse, the lower end of King street. You may well judge that none of us entertained the least thought of obeying the summons sent us to attend at Liberty Tree. After a consultation amongst ourselves and friends, we judged it best to continue together, and to endeavour, with the assistance of a few friends, to oppose the designs of the mob, if they should come to offer us any insult or injury. And on this occasion we were so happy as to be supported by a number of gentlemen of the first rank. About one o'clock, a large body of people appeared at the head of King Street, and came down to the end, and halted opposite to our warehouse. Nine persons came from them up into our counting room, viz., Mr. Molineux, Mr. Wm. Dennie, Doctor Warren, Dr. Church, Major Barber, Mr. Henderson, Mr. Gabriel Johonnot, Mr. Proctor and Mr. Ezekiel Cheever. Mr. Molineux as speaker of the above Committee, addressed himself to us, and the other gentlemen present, and told us that we had committed an high insult on the people, in refusing to give them that most reasonable satisfaction which had been demanded in the summons which had been sent us, then read a paper proposed by him, to be subscribed by the factors importing, that they solemnly promise that they would not land or pay duty on any tea that should be sent by the East India Company, but they would send back the tea to England in the same bottom, which extravagent demand being firmly refused, and treated with proper contempt by all of us. Mr. Molineux then said that since we had refused their most reasonable demands, we must expect to feel, on our first appearance, the utmost weight of the people's resentment, upon which he and the rest of the committee left our counting room and warehouse, and went to, and mixed, with the multitude that continued before our warehouse. Soon after this the mob having made one or two reverse motions to some distance, we perceived them hastening their pace towards the store, on which we ordered our servant to shut the outward door; but this he could not effect, although assisted by some other persons amongst whom were Nathaniel Hatch, Esq., one of the Justices of the inferior Court for this country, and a Justice of the Peace for the county. This gentleman made all possible exertions to stem the current of the mob, not only by declaring repeatedly, and with a loud voice, that he was a magistrate, and commanded the people, by virtue of his office, and in his Majesty's name, to desist from all riotous proceedings, and to disperse, but also by assisting in person; but the people not only made him a return, of insulting and reproachful words, but prevented his endeavors by force and blows, to get our doors shut, upon which Mr. Hatch, with some other of our friends, retreated to our counting room. Soon after this, the outward doors of the store were taken off their hinges by the mob, and carried to some distance; immediately a number of the mob rushed into the warehouse, and endeavoured to force into the counting room, but as this was in another story, and the staircase leading to it narrow, we, with our friends,—about twenty in number—by some vigorous efforts, prevented their accomplishing their design. The mob appeared in a short time to be dispersed, and after a few more faint attacks, they contented themselves with blocking us up in the store for the space of about an hour and a half, at which time, perceiving that much the greatest part of them were drawn off, and those that remained not formidable, we, with our friends, left the warehouse, walked up the length of King Street together, and then went to our respective homes without any molestation, saving some insulting behavior from a few dispicable persons.
"The night following, a menacing letter was thrust under Mr. Faneuil's door, to be communicated to the other consignees, with a design to intimidate them from executing their trust, and other methods have since been made use of in the public papers and otherwise, for the same purpose."[240]