a new england prison diary the New Hampshire shopkeeper Timothy InM. Joy t! eabandoned winter ofhis 1812, young family, ›eeing the creditors who threat- ened to imprison him. Within days, he found himself in the Ipswich, Massachusetts, jailhouse, charged with defamation of a prominent politician. During the months of his incarceration, Joy kept the re- markable journal that forms the centerpiece of the microhistory pre- sented in this book. Martin J. Hershock situates Joy’s account in the context of the po- litical, cultural, and economic revolutions of the early nineteenth cen- tury. First and foremost, Joy’s journal recounts a personal, anguished path toward spiritual redemption. It offers a vista into the pugnacious politics of the early American republic and illustrates a common citi- zen’s perspective on partisanship. Signi‹cantly, it also sketches a pro‹le of an unfortunate shopkeeper swept along in the transition to market capitalism. Hershock provides close-up views not only of an ordinary person’s experience of a transformative period but also of a historian at work. In the ‹nal chapter, he discusses the value of diaries as historical sources, the choices he made in telling Joy’s story, alterna- tive interpretations of the diary, and other contexts in which he might have placed Joy’s experiences. The appendix reproduces Joy’s original journal so that readers can develop their own skills using a primary source. martin j. hershock is Associate Provost and Associate Professor of History at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. a new england prison diary ! Slander, Religion, and Markets in Early America Martin J. Hershock the university of michigan press Ann Arbor Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2012 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper 2015 2014 2013 2012 4 3 2 1 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hershock, Martin J., 1962– A New England prison diary : slander, religion, and markets in early America / Martin J. Hershock. p. cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-472-07181-4 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-472-05181-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-472-02852-8 (e-book) 1. Joy, Timothy Meander, 1789–1813. 2. Joy, Timothy Meander, 1789– 1813—Diaries. 3. Prisoners—Massachusetts—Biography. 4. Prisoners— Massachusetts—Diaries. 5. Massachusetts—Social conditions—19th century. 6. Libel and slander—Massachusetts—History—19th century. 7. Pickering, Timothy, 1745–1829—Adversaries. I. Title. hv9468.j69h47 2012 364.9744'5—dc23 [B] 2012011071 contents acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 “A Stranger of Good Address !apteand" Personal 1. Appearance” 11 “The Distracted State of My Affairs” 35 !apte" 2. “If I Spend My Days in Prison I Still Will !apte" 3. Be a Democrat” 57 “Having God for My Friend What More !apte" 4. Do I Want?” 85 “Adieu Ye Damp Solitary Walls” 109 !apte" 5.Diaries, Dead Ends, and Discoveries 125 !apte" 6. Diary of Timothy M. Joy 135 Ap#n$ix. notes 185 bibliography 217 index 227 Illustrations following page 108 acknowledgments The amount of time that has passed between the moment that I ‹rst conceived of this project and its culmination ensures that I have a great many people to thank for helping me at various stages along the way. Most obviously, I am grateful to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan for permission to reprint Timothy Joy’s prison journal as well as for ‹nancial assistance, in the form of a Mark C. Stevens Research Fellowship in 1998, in support of the project. More important still, I am forever indebted to the staff of the library for their always amiable and ef‹cient help. I never tire of visiting the library and of seeing my many friends there. Additional funding sources have been critical to this project as well. In particular, a Faculty Research Grant from Hobart and William Smith Colleges for the academic year 1998–99 enabled me to hire a student assistant to help in verifying an extant transcription of the manuscript and in funding a return visit to the Bentley Library to ‹nish up my research there. Likewise, a Rackham Faculty Research Grant and Fellowship from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Research Grants obtained through the Provost’s Of‹ce, the Of‹ce of Sponsored Research, and the Of‹ce of the Dean of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters at the University of Michigan–Dearborn, as well as a Research Fellowship granted by the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, supported me in my numerous trips east in search of the contextual evidence necessary to reconstruct Timothy Meader Joy’s life and to tell his story. Without this support, this project would not have been possible. I have also had the good fortune of working with a number of won- acknowledgments derful people at the various archives, libraries, and government of‹ces that I visited while trying to track down relevant information. The staff at the Baker Library at Harvard University found a way to make my hurried trip to their cramped temporary facility (the main building was under renovation) both enjoyable and productive. I was also the bene‹ciary of the exceptional level of service extended by the staff of the Probate and Deeds Of‹ces at the Strafford County, New Hamp- shire, county building; by the librarians at the New Hampshire His- torical Society in Concord; and by the archivists at the American An- tiquarian Society. The bulk of the research for this book, however, took place at the New Hampshire State Archives, in the Milne Special Col- lections at the Dimond Library on the campus of the University of New Hampshire in Durham, and in the Phillips Library (a truly un- derappreciated gem) at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massa- chusetts. I cannot say enough about the wonderful staffs of these ‹ne institutions or about how welcome they all made me feel. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the assistance of the volunteer staff at the Durham Historic Association who gladly made their collection available to me and who not as gladly, I am certain, shared a very hot afternoon in a museum temporarily bereft of air-conditioning, an- swering my many questions. Thank you all. A huge thank-you is also due to Melody Herr of the University of Michigan Press. Your belief in this project and in my scholarship has been unwavering, and I am most appreciative of your patience and un›agging support. Like far too many authors, I have taken advantage of your kind generosity and tolerance. I can only hope that the ‹nal product is what you hoped it might be. I remain forever in your debt for all that you have done for me. A great many others deserve recognition for their part in this work. Dr. Claudia Walters eagerly took on the job of creating the accompa- nying maps. Lisa Fasolo Frishman diligently worked to transcribe the text of the journal and, perhaps even more important, provided a new and rather uncertain professor with unceasing encouragement and support. I will never forget what she did for me, and I remain eternally grateful for her continued friendship. I also owe tremendous debts to Elizabeth Zellner and Jennifer Huff, both former students at the Uni- versity of Michigan–Dearborn, for their assistance in untangling Joy’s complex religious thinking. Your insightful suggestions and comments were most helpful. Others, such as Jennifer Reid-Lamb, a truly gifted history teacher, read early drafts of the work and offered very useful viii acknowledgments suggestions. Any errors that made their way into the ‹nal manuscript are by no means a fault of theirs. Thanks go as well to Jamie and Mark Labelle, for their gracious hosting and their interest in my work and for (with the assistance of Jack, their dog) providing me with a story for the ages. I am so pleased that we are family. Dr. Sean Kesterson is owed a thank-you and a cold beer for his assistance in deciphering Timothy Joy’s illness. Additional thanks are due to the students and faculty at Fitchburg State College, where I spoke about an early draft of the book, and to the students— especially Emily Shafer—in my fall 2007 senior seminar on microhis- tory at the University of Michigan–Dearborn, for their thoughtful comments on this work and on my approach to Joy. I hope the ‹nal project re›ects the imprint that you all made on the work. I am especially thankful to the many friends and colleagues who read various drafts of this material, who listened patiently while I talked incessantly about Timothy Joy, and who offered wonderful company and release when I became too consumed with my work. No one could ask for a better set of colleagues than I have at the Univer- sity of Michigan–Dearborn. Cam Amin, Pam Pennock, Gerry Moran, Elaine Clark, Liz Rohan, and Ron Stockton all took an early interest in the project and offered very useful suggestions and advice. Georgina Hickey graciously agreed to ‹ll in for me as department chair so that I could take a sabbatical to write the book.