9 April 1703

Dear Reader,

My Name is Isabella Anne Kyngeston. I was born in Ipswich, England on the 16th of March, 1616. As of currently, I have reached my 58th year of age, and am still thriving. This letter is to be addressing my former life as an indentured servant. Although, before I can address my previous life, I must inform you of how I got to be what I was. In England, I lived with my Father, Mother, and my 6 younger siblings. My youngest brother, Elijah, suffered a grave disease of which no doctor could diagnose. Most of all our family profits went to Elijah's well being. Because of this, we lived in poverty, so it was hard to find work. My father was a blacksmith, but his trade wasn’t gaining enough profits to stabilize our family. In England, we lived somewhere between the Middle and Lower classes. My mother and father planned for me to depart from England once I reached the age of 19. They wanted to head to the New World themselves, but their prime had expired. They planned for me to travel to the Americas as an indentured servant, which then I would work off my debt, find a husband, and gain enough money to bring my siblings (except for Elijah) to the Americas. Once my brothers and sisters were in the Americas, and had a stabilized life of their own, we were all to send a certain amount of money annually to my father, mother, and Elijah. My father arranged for me to be indebted to the Middleton Family, a very wealthy family who were headed for the Americas. This is the point as to when my story begins.

I left England from the Humber ports of Hull and Grimsby on the 5th of July, 1635. I traveled with the Middleton family, of whom the father and mother were Mrs. Caroline Maire Middleton and Sir Charles Henry Middleton IV. The Middleton children consisted of Charles Henry Middleton V, William H. Middleton, Mary Cecile Middleton, Winston Robert Middleton II, Alexandra Jane Middleton, Cathorine Elizabeth Middleton, Samual Lee Middleton, and Jeramiah John Middleton, the youngest. Accompanying us on the voyage were two other indentured servants also indebted to the Middletons. Their names were Henry Ambrose and Sarah Brampton. Sarah was the closest to my age, so we immediately became friends. Henry was indebted to the Middletons for a total of three years, considering he paid almost half of the money for his trip. Sarah was indebted for the same amount of time as I, a total of five years and 31 days. The trip was agonizing and long. We were imprisoned on that raft for a total of 68 days. There were two storms that threatened the ship's voyage, but remarkably, the boat survived. Most to everyone that comes to mind survived the journey, with most just attaining sea sickness.

The Middletons owned 30 acres of land in Hampton, Virgina. They had a beautiful three story Colonial house with a wraparound porch, a red door, and the prettiest shade of blue on the shutters. The main part of the house was painted off white. There were huge rose bushes in front of the windows. As I walked in the foyer, I stood, frozen in awe. There was a grand staircase, then to the left of it was the living room, with a crystal chandelier that hung above a flower pattern couch and a lounge chair. The walls were sky blue, with a pink rose pattern. To the right of the staircase was the Family room, with a stone fireplace and three chairs. Beyond the staircase was the dining room, the table could hold 8 people, and was made of beautiful wood. To the right of the dining room was the kitchen, although it was hidden from the public eye. In the kitchen were racks on racks of dishes and silverware, there were pots and pans, a fire burner for the food, and the pantry was full of food that could last years. There was a small table in the back for the servants to eat at. In the far back of the house was the master bedroom, where the Master and Mrs. slept. Next door to the master bedroom was the office, where Mr. Middleton (of which he wanted us to call him by) worked. If you haven’t already guessed, Mr. Middleton was a well known lawyer and detective, who made a great deal of money. The second story housed the childrens rooms. Charles, the eldest, got his own room, the children who shared rooms were William and Winston, Mary and Alexandra, Jane and Cathorine, and Samual and Jeremiah. There was a playroom for the younger children and a study room for the older children. My housing quarters were located on the third floor. I shared a room with Sarah, Henry was across the hall. The rest of the room on the third floor was used as a storage space. Mine and Sarah's room had two mats on the floor with pillows stuffed with used cloth. There was one quilt to each cot to keep us warm when the winters came. Two candles were supplied to us that were replaced every five months, so we had to use our light sparingly. The slaves didn’t share the attic with us, they stayed in the two slave houses located on the property. The Middletons owned a total of 9 slaves. There were two families of them, The Williams family and the Johnson Family. The Williams consisted of Mr. Abel Williams, Mrs. Martha Williams, Esther Williams, Alonzo Williams, and Abraham Williams. Those in the Johnson family were Mr. Isaiah Johnson, Mrs. Flora Johnson, Jonah Johnson, and Naomi Johnson. They were kind people, just born with a slight pigmentation of skin that turned their lives upside down. The Indentured Servants and the slaves didn’t assosiate with each other often, but when we did, the conversation was weighted and heavy. I believe this is due to the fact that we were to be freed at some point, but they would never get that chance.

As an Indentured servant, life wasn’t very easy. I am not implying that we weren’t better off than others, I am merely saying that everyone has their ripples in life. We were considered lower class, so we weren’t free, but we weren’t imprisoned. We were allowed to have access to the legal system, and have entitlement to our own land, but most did not have enough money for such things. We were not able to marry without the master's consent, and we could be bought and sold, like slaves. While working for the Middletons, I was given a task list and a schedule. I was to be on schedule every day, or there would be a punishment. In the mornings Sarah and I awoke at the break of dawn and made a large feast for breakfast. Breakfast was to be served at precisely seven every morning. If it was not served at that precise time, we would be punished. After serving breakfast, we tidied up the foyer by eight in the morning. Once the pendulum clock struck eight, we were to prepare the boys for school. The boys headed off to school at nine, before midday. Once the foyer was cleaned, we went and cleaned the upper floors. The second and third floors were to be cleaned by ten in the morning. Once the house had been cleaned, Sarah and I headed outside to prune the bushes and take care of the animals. Sarah would gather the eggs and I would milk Betsie, the cow. We would then churn part of the milk into butter and keep the other half to drink at breakfast time. Sarah and I would walk to the closest river for water. We would bring all of this into the house to make lunch. We were to get all this done by noon time. We would then serve lunch. Which then we would eat once Mr. Middleton and company finished their lunch. The servants would get the leftovers, then Sarah and I would bring the scraps to the slaves on the other side of the property. We were to be back to the house by half of the 12th hour. The slaves all worked the land for three -quarters of the day, then the women would tend to their youngest children. The men worked the fields by day, and often had sleepless nights, considering the slaves weren’t provided the materials we were. Once Sarah and I delivered the food to the Williams and the Johnsons, we would head back up to the house and begin helping Mrs. Middleton and the girls with the sewing. We would complete the sewing for the day by one, post meridiem. Once the sewing was completed, Sarah and I would head out to the fields and help Henry with his work until four after midday. We were to be at the house by four after midday, as that was the time that the boys returned home. I would prepare the boys a snack and then begin work on supper. Sarah would often have me cover for her, as she often snuck back to the fields to visit with Henry at this time. I would then complete supper and wait for Sarah's arrival. We were expected to bring the food out to the dining room at exactly 6, post meridiem. The Middleton Family would sit down and eat, then give us the leftovers, to which I saved a roll each night for Naomi Johnson, who had a special place in my heart after she gave me her food when I once got punished for not obeying the schedule. We would deliver the food to the slaves and had to be back by half of the 19th hour. Once we returned, we were to get the children in bed and get ourselves prepared for the night. Henry usually came back to the house by the 21st hour. Sarah and I were to be in bed by the 10th hour past noon. This was a usual day in our lives.

I will now recall to you some of my past memories from being an indentured servant. There was a time, I had just recently turned 20, and was in my second year of service when a young man caught my eye. He couldn’t have been more than 23 and had the brightest eyes in all of Virgina, and maybe even the world itself. I believe that it was those eyes that got me so transfixed with him. I was in the middle of running an errand for Mrs. Middleton, when I saw him gallop past on his white steed. He looked down upon me and when our eyes connected, I felt a sense of belonging deep within my heart, once I looked into them it felt like I had reached the point of no return. That man's name was Samual John Kyngeston, the man destined to be my husband. Along with the good that I acquired, there was also the bad. Once, in my fourth year of service, I was in the middle of sneaking Naomi the bread, when Mr. Middleton walked up behind me. Once I saw him, I knew I had been caught. He grabbed me by the ear and yanked me away from Naomi. He pulled me along, shouting obscenities at my face. The only thing I could make out of his spiel was that I had broken two rules, I had given my food to one of the slaves, which in that moment, I had been late on putting the children to bed. Mr. Middleton pulled me around to the barn where he pulled out his whip, and did the unthinkable. All I could feel were the first three hits, as I cried out in agony for him to stop but he didn’t put his whip down for what seemed like to be an eternity. It hurt like crazy but then I went numb, then all went dark. The day after, I awoke on the barn floor with a slight case of frostbite and the worst back pains of my life. My garments were bloodstained, but thankfully Sarah found me and lent me her clothes. For the next three days, it was a struggle for me to move, let alone get any work done. By the time I could think clearly again, I had discovered that I had a total of 13 slashes down my back.

One story that pains me to recall, but I must recall, is one of my dear friends; Henry and Sarah. One night, I had just finished putting the Children to bed when I heard a loud treacherous scream come from outside the house. I rushed out, as fast as my legs could carry me to find the source. I thought it might have been someone who saw an animal, but it was far worse. There, just in front of me was Henry, flat on his back, with Sarah knelt over him. Henry was lying in a pool of blood the color of Amaryllis, and Sarah ws crying so hard I thought she might have forgotten how to breathe. I rushed over to them, praying, in hopes our Lord would hear my plea that Henry had not died. By this time, Sarah had Henry’s head placed on her lap, mumbling. She looked at the heavens in search of an answer, but none was given. Then Henry turned and looked at Sarah, and spoke his final words of departure, Henry choked out, “My dearest Sarah, I wish I didn’t have to leave you so soon, just know that I will love you always and forever.” Before Sarah could speak, Henry was gone. Looking down I was a red Amaryllis flower just starting to bloom next to Henry. Sarah was not the same after that, she closed herself off from the world, and I hope that now she has found content in her life. That experience has forever haunted me. If you are wondering how Henry died, here is what happened; two young men, rowdy and wild they were, were out hunting and one of their shots fired and struck Henry, right in the heart.

I was released from my service on the 2nd of August, 1640. I married my beloved Samual, on the 29th of May, 1641, as this was the day that we met. Samuel was and still is the best lawyer in all of the colonies. We moved from Hampton, Virginia to Albany, New York in 1643, just two years after our marriage. We both wanted a new life and a fresh start. I am now the proud mother of four children; Sarah Naomi Kynsgnston, Henry Samual Kynsgnston, Elijah Hampton Kynsgnston, and little Cecilia Isabella Kynston. We live in a two story house on the outskirts of Albany, with light blue shutters, a red door, and red Amaryllis bushes in front of the windows. I was able to bring all of my siblings here to the Americas. I would also like to inform you, with great pride, that we were able to all bring my mother, father, and Elijah to the New World, where my mother and father live in peace, but alas, Elijah died of Typhoid fever in 1652. It is my pleasure to report that I am very content with where I am now, and if I hadn’t had learned everything I did from my time as an indentured servant, I don’t think I would be very content now. As the saying goes, God giveth, and God taketh away.

-Sincerely,

Isabella Anne Kyngnston