One page  letter, approx. 8" x 10", dated at Boston, Mass., Nov. 20, 1849, from David Sears, to his Aunt, Mrs. Mehitable Sears, at Chatham, Mass.  Excellent condition. No rips or tears. Red "BOSTON/5 cts." postmark, and manuscript "PAID" hand stamp. It reads:

My dear Aunt,

I am obliged to you for your letter of the 13 instant, enclosing the records of the family, the Church records, and the notices on the tomb stones. They are very satisfactory and clear, several misdates, and some misnames. Be so kind as to ask Uncle Daniel to go once again to the Church Yard, and get the dates from the tomb stone of John Sears, Jun. - only son of Samuel, - second son of Richard, &c. I saw the stone when at Chatham, but the pencil date I took is so rubbed that I cannot make it out. Miss Grace Sears, mentioned in the Church records, was the daughter of John and Grace Sears of Yarmouth. I hope to have a new copy of the records made for you in the course of a month or two.

Respectfully and most affectionately your nephew,   David Sears

DAVID SEARS, (1787-1871), was born in Boston, the son of David Sears, (1752-1816), who made a fortune in the China trade. David, the writer of the letter, graduated from Harvard College in 1807, and on the death of his father in 1816, inherited approximately $800,000. His mansion on Beacon Street, built in 1825, was considered the finest residence in Boston, and is now the location of the Somerset Club. He was active in public service, and served several terms in the Massachusetts Senate & House from 1816 to 1851. He was a philanthropist and was President of the Massachusetts Humane Society, as well as an Overseer of Harvard College. In mid-life, he became interested in the genealogy of the Sears family (he was a descendant of pilgrim, Richard Sears, who landed at Plymouth in 1630), and hired a man in England to trace the family history.