Albany, January 12 1697/8

My dear husband

Here is such upset amongst the community that domienie (the minister) and those people and the mayor who speak for the place would have a patent for the makuase land and have each Hillie 20 lb. for their her (makle ?) and hundred morghens land given for their her (makle?) Yes they have made themselves so hated that the community does not want to hear their names they had ordered Dominie and Dirk Wessells to come to the Courthouse and said if they would hand over the patent to the town but they refused it and answered that they woudn’t do without it and threatened to establish there a tradingpost the Aldermen have resolved to complain to mylord that that is the river (?) of Albany and send Hendrick Hansen and David Schuyler off but what their instructions are I do not know but I hear that they want to address themselves to you and mister greem (i.e. Graham) for help they have xxxxxx empowered the same to welcome mylord from what I hear and want to see what your inclination is if they want to include you I do not know I am amazed how you can still speak well of Dirk as he is such a great enemy of yours and refused to give you the honor to welcome mylord I had not thought that our xxxxx Pieter was one of the participants they will have enough to do with the citizens for they swear that they will not keep it they have set the people enough against you but now they begin to see better that they smeared you with lies and that they are out for themselves

In case they keep the land from one of the five nations then the community will not hear domine again nor do they want to pay him

12.
Mister Bickvort has strewn about here many stories that you and Mister Broek (i.e. “Pants”) had a big quarrel and that he wanted to fight you with a sword and cane and threw you down the stairs and that you would have said of him then that he was the son of a pair of pants and that was a foundling I xxxxxx xxxx think that you would be wiser than to say such things even if it was true to give himself trouble Bickvort has said in the Soopes and Katskilxx and bethem/betlehem ? that mylord is your enemy and that your affairs are going very badly and that you lied to the king and thus they give you harm. I hope that mylord will arrive at the soonest that that dispute will finally come to an end for it saddens me to live this way and that you have been away from me for so long that that will finally come to an end it is being said here that you bought keesoom’s farm for thousand lb. and that (you the farmyard in payment and the materials would deliver to thousand lb.) (?) if you think that the farm would be better than the house for it is a great piece of land perhaps would be better than the house but do as you see fit the trouble with the trust is much the aldermen were here for hundred pieces of eight for rent I said that I had no money to do into rents for I now no ready money and see they went and got half money at mothers and those 2 persons have ...... each a piece of eight as soon as they return home as I hear have orders to stay there 40 days Jan Teysens Tijs has been here to have Schipper’s farm for half of the harvest to be renewed (?) in a year I said that that was not convenient for us but that we wanted to rent it herewith commend you to the Lord your loving wife

Alyda Livinghston