Penelope Williams

March 18, 1769 Letter from Elizabeth Porter Phelps to Penelope Williams

Penelope Williams had a very close relationship with Elizabeth Porter Phelps. Much of their correspondence documents the pair's love and affection for one another. In a letter on February 26, 1769, Elizabeth Porter Phelps writes, “O my dear why have you so much tenderness for me — did I see the tears in your eyes that Sunday when you entered the Room, me [thot?] that you could not speak.” Elizabeth expresses similar sentiments in a letter written on March 19th of that same year: “Yes my dear you love me did I not see the tenderest effections sparkle in your eyes this day when I entered the room.” 

However, it seems that the romantic undertones of their relationship faded over time. Elizabeth sent a rather curt letter in November 1769 inquiring about two dollars and a handkerchief from Penelope. The change in the nature of their relationship may be due to Elizabeth’s growing involvement with her future husband, Charles Phelps. The two met in 1768 and married in June 1770, suggesting that Penelope came to serve a lesser role in Elizabeth’s life once Charles came into the picture.