Thomas Tew

[Dutchman]

hey mates,

i'm looking for actual transcripts and physical descriptions of thomas tew. anyone have any ideas or leads. i'm coming up with zippo so far. need it for a project in the spring.

[Dorian Lasseter]

Oi Dutch!

I'll see wot I c'n dig up... I happen to like the ol' boy quite a bit...

edit;

As a point of fact, I've never come across a description of what the man looked like...

There's only the image of him talking with the Governor Fletcher of New York...

http://www.redflag.co.uk/thomtew.htm/

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Tew

Edited September 5, 2010 by Dorian Lasseter

[captscurvy_nc]

I might be able to dig up something as well. Was planning on cleaning up the "office" today anyway

[Fox]

Tew's character was nicely summarised by Benjamin Fletcher (the image of the two of them together is by Pyle btw):

Tew appeared to me not only a man of courage and activity, but of the greatest sense and remembrance of what he had seen of any seaman that I had previously met with. He was also what is called a very pleasant man, so that sometimes after the day's labour was done, it was a divertissement as well as information to me to listen to him talk. I wished in my mind to make him a sober man, and in particular to cure him of a vile habit of swearing...

[Dutchman]

thanks gang. i've seen the picture, but have no idea what he actually looks like. i have not run across any physical descriptors. based on governor fletchers description, a pleasant swearing drunk... hmmmmm this will be a fun one to pull off.

edit* hey foxe, where did you find the governors description- maybe i can start there for more info.

[RIPP Tar]

I'm doing some research on him as well - this seems to be an excellent resource for many involved during the GAoP - http://www.british-h...uk/Default.aspx specifically the economic pages. i'm still reading through everything, there is a lot there

[Iron Jon]

I was looking through a copy of "Raiders and Rebels" by Frank Sherry today and found a description of Tew in chapter one.

For what it's worth, here's a short sample! He says Tew is "an easy going, social man in his mid fifties who dotes on his family. He claims he is clean shaven, slim, and of middle height and is known to wear his long hair in a beribboned queue, he prefers turkey and venison for dinner followed by a long stemmed pipe and noggin of rum..."

His footnotes go on to say that this description is a result of information from Charles Johnson/Defoe's work but I don't recall reading this there. I guess I'll have to dig out "A General History..." again.

You should be able to check it out here - Amazon.com "Look Inside"

Edited September 6, 2010 by Iron Jon

[Fox]

Fletcher's description is in the Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series: America and the West Indies, 1696, which can be accessed via the British-History link above.

Bear in mind if Sherry is using Johnson as a source for Tew, that Johnson's chapter on Tew is one of the more unreliable ones, and a partner to the totally fictitious Misson chapter.