Dinner With the Plimptons

I sent a message with William today on his way to the schoolhouse asking Henry Plimpton if he and his wife Catherine would care to dine with us this evening. William came home from school with Henry's reply that he would indeed come. Isaac-Albert arrived home from school crying. Abigail and I have learned that in circumstances such as this one, it's best to just ignore it.It has thus far been a mild winter, and although very cold, we have not yet had a substantial snowfall. Henry and Catherine arrived shortly after 5 o'clock. They had left their 2 children at home, but Catherine did bring a fresh baked blackberry pie. After dinner and dessert, we sent the children off to their studies so that we could discuss the real reason that we had invited the Plimptons to dinner. We eased into the subject by first discussing the recent happenings in town. Henry runs the post office, and is also a member of the town board. He is very involved in the politics of the community and is quite an influential member. I hoped to get Henry to begin divulging his own misgivings about life here in Missouri. It worked and soon Henry brought up the need for change. At this point I told him of I and Abigail's plans to move. Him and Catherine listened until I was finished and then exchanged a knowing glance between the two of them. Henry admitted that the same idea had been forming in his mind lately too, and if Abigail and I were serious about leaving, they too would come on this adventure.The remainder of the evening was spent discussing plans. There is safety in numbers and Henry and I both feel that two more families would increase the chances of success without making the attainment of enough supplies an impossibility. We compiled a list of families that we feel would be fit to come on this journey and an advantage to have with us. The list turned out as follows:
Cain Shepardson, Physician, Wife Tess, 3 boys 2 girls
Adam Trask, Carpenter, Wife Sarah, 2 boys 2 girls
Samuel Hamilton, Hardware Store Owner, Wife Milly, 3 boys
Seth Unwin, Chef, Wife Beth, 2 boys 1 girl
William Micawber, Banker, 2boys 2 girls
Sylvester Sidcott, County Coroner, Wife Dorcas, 1 boy 2 girls
Fisher Jones, Aspiring Actor, Wife Lem, 4 boys 5 girls
This week we will focus on convincing these men to join our expedition beginning at the top of the list. We also discussed a trip to Jefferson City in the near future to get supplies.