Throwback Thursday: Letter for Prisoner Exchange from Sarah Kennedy
Examining Our Archives has Uncovered Letters from Sarah Kennedy, wife of Samuel Kennedy, at Yellow Springs even after his death
What Is This?
This is a scan of a letter that Sarah Kennedy wrote on February 26, 1781. We found it on photographic paper. It was very small, so we have enlarged it here to be readable.
In this letter, she asks the person she is writing to for a “matter of favor.” According to a detailed online source about Sarah Kennedy’s life- one that uses many of the same sources held in our archives- the person she wrote to was Thomas Bradford. Thomas Bradford served as the commissary of prisoner exchange in Philadelphia.
A transcription of the letter reads as follows:
“Dear Sir
We are informed that an exchange of Prisoners is taking place, if it should not be a general one as a matter of Favor, I would request to you to permit Henrey [Henry] Holman, Petter Haring [Peter Hench] and Henery Haring [Henry Hench], to be on your list, though they may not be as old as some others, as their usefulness both to their Friends and Country is very great, I will under take for them that you shall be genteelly rewarded if you bring it a boul from your Affectionate Friend and very
Humble Servant,
Sarah Kennedy
February 26th 1781,
Springs [Yellow Springs]”
Thomas Bradford, Commissary of Prisoner Exchange
According to another helpful online source, the APS (American Philosophical Society) Members Bibliography, Thomas Bradford was a leading printer in Philadelphia and the American Philosophical Society elected him in 1768.
Our records also show that Bodo Otto and Benjamin Franklin, a close friend of Sarah’s brother Thomas Ruston, were members of the society.
In this letter, Sarah asked Bradford to release three young men from families near Yellow Springs: Henry Hallman, Peter Hench, and Henry Hench. British forces had imprisoned them aboard the prison ship The Jersey during the war. She framed the request as a personal favor, which suggests that she likely knew Bradford.
In 1771 Bradford and his partners printed the first volume of the American Philosophical Society’s Transactions. During the war he served in the Continental Army. In 1778 the army appointed him Deputy Commissary General of Prisoners, where he helped manage records and organize prisoner exchanges between American and British forces.
What Does This Mean At The Time?
While this letter may appear fairly standard, it reveals much about Sarah Kennedy’s role at Yellow Springs.
Even after her husband Samuel’s death, she remained active in the hospital complex. The Kennedy family owned many other properties, so one might expect Sarah and her children to step back. The Otto family took on more hosting responsibilities after Samuel became sick and died. Dr. Otto Sr. became Chief Physician at the hospital after Samuel’s death.
This letter shows that in 1781, Sarah remained relevant at Yellow Springs and involved in the surrounding community.
Sarah wrote on behalf of Peter Hench, Henry Hench, and Henry Holman, members of the German farming community. They had supplied Yellow Springs and Washington Hall during the Revolutionary War. The men were captured and imprisoned on the British prison ship The Jersey, a floating hellscape filled with death and disease. Dr. Otto had written to George Washington for their release.
That being said, Otto’s involvement shows he cared deeply about the farmers around Yellow Springs. He personally wrote to George Washington on their behalf. Additional signers, including Frederick Otto, one of Dr. Bodo Otto’s three doctor sons, show the community strongly supported freeing these young men.
Although we have known about Dr. Otto’s letter for some time, Sarah Kennedy’s letter remained more obscure in our records. In her letter, she seems to call the Hench boys by the wrong surname. Even so, the letter shows that Sarah remained an active participant in the Yellow Springs community while managing Samuel’s estate.
Notably, Sarah’s letter was written after Dr. Otto’s letter and after George Washington likely could not ensure the prisoners’ release.
Sarah Kennedy, “Lady of Yellow Springs”
Sarah Kennedy was well connected and part of the planter-class elite. She was the daughter of Job Ruston, one of the wealthiest men in Chester County. She and Samuel were friends of Persifor and Polly Frazier. Letters to her brother Thomas, noted in C.A. Kaszubowski’s 2022 paper, show she was also friends with Martha and George Washington. She reportedly visited and dined with them at Valley Forge.
In her letter to Bradford, she asked as a personal favor for the release of Henry Holman, Peter Hench, and Henry Hench, noting they would be rewarded “genteelly.”
Neither Sarah nor Dr. Otto secured the prisoners’ release. Peter and Henry Hench, sons of nurse Christina Hench, died aboard the Old Jersey. Henry Holman likely did as well.
However, her letter shows community effort and personal investment, even with misspelled surnames.
To Us, Today
While researching Yellow Springs’ past, we repeatedly found records and folklore showing that it was community effort that made the hospitals work well. This letter from Sarah Kennedy adds evidence, highlighting the interdependence that made Washington Hall successful.
During the Revolutionary War, people often remember battles, generals, and soldiers. What is overlooked are noncombatants: women who became nurses, wealthy ladies who used social influence for neighbors’ sons, physicians and surgeons treating patriots, and immigrant families whose sons died on cramped prison ships off New York.
Two hundred fifty years later, these stories at Yellow Springs remind us that the nation was built by people willing to fight and die for freedom.
Sarah Kennedy may seem genteel for the war front, but her actions show compassion and courage. Though from a modern perspective she is complicated- she and her husband directly profited from slavery and the removal of Indigenous people- she was still truly a revolutionary figure in our history.
Her letter offers a glimpse into her life and the importance of personal intervention, even if the prisoners were not freed. Sarah Kennedy teaches us to use the tools we have to try to our hardest to help our community.
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