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Richmond Va March 25th 1867
Major General O Brown,
Sir
On the 7th day of July 1863 in order to avoid any complicity in the rebellion, I was compelled to abandon the comforts of my home in this city, and get north as best I could being then branded as a union sympathiser here. After remaining north until the close of the war, I returned with a view to recovering my property. On my return I was solicited for some amount of Capitol (by Mr. John C. Doherty, now a merchant Tailor on Main Street in this City) and having unbounded confidence in his honesty of purpose at this time, I invested the sum of twenty five hundred dollars $2500 cash capitol in U.S. currency under a verbal understanding that after the business was established I was to be a partner to receive one third of the profits to be claimed therefrom. Mr. Doherty not being then possessed of any capitol whatsoever, has erected on one of the lots, then in the burnt district a building for the purposes of carrying on the business, while I worked faithfully in the manufacturing department. Mr. D. attended to sales and cutting out garments. After the elapse of eleven months I requested a settlement of our books and accounts. When to my surprise I was informed that we should have to discontinue our business connection, he taking advantage of the confidence I placed in him, not having any written contract but the proof of my understanding with him I can produce reliable evidence. He then only offered me 20 percent per week upon the original capitol in the future for the use of my money. Feeling confident that he could get himself out of my debt as business was then good, in order to accomplish his purpose he threatened me with disloyalty to the so called Confederacy and as I had abandoned their cause, he held firm to what he considered his country and bid me defiance to bring him before any Civil tribunal here, this coupled with the fact that I had reason to believe that he would indirectly convey the entire interest to other parties compelled me to receive the original amount invested