Alexander Purdie published a series of three insightful essays/letters about independence over the initials "AB" on April 12, 1776, "CD" on May 3, and "EF" on May 17. Internal evidence clearly demonstrates that the author was a Virginian, and a search for distinctive phrases in the Early America Newspaper database (no hits) suggests that the essays appeared ONLY in Purdie's Gazette. Several distinctive phrases that score any hits in Early America Newspapers, Early American Imprints (Evans), or Googlebooks shed no light on these essays. The phrase "execration and abhorrence" for example goes back to the Book of Job.... The VanSchreeven, Scribner, Tarter edition Revolutionary Virginia mentions the AB and CD essays in volume 6. I've not found any mention of the EF essay in volume 7. None of the paired initials appear in the Rev. Va. index - nor have I found them in the Duff-Cappon index to the Virginia Gazettes. Some political actors can be ruled out by the arguments criticized : Edmund Pendleton, Robert Carter Nicholas, etc on the moderate side; Common Sense on the assertive side...... Any chance that anyone has identified the author of AB, CD, and EF in Purdie's Gazette ? Jon Kukla ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html