As you can read in Henry A. L. Brown's book, John Brown's Tract: Lost Adirondack Empire, Abby Brown carried a correspondence with her mother-in-law, Anne Willing Francis, in Philadelphia. Like mothers today, Mrs. Francis would share cooking tips with her daughter-in-law. In one, she wrote of a recipe that she thought for sure her son, John (Francis), would appreciate.
This season is over for dressing rabbits, or I should say after they are skinned, washed and dressed, they should be well-floured and dressed up in cloth to boil in milk and water till they are tender. Then have some white onions, well boiled in milk cream, then put the onions over the rabbit and pour melted butter over them. This is the way Johnny used to eat them.