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Julia FROST "Walker" was the recipient of most of these letters |
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Canton May 9, 1892
My dear Niece
I think it time to acknowlege your letter I been waiting in suspense
to get a letter Julia but have may not get one they left Kenka sometime
in March I knew nothing of it until after they were gone she wrote me as
soon as she arrived said they all were well the next letter informed me
that little Willie was sick Scarlet fever and knight disease of the kidney
before she closed the next letter said he was better but the Dr. thought
it would take two or three months to get well have not heard in over two
weeks the beet Sugar company have a company formed a Norfolk Nebraska that
is their address I am at [___] more Emma has a girl helping her clean house
Marion has been housekeeping for a month seems to be happy if the rest
are not although they are getting [reconciled], we have had quite a backward
cold spring but the trees are beginning to blossom and the grass is growing
quite fast now received a letter from Electa Randolp Dougherty she said
their family were all except Lottie said Tmelia had lost her youngest son
and was nearly heart broken spoke of him as being their dependence spoke
of two other sons Dakota in the mercantile business she said Hannah and
herself had talked of coming east might this summer I am sure I should
like to see them I don’t hear from E Watrous very often I suppose it takes
considerable time to be grandmother so take warring and write soon Kinda
wrote one that Fred intended going to N Y city the first of this month
we had hoped he would stop here on his way do you suppose you could endure
another of my long visits between now and fall if I should live to go back
how are your absent ones. Isa just came from the office and brought me
a letter from Em W saying Johns folks had come and gone right into their
own house fetched Willie with them people did not think he would live to
get back they say he looks like a ghost the worst of it is they left Toddie
so sick he could not come but they will take good care of him hope and
pray that they may all live to get settled they own Asthus Watrous house
that is where the have moved Emma said she had just got able to write and
Henry had been quite sick so I take the grandmothers past all back. Excuse
haste and space
O Champney remember me to all
[] Transcribe January 10, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
Dear Madam.
I have been to the Asylum to see Mr. Frost and learned as much
of his condition as possible. He recognized me and his mind usual quite
clear an some subjects, but altogether he is not near as well as when you
took him home with you. I am sorry to tell you this, but I feel that you
have written to me for the truth, and I can do no less than tell you so.
I have had several talks with Dr Bishop, the Supt. and the attendants.
They do not let him outside anymore, as he is sometimes quite violent and
hard to control. From what I could see and from what they tell me, I think
I can say that there is no reasonable probability hardly a possibility,
that he will ever be any better. Your first impulse will probably be to
visit him, but I should advise you not to do so. I know it will be hard
for you to believe that such a change could come over a loving father,
but in his condition you can do absolutely nothing for him, and a visit
would only be a source of sorrowful remembrance to you. In such a situation
there is but little that can be done for a man. But I do not see but they
are doing as much for him as is possible. I talked with him quite awhile,
about his family, etc. He remembers you all, but he did not ask to be taken
out or to go to you and so far as he is concerned I think he hardly realizes
his sufferings any more. I find that the patients are very generally in
that situation, after their malady has begun progressing for awhile. He
stated that he has spiritual communications with you all, and can see at
all times. Even while I was talking with him. To my query whether I could
do anything for him or whether he would anything he only said that he was
hungry and wanted his dinner. You all have my heart felt sympathies in
this affliction, and shall at all times be glad to do anything for you
in my pours
Very usualy yours
R. R. Bigalow
[] Transcribed February 5, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
[] Transcribed February 7, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
[] Transcribed February 7, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
[] Transcribed February 7, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
[] Transcribed February 7, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
Will send this in Aunt Nancy’s letter
[] Transcribed February 7, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
Shiocton
Wisconsin
[] Transcribed February 7, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
[] Transcribed February 7, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
Tekoa Washington
Dear Aunt Julia
When your letter came mother handed it to me after she had read
it and said “[___] you answer this for me right away wont you”. And I fully
intended doing so, but you see how far I have come from putting my intention
into execution. I am really sorry to have been so long but fail sure you
would consider me excusable if you know how busy I had been since then.
At the time your letter was recd. I was preparing to leave Nevada. Mr.
Bender having come here to Washington in Dec. I came the middle of May
and as I could get no help had to do all my work alone which proved to
much for me and in consequence I have been half sick all summer. I have
had an excellent girl for a month though so am beginning to feel like myself
again.
Now I know you are inpatient to hear something of my poor afflicted
father and oh! How thankfull we would all be if there was some thing encouraging
to tell but every letter from the Asylum is about the same. They say is
physical health is good but no change in his mental condition and they
consider the case hopeless his age being against him. I would be impossible
to describe to you how we fill when we fully realized the dear old father
we all loved so much was no longer sane! It was horrible! To have seen
him dying would have been easy to bear compared to this! De weather
was very warm when he was taken and he would go in the hot sun nearly all
the time, which just set him wild. We hoped if we could keep him home until
cold weather he would wear it out, but twas no use. He would listen to
nothing, but fancied John, who otherwise might have done something with
him was losing his mind. He told ma one day he had to watch John all the
time as he was afraid he might come behind him and kill him some day. Such
fancies seemed to haunt him continually he would go go all the time made
several trips to Elko, (a hundred miles away) would take a team and camp
out in the mountains then instead of sleeping nights would walk miles and
miles and tell of the wonderful (but unheard of) things he would see, would
eat nothing [camp a] [___] and was reduced to a mere shadow of himself.
We hoped by sending him to the Asylum during where he would be kept in
from the hot sun during the warm season he might be better and for awhile
it seemed our hopes were to be realized. The physician wrote favorably
of his condition and he wrote several letters himself which seemed quite
rational and seemed so anxious to be home so we asked the physician’s opinion
and he thought he might be better off at home if we could keep him there.
So I went for him and fortunately Mr. Bender who had been in San Francisco
for several weeks meet me there. Reno, by the way is about 200 miles on
the way from where we lived in Nev. To S. F. we took him to the hotel with
us and he acted perfectly rational except when he would get to talking
about being sent to the Asylum. Them he fancied it was a plot formed against
him to put him out of the way for some purpose and said the guilty parties
would have to retract and make an acknowledgement in some of our leading
papers or he would them all sent to them Penitentiary etc. He had seemed
so trusty the officials had allowed him out on errands and he had found
out a gentleman and his wife by the name of Frost and said he had promised
when he got out he would visit them before going home he wanted to spend
the night with them he did so and returned in time for the train as he
said he would do. Mr & Mrs F. coming to [___] meet us I think they
are some relation to our family are Bostonians and very nice people. I
have corresponded with them since. We reached Golconda where we left the
R.R. in the afternoon but Pa seemed so impatient he staid home, that Clarence
who was waiting took him out to a Ranch about 13 miles distant and Mr B.
and I started the next morning. It took us two days by team to reach the
“J. L.” where we lived and where Ma & Julia (who was up from Arizona
on a visit) were waiting for us Clarence said he was quite quit until they
neared home then he seemed to lose all control of himself. He complained
of heart (this was his trouble all the time he said) and after supper went
out for a walk but did not return until after noon the following day, then
he was wild raving. Clarence got him to go home (he took him as was 20
miles) but he grew worse and worse and in just a week had to be returned
and has been there since almost two years now. John has been to see him.
We have a friend Judge Bigeton who visits him occasionally and then writes
us of his condition, he always advises us not to come to see him as he
says it would do him no good and would only make us feel worse, but I should
have gone there before I left Nev. Had it not been for the children I could
not leave baby as I nurse her and it was to far to take her being over
a hundred miles to the R.R. it has been some little time since I have heard
but expect a letter from there daily as o have written. All the boys are
home with mother this summer. Julia lives in A. T. Hannah still in Mo.
And I am now in Washington. We think we will like it here so this will
probably be my home for some years to come. Mr. Bender has gone in the
meat business he and a partner have a wholesale & retail Butcher shop
here at present are doing a good business.
We have three babies. The oldest a boy will be four the 18 of
Nov. Rolla is his name. Maybell will be three next Feb. and baby Alice
one this Oct. so I think you can fancy what I have to do when I am without
a girl. We were glad to hear Houston is so well intuited and Bertha too
has doubtless graduated ere this. I would like to see you all so much and
as it is probable we may go East within a year or so I may have that pleasure.
My husbands people live in New York and his youngest sister married
a Frost so there are two Frost in the family. Ma was much pleased to hear
of all her old friends and said to tell Sophia Welch she would like to
have her write to her very much. I recd photos of Grandpa Uncle Pete &
family not long ago they are good.
Now my dear Aunt Julia I do hope you will answer this sooner
than I did yours and I will try to be more prompt. Please consider this
as Ma too for she finds it such a task to write. All the folks at home
wished to be remembered.
With much love to you all I remain
Yours Affectionately
Madge F Bender
Address
Mrs. A. J. Bender
Tekoa
Whitman Co.
Washington
[] Transcribed on January 1, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
This letter was written in april 1891 just before Libel quit was
called up in Court, Allen has done me an injury and untill he repents,
I shall not forgive, you can make any use of this that you wish to.
Respectfully yours
E H Stewart
[] Transcribe January 10, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
Dear Teacher, -
I thought for a deviation from the direct or literal mode of
(expression) action (I’ll never forget that def. of a fig of speech) I
would write to my old teacher. As you will see by the heading of the letter
we are no longer at New Milford we remained there only four months. I started
to school as soon as we (Pa & I) completed our 3 days drive up over
the Pocono & the awe inspiring ride through the big trees of said mountain
it looked “spookish” & “bearish” but we reached Moscow all right by
noon & completed our journey the next day. My teacher at New Milford
was Prof. J. A. Stearns a graduate of Mansfield State Normal School my
studies were Arith, Algebra, Civil Gov., Physics, World History, Rhetoue
& Spelling. I started there Mon. after New Year’s & went until
the close of their term. May 5 excepting &weeks of which I had the
pleasure of entertaining a broken leg received while riding the horse,
that individual having gotten out (while I was riding him) to the side
of the road which was one sheet of ice & some way he slipped &
fell & the consequence was my leg went in under 1150 lbs. of horse
flesh I crawled to the other side of the road where some men carried me
from there home but I kept up my studies & graduated from there received
a nice diploma & was on the program for the Mantle Address “sub.” Historical
Rocks but at the close of school the measles were so bad that they decided
to put the exercise off for 2 or 3 weeks & in the meantime we moved
down here & I was not “in it” for the address. Pa did not like it there
he had 2 churches 4 miles apart & sometimes last winter it was not
very pleasant to ride 4 miles on a cold morning through snow 2 to 20 feet
deep. So we came here in may & here we are Pittston is situated at
the head of the Historic Wyo. Valley 10 miles from Scranton & 9 from
Wilkes-Barre population 15,000 the place contains about 20 churches the
Catholic cost $150,000, about & different railroads & the worst
of all very nearly an innumerable number of saloons licensed & unlicensed
so is the report true or not is yet to be found out Pittston is on the
east side of the Susg River & on the west side is situated the garden
Village of Pa. West Pittston – the prettish village of the Wyoming. The
ch is on the East Side but the parsonage is on the West Side so we live
in West Pittston. The Wyo. Valley is all & a great deal more beautiful
than pen has ever tried to make it. It extends from Pittston to Nanticoke
a distance of 20 miles. I & truly is twenty miles of the most picturesque
land I have ever seen dotted with numerous quit & busy villages &
towns. The homes of industrious people. The Principal industry of the valley
is coal mining, the numerous coal breakers tell by their blackness. The
story of thousands of tons of coal taken from the depth of the earth. I
always thought that mining towns were a kinds of a tough place & pretty
generally made up of shanties & hovels but there is no nicer city of
Wilkes-Barre which has justly been called the “Queen of the Wyoming” about
four miles from Pittston is the town of Wyoming where Zebulon Butler &
Gen Dovance followed by a feeble though strong hearted band defended &
withstood partly because of the fact that their wives fathers mothers &
children were in the block house at Forty Fort & partly because defence
of the flag of the U. S. was their privilege & duty to shed their blood
for. But the foe that came not with flags flying & drums beating but
the stealthy red skin that came swooping down the Susg R. in Birch Bark
canoes & in moccasined feet approached the enfeebled people of the
valley soon triumphed & made havoc of the valley. Alone shaft marks
the blood spot. About a half mile above Pittston Danfbels ledge a large
mass of rock which over looks the valley on this the redskins had their
beacon firs constantly burning & the Indian of the lower part of the
valley was made known of the fact that the Indians of the upper part was
in trouble by a certain no. of fires used as signals, of course there is
the usual no. of lovers leaps & the villain persuade her to the very
edge of the rock & then forced her over it into the depths below stories
connected with the ledge. Pittston might appropriately be called (where
3 valleys meet) because the quiet upper Susg Valley & the busy Lackawanna
& the Beautiful Wyo. Valley here meet from a hill back of Pittston
the 3 valleys & the whole town can be seen & it is the prettish
sight I have seen in a while. Well now I will tell you about the school
here we have 89 pupils that is the teachers do I will send you a catalogue
of our school later. We have 108 pupils in the High School divided into
four classes taught by 3 teachers 1 male & 2 female my studies are
German, Plane geometry, geography (reviewed) greek & Eng. Literature.
On enclosed recitation programme the studies marked & thus & are
the ones I study. We have a library & laboratory the arrangement is
thus
Manage to have one teacher in each class room & one in the study
room with a class. I expect to graduate next yr. i.e. If I pass in examinations,
I see by the paper that the Rev. F. H. Cooper of Lambertville has moved
to Binghamton our class the Junior has a society called the Jui Vive=always
faithful we meet 2 nights a month & from 7.30 to 9 read from any author.
We take Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice this term we get our books for
25¢ apiece we have dues of 5¢ a month & fines for absence.
First assist teacher is our Pres & I have the honor of being the Judas
in the shape of the treasure. Well I don’t know which else will interest
you in as much as I have now almost turned myself into a cyclopedia. How
does P. H. S. thrive = of course Pittston has a high school but because
of the fact that most all the teachers are Catholic is sadly detrimental
to the reputation of that school the West Pittston schools are considered
the best because Protestantion runs it our Prof. Receives $1400 a yr. H.
J. Stellar
Well now I will positively have to quit or “bust” so quit I will
Hoping to hear from you soon
I remain your old scholar
Howard I. Stewart
215 Wyo. Ave.
Pittston
Pa.
P.S. should you ever come into the Wyo. Valley don’t forget our address.
If you please
H. I. S.
[] Transcribe February 20, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
[] Transcribed February 8, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
To whom it may concern:-
This certifies that Mr. H. F. Walker is a gentleman of excellent
moral character and of good attainments and qualifications both for instruction
and discipline.
Mr. Walker has taught the Portland High School for the last three
years with great success in every respect.
I can heartily recommend him to any Board of Directors
Respectfully,
W. F. Hoch, Supt.
Northampton Co.
[] Transcribed on January 3, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
[] Transcribe January 10, 2004, by Wendell R. Evans []
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