| Madison County Letters© - 20Sep1840 Copyright 2000 Fredi Perry In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data and images may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or for other presentation without express permission by the contributor(s) Ridge Prairie, Illinois, Sept. 20th, 1840 Dear Cousin, I was very glad to hear from you again although I did not expect to hear from Wisconsin. I didn't get the last letter you wrote from Brighton until it was too late to go and see you. If I had I should not have let you gone out of the world to live with the Badgers if I could have helped it. Why did not you write your letter as long as a horses head. We wanted to hear more particulars about you all. What you are doing and how you like the country. I expect we will be poking up that way next spring. I wish you was here to go with me don't you? Father and Mother expect to go to see the country and people in about two weeks. They intend to find a place we donot know where probably about a mile from Galesburg, and William and I will go up early in the spring to get in some corn wile the others stay here to build a barn for uncle George. You must step over and stay with us. I shall be very lonely up ther without friend or foe. How far are you from Galena and which way. Horace is going to St. Louis next week to live a year with Mr. I. Lockwood and learn to be a leather merchant. We are not all well. Father has had the ague and fever for more than two months he is well now Mother has had the fever five or six weeks she is getting better, every one except I have had the ague more or less, it has been sickly here a good many have died with the flux down south around Bethel and on the bottom. Dr. Vennings (?) of Troy died of the delerium tremens. Mr. McElroy (?) is dead. Also Mrs. Widow. McClannahan. Old Mrs. Merry. Tennydum (?), Botkin. I do not think of any others that you were aquainted with. Luann Merry in the Spring. I forget wether it was before you left or not. Was George McMahan drownded or not while you were here. He drowned in School Creek. It was two or three days before he was found. Isaac has moved his family to School Creek. Rebecca occupies the old stand with her darling honey. I will mend my pen and then tell you who has entered into the holy state of matrimony of late. I am sure it will break your heart for the priest is gone! In the psring John Henderson married Elisabeth Whiteside. They live on your old place. The Wrictons (?) live on the old ? place near Gilead. Old man Henderson is going to move next week to Marine and Lloyd is going to move into the tavern. Mrs. Hott is going to live with big sister Susan. She and Old Holt have dissolved copartnership on George and Elisabeths account. Uncle John Wriston (?) has moved down as poor as poverty. They are a mean set from one end to tother. Tillia thinks his wife loves Alfred Wriston better than she does him. John Mcvey married Eliza Hall and lives where his father did. The Rev. Samuel Kelly to his cousin Rebecca McMahan. Mr. James Willoughby married Miss Polly Janette Gates. Mr. Benjamin Franklin Slate would marry Miss Mary Ann Minerva Gaskill if he could get her. Mr. Shaw has figured about run in debt all he would and last week absquatutated(?).. He drowned our horse Royalist in the spring in Silver Creek. I taught one quarter at the same place and boarded at Mr. Andersons. Your Father was here two or three weeks ago. He lives at Middletown. He talked of going to see you this fall. Please to write often. Love to all. Your True Friend. Hannah A. Weeks. (Self envelope. Postmarked Ridge Prairie Sep 23. Written in stamp corner: 18 ¾) |