| Madison County Letters© - 2Mar1842 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, Madison Co., Illinois, March 2, 1842 Dear Caroline, Your letter of Feb. 4, postmarked Feb. 8, came to hand yesterday. I send in reply a piece of a yellow letter in compliment to the "yellow breeches" of which you appear so fond, and hope it will shine." Mr. James R. Perrigo jun. And Miss Hannah A Weeks were united in the holy estate of matrimony at Galesburg on the 25th Jan. 1842, at 6 o'clock and 30 minutes, PM by the Rev. H. H. Kellogg, President of Galesburg College and the happy couple arrived at this place on Saturday evening, Feb. 5. Mr. Perrigo and his father, mother, grandmother, 2 brothers and sister and boy young and small (about 3 years) live in my house. They are from "York State". The old man is very deaf, and not healthy. The old man and son had a ?? of spell of sickness last fall which caused the wedding to be postponed. Grandmother and Mother Perrigo are Methodists, the old man nothing in particular, and the young man is not a member of any church, but is very worthy, ready, sober, young man; and goes to meetings with his wife. I was informed by somebody that you had become a "school marm". Is it true? You have a sousin teaching a splendid school at Prairie du Ghien, WT, among the Badgers at $4 and $5 per scholar a quarter. She has 45 scholars, in Chemistry, Philosophy, Geography, Grammar, and Arithmetic. Her name is Amily Amelia Churchill, and she lives with her uncle Rev. Jedidiah Dwight Stevens. So you can write to her, if you choose. I was at Kingston Bluff in Jan. All well; and plenty of nice apples to eat. Your stepmother showed me a piece of the upper jaw of Master Samson Kingston with 2 or 3 teeth in it. This piece fell out by the operation of that "Samson of Medicine" Coloned (?) administered by one Dr. Butte. But little Samson is alive and does not seem to mind it. He calls his mother "Jane". Nevertheless the graveyards in these parts have received quite an acception to their population by means of Lancet, Calomel & Co. What made you cut out your signature from your letter? Are you married? And don't want to tell me your new name? If your mother married yet? I hope your "little Yankees" will teach you so much Geography that you can tell whether "Monroe" is on the Mississippi or Lake Michigan or Lake Superior or Green Bay or the Wisconsin. You say nothing about Grandmother Gardner (?) or uncle Temple. I was once well acquainted with your Hon James R. Vineyard who lately killed Mr. C. C. P. Arndt in the Badger Legislative Council. Venyard was a printer at Vandalia when I knew him. Are such scraps common among the Badgers? I understand that the Badgers are so fond of the Tuckers (?) that they are trying to get 12 or 15 counties of ?? away from us. If they should succeed the Badger country would be completely luckervied (?). Tell your Mother and grandmother that the Goose Creek farm once owned by your Father has recently been sold to Wm. W. Stine (?) for twenty dollars per acre, and that without any more additions to the improvements since you left it. The best bargain your father ever made was when he got the Goose Creek farm in exchange for the Skeamsborough (?) and Rice estates: and the worst bargain he made was when he trucked it off. Squire Scott has built a barn, and an addition to his house, and has a nice new cookstove therein, and is getting along "prime". I have excused all your mistakes, and in return I want you to study diligently while you go to school and afterwards and learn punctuation, and how to spell "opportunity", "description", "hear", and "affectionate". Times are pretty hard here, but nothing like what they are at Galesburg and up north. We still use coffee and sugar. Coffee 8 lbs. For a dollar, and sugar 15 lbs. For a dollar, corn 25 cents and wheat 87 ½ cts a bushel in St. Louis, and the mud so deep that we can hardly get there. Give my reports to all inquiring friends. Tell Norman and George that I will thank them to write to me. I have some more news to tell you, but will not do it till I have another letter from you. Two of your acquaintances have got married here, much to the astonishment of the public. I will tell you who they are after I receive your next letter. GC PS: Since you left I have built a new barn, 30 by 40 feet, a stable with loft 30 x 12 ft. a new ?? house, and have raised a ? of a Wood, Tool, and a Carriage house. I conclude my letter because it will take you a week to ? out all that I have written. GC. |