Belvidere, Feb. 16,
1862
Dear Brother John,
It has been a long while since you have heard from up here,
but perhaps it is better late than ever, and I don’t really know how I shall
make out this time for I have a bad cold and my head aches real bad
tonight. We have just returned from my
father in law’s . They are going to move
down here to town to live this next month.
He has bought a good house here near to us.
Hattie and Rienfrew has been sick but is nearly well now,
but cough some yet. Hattie had the inflammation
on the lungs.
I had a paper from father last week which I shall send to
you this week. We have had a great deal
of snow this winter. It is about 18 inches
on the level now and yesterday and the day before was very cold days. But today it’s more warmer.
I don’ think I have written to you since me and my partner dissolved
partnership. We divied up the latter end
of fall and we had quite a time it. In
order that you should understand me I shall have to begin at the commencement of
our business, but I don’t know as it is really necessary for me to tell you all
this although it must be interested to you as it would be to me in a case of
yours. A year before last we commenced
business on a small scale to repair reapers and thrashing machines, wood and
iron turning. It proved to be a good
thing and had a very good success. When
the fall came it was necessary to have more shop room and one day I thought
that I would trade a reaper that we had for the old saw mill building to Mr. Gilman. I saw him one day and told him I wanted to
trade with him and so I traded with him and gave him $20 besides, and got a man
with his machine to move it up here for $15 and we went out and fixed it up. It
is 16 ft. by 5 and my partner bought a lot the other side of the street mine
and so we put this shop on that, and put all of our machinery in that, and had
the benches in the little shop on mine.
And so we worked there until spring when I had a letter from some
parties from Beloit caring on a mill in Chicago. Wanted I should go there and work for them
for $2.50 per day. Well, we both thought
it a good idea to go there and work a little while until the reapers would
commence coming in, and so I went and worked there 6 weeks and took that
machine that I got up in Beloit for turning with me and sold it to them. When I came away they wanted I should stay
all the year but I couldn’t on account of my business here, and so I came home
and went to work on reapers etc. again.
It proved to be a good summer for that business and we had two men to
work for us . And when fall came we had
a good deal of money out among the farmers and my partner thought we had better
build bigger again and I told him I thought we had better not build this year
but wait until another year and we should be better able. And so on one thing brought up another and we
disagreed and finally he made up his mind that we didn’t make anything and he
wanted to sell out. And I told him that I
would sell out or I would divide up with him.
And he said he would set a price to give or take and so I told to go
ahead and he went at it with a pencil and made his figure and I took him up, and
we had a very nice power horse and I was going to turn him in as part pay for $110,
just what he cost us, but he had a right to call it money and he backed out,
and so he made some more figures and I took him up. And I was going to turn in an order on the government
for $250; they was owing us some money for some camp tools we made for them. And he backed out the second time and I told
him finally that we better divide the things right along, and so we did divide
everything with the exception of the shop and I have got that moved in my place. I paid
a man for the use of his machine to move it and I am caring [sic] on business
on my own hook. I have two shops, two horses,
two wood lathes, one iron lathe, one circular saw, one scrool [sic] saw, and a
boring machine, horse power and line of shafting the whole length of the shop,
two benches and tools in the other shop, and I am in debt about $50 which I am
in hopes to pay before long. And Cohoon
has gone on and built himself a shop 24 ft. by 40 ft., two stories high , and
is going to run me out (in a horn) . I
have got some machinery here now but don’t work at it now because I am getting
up a great many washing machines for some parties here in the place. I have one man to work for me all the time
and another most of the time. I buy my
timber in the log, soft maple, and split it up with my two horses. Everybody says that I have got the best two
horses on the horse power they ever saw.
They are just as good as a steam engine.
I don’t have no driver, I just hitch them up in the morning and they go all day.
So much for the partnership.
Rather a hard ship to sail in, as I suppose that you know that to your
sorrow as well as mine. If it had not
been for this I think that I should have seen your place this last fall. But never mind, the time may come again when
some opportunity may offer itself to me to come and see you all. I
suppose it would be useless for me to look for you this way again. I would like it if you could make it an
object to come here and work with me for I think this business must pay . We started here bare handed and now we have got
just what we have got, and the farmers have gone to this machinery to such an
extent that they have got to have some repairs done, and a great deal of it
too. And they have got to pay just what
you ask or else go without it.
It is getting late and I must go to bed . Frances and the children is in bed
asleep. I shall finish tomorrow night,
and so good night .
Feb. 18 Since I wrote
the above I received a letter from home.
They are all well with the exception of father. He is very lame and he said he got a friend
to write to you, which I shall send to you.
I did not like to open it. He
says that James is to work in Liverpool and his wife and children has gone to
live there. He has got two children,
both girls. And he is very steady
now. Father says Robert Williams is
still at home. I must close for the present. Frances unites with me in love to you
all.
Yours affectionately,
Edwin
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