Hutchinson M. I.
August 23, 1857
My Dear Elizabeth,
It gave me very great pleasure to receive a letter from you
yesterday and hear that you and the children were in better heath as I am happy
to say that I am quite well at present, thanks be to God for it. In regard to my coming home, if I don’t hear
anything to the contrary or different from you before Monday or tomorrow week,
I shall, if I can, start for home where I expect to reach by Saturday evening
sometime. I would rather not come at
present if I could avoid it for my means will not enable me to travel
much. However, if I can’t do better I
must do the next best thing & come home and dispose of my things or give
them away to someone.
I have made arrangements to have the lumber for my house
this week. I’m going to have it on the way
making before I leave here so that it will be ready by the time I get back here
with my family.
There was a cow got into my well on Friday and was, of
course, dead when found. I took a yoke
of oxen the same evening and drew her out.
She belonged to one of the Hutchinson’s.
I have altered my mind in regard to the size of my house
since I last wrote you. I’m going to
have it a little bigger & stronger for we have very high winds here at
times. There was one house, a new one in
course of erection, blown down last week __________________. I thought it best to alter my plans some
little, which I have no doubt you will like much better than the original
plan. I’m going to have three large
rooms, buttery, & a good large cellar so we shall have room enough for all
practical purposes at present with one ________for a large garden lot to grow
our sauce in. I don’t mean our human
sauce, but the real vegetable which can be grown here in abundance.
It has been more like a Sunday to me today than it has since
I have been here, for we have had two sermons preached by a very fine man from
Glencoe, 17 miles from here. He is going
to be here every other Sabbath for the future until we have a settled minister
of our own.
In regard to what I am going to keep, I don’t think it best
to keep but little for it cost too much for freight. The clock will be about all, I think, beside
the stove. If you can sell the stove
for what it is worth, do so, and everything else in the house with the exception
of the bedding & clothing, which we shall want & is very high here for
common calico, which you can buy there for 1 __. You have to pay 20 cents here & other
things are in the same proportion, but this state of things will not last long
for we shall have a steamboat running here in the spring __________ 10 miles of
here soon.
I hope that Edwin has sent those things off from Rockford
for I shall be looking for them soon.
Our mail is very irregular. I
shall send this by the minister. He is
at our house _______ this evening.
Don’t let Edwin have those things without the money for he
has not, according to what you say, which of course is true, done what he
promised me when I came off to America oblige _____ by, for better I can’t do
at the present time . Better he ought to
have done to me, but, however I shall not trust to anyone after this. I shall come to see what I can do with the
doctor for he is my only true and real friend indeed. If I can raise the money I shall leave a week
from tomorrow. It will take all of a
week to come home in, for it takes three days to get to St. Paul from
here.
If you can get anyone to put up some 50 or 40 lb. of butter
for our winter use, do so & try to pay them in furniture. Perhaps the Albrights would do so. Let Edwin have the chairs or anything else to
pay for it. Butter is 30 cents per lb.
here & in fact can’t get any at that price.
You might take some ham or anything in the provision line of goods out
of the house for this will cause some to buy perhaps where they would not
otherwise.
Robert had better not leave until I come home for I think I
can fix for him this winter somewhere for he can get his land here, but not any
down east.
I must close for the present, hoping this will find you and
my dear children all well. My regards to
Robert and all enquiring friends.
Faithfully yours,
John
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