Chicago, Feb. 9, 1863
Dear John,
I suppose you will be surprised to find that I am here in
Chicago. I have been here for some
little time, that is, all winter. I am
taking charge of the one the largest mills in Chicago. The business had got to be very dul [sic] in Belvidere
this winter. I have left my family there and all of the machinery and a good
span of horses, ___, wagon and harness and other things together with the
shop. I am going home to sell my horses
in about three weeks for I have made up my mind to stay in Chicago for a while
and am going to put up my machines in here before I go much further. I must say that I had a letter from Frances
Saturday night together with the note that you sent to my father in law. I was sorry to hear that you had buried one
of your children. Maybe it was not one
of them that I had seen, you did not say.
Now I must say just what I think in regard to you being out
there where you are. I have several
reasons for not saying anything to you about it before, and one is I thought
that you knew your business better than I did.
And another is you are older and more experienced than I was. Consequently I have been rather cautious what
I said. And now I should think that you
had enough of that confounded place when your time is worth as much and needed
as much as it is here at the present time.
I don’t suppose that times was ever better than it is at this time, and
now if are [sic] or have dispation [sic] to take this opportunity which I am
going to offer to you, and that is that I am about to bring all my lathes and
tools here and put them up in this mill.
The parties are going to hire a man to turn and to saw with a scroll saw. Now you see what you can do if you come
here. I think you can make from 2 to
three dollars per day. I think you have
deprived yourself long enough and I should think by this time you would think
so too. I am now going on thirty years
old. It don’t seem possible but it is so
and I can assure you that I have taken a great deal of comfort since I have
been married. And I have been making a
little something since I left Beloit. I
am sorry that it is not the case with.
And John it don’t seem possible that man like you, able and capable of
earning as much as you are, would stay out in Minnesota among a lot of Indians. It really has made me mad to think of it. I was told of the affairs out there by a
gentleman by name of Smith who said that he knew you well, and he had a brother
in Rocton near Beloit. And to think and
hear what that very man had to say about you as well as a good many others, why
it don’t seem possible that I had a brother in such a place. And for this reason I have been so negligent
in writing to you.
I have here told you my mind and what I can do for you here. There might be such a thing that you could
have a place like what I have after you had been here with me a little while to
get acquainted with the different machinery, etc. Frances told me in her letter that she was going
to write you yesterday. I was glad to hear
her say so hoping that both her letter as well as mine will find all well.
It is getting late and I must close for tonight and you must
excuse all mistakes for there’s a gentleman in my room and has been talking to
me all the time I have been writing. I
live or board about one and a half mile from the post office and I can’t take
this to the office till tomorrow night.
And this from your affectionate brother with much love for
Elizabeth and children,
Edwin
Sent you a paper last week.
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