Transcription
dtlrlsro%nrto' Brnrrrrrr Z 'Trrrrr--.T-rr.?-,r\Ews **************r**********rir***riVol. XlX, No.YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA495991oiroue, ****t*r*****l' iru,.- Wz.;.,#.17'hl#.lThomas Truman Wight, son of Amos S. UUight, Shown in his mining days along the Feather River
SUTTER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY-TEilS BU-LTtrfIN'--Vol. XIX, No. 4October,. 980OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETYph Schnabel , Pres i dentDonald Bejlby, Vice Pres'identI,landa Rankin, TreasurerRandolDBarbara Rosso, SecretaryI RE CTORSDonald Bei 1byWiia EttlCelhli I IlburIndraiam Greene, Jr.HoffmanNasontdanda RankinBarbaraDewey GreuningJohn HeenanRossoRandoloh SchnabelNE!'lS BULLETIN EDITORIAL STAFFRaona Hal I , Chai rmanGreeneJean Gusti nRandol ph SchnabelllinifredEarll li IRameyJackie Lawyer, LithographerTheNEtdS BULLETINCity, California.isburHof fmanPeggy Meyer, Typistpubljshed quarterly by the SocietyatYubaThe annual membersh'ip dues includes receiv'ingthe NEWS BULLETIN. JANUARY l9B0 dues are payabie nour. Your remittance. 004,should be sent to Sutter County Historjcal Soc'iety, P. 0. BoxYuba City, Cal ifornia 95991. To insure dei ivery of your NEI IS BULLETIN,please notify the Treasurer of anv change of address. Dues are 7.50 perperson , .l0. 00 per fami 1y, 5. 00 'i f over 70 years .The9599. NEhJS BULLETINis not copyriqhted.vited, unless copyrighted by others.apprec'iated.of the material js inof the source will beUseMentionAn index and file of al I the oast issues of the NEl,lS BULLETII{be found in the Sutter County Library, the Marysville City-CountyLibrary, and at the Commun"ity l'lemorial l4useum.mav
PRESI DENT'S MTSS.AGIAt our October l5th meeting at thearea" forfarmequthatwi IIplans for a "ho1d'ingi pment wi'l 1 be d j scussed,Several speakerstopi cMuseumbeenof interest are being contacted to provide ajoyabTwo neiv members onand C. C. Epperson,Jr.1e .our Board of Directors are Joe K. RobertsThey arefilling out the terms of l1r. andMrs. Ed Rcsso who have moved from our area. tJe wi sh to thankand Barbara Rossoyea rsfor their jnterest and help these pastEdseveral.The passingso many years,of BerniceG'ibson, our goodfriend and guide foru.lill 'long be remembered.SUTTERANACaptain Sutterin their--The Marionpossessjon a veryRifles of this City (San Francjsco),fjne and life-1ike portrait ofhaveCaptainSutter, painted by a Chinese art'ist'in his native country, from adarluerreotype taken 'in California. The resemblance is perfect, andthe execution betrays a hand of considerableskill.The pa'intinqin the armory of the Rifles 'in appiopriate compliment to the Sutter Rifles (Sacramento) who will soon be their guests.San Francis-co .HeraE- in the Sa cralnento UnionQuoted from.l7, the.l853.of Junevrillbe displayed
MUSEUI4 NOTESREPORTCOMMUNiTY MEMORIAL MUSEUI'I ANNUAL.1980August1,1979-JulY 31,The Community Memorial l4useumand formally dedicated and giventhat year. Building fundsof SutterCounty was completedin' 975to the County of Sutter in 0ctober ofcame fromtheCommunity MemorialTrustFund,in -I973 with a gift of stocks from Howard and Norma Harterequivalent to 100,000. To this sum has been added gifts from many inthe community, often rece'ived in the form of memorials. Set up as aperpetual trust with the interest earned to be used for museum development, the fund is admjnistered by a board of trustees.establishedThe seventeen member Conrnun'ity Memorial l4useum Cop,rnission, appointedby the Sutter County BoardofSupervisorso meets monthlyto provide ad-visory services to the museurn. The commission supervises thegiftshop andevents,andisresponsjble for the Membership Program,for fund raisingfor the lr4useum Expans j on Fund.Membershipin the museum isopento all interested persons. 980njne individuals, fami'lies, groups, or busjnesses areasmuseumof July 31.FundSeventymuseum membersraising events were period fashion show-teas held inNovember and June andajtems developed by theDecember Christmasmuseumthis yearparty.wereSpeciala "Suttergiftshop salesCounty Seal"rne-dallion or bel.t buckle; the sixth in the historic Sutter County plateseries, "North Butte; " a Sutter Buttesof SutterCounty ColoringmembershipsBook." GiftvJornan's T-shi rt; and theshop and fundraising"Hi stor.yrevenues andare used for operating and exhibit expenses.of 0,.l38 from theInstitute of Museum Serv'ices, Department of H. E. l,J., in September of 1979.The museum was awarded an Operation Support Grant
The grant supplementedlocal fund raising effortshjbit preparation, forconservation and preservationforex-of artifacts,andand was usedfor educational and research servjces to the community.The l'lemorjal Fountajn,acommunitybeautification project of theSutter County Bjcentennjal Commjssion was built at theand was dedjcatedinMayof .l980.Project are recognized by plaquesInformedSeptemberof.l975themuseum entranceto the Bicentennialset jnto the fountajn.DonorsComnunity l{emoria'l MuseumFountajnAuxiliarywasto provide volunteer services to the museum. To date .l4"3.l0volunteer hours have been looqed, 2,110 hours during the periodthis annual report. Auxiliaryeach 0ctober at an Awards Brunch.covered byDuringits fifthmuseum. 35,037memberrecoqnitionisgivenyear of operationo 7,082 people visited thevisitorscoming fromall50 states and from many foreignin five years.The nruseum gave a total of 79 group tours to 1,70'r people thisyear. 0f these 48 were to public and private school classes (. ,098individuals) ranging in level from preschool to seniors in col'lege.special groups served vrere l3 classes of educationally, physically orcountries have been logged by themuseumemotionally handicapped children oradults.Twe'lve.youth groups(1'13individuals) and l9 adult oroups (490 individuals) also toured therrluseum. In five years 9,259 individuals in 465 oroups have taken advantageof the museum's special tours.The ttluseum Concert Series, under the djrect'ionin the fifth year of presentingSunday afternoondanceof6. 6.ofJane Roberts, isartists. Elevenconcerts were held durinq the.year with a total attenprograms featuring 1oca1
total of 749 jndividual artifacts were qiven to the museum by 70donors in the past twelve months. Added to the 4,499 jtems received theprior four years and the over , ,000 items jn the orig'ina1 Sutter CountyAHistorjcal Society Collection, the museum's collection6,250i temsnumbers over.In addition to 'itsfeatured during theCounty post cards,permanentyear.juiceexhibits, ten special exhibitsDisplaysofulere"Ribbon Plates", Sutter andreamers and items fromYubaearly settlers of thelljcolaus area were loaned by 1oca1 residerrts. An exhibit and demonstraweaving, and natural dyeing of wool uras held jn l'lovember. 920's. 930's"Feminine Finery," Christmas Toys, andandAutomobile Adver-tion of spinning,tjsements were museum-developed exhibits. "American Agriculture, A Continu-ing Revolution," a Smithsonian instjtution Travel ing Exhibit was sponsoredof Yuba City and shovrn in Apri1. In July aSmithsonjan exhibit, "Five Critical Elections", was sponsored by Dr. andby 0rchard l,lachineryCompanyi\4rs. Michael Gabhartof East Nicholaus.MUSEUM CALENDARSeptemberl3 - 0ctober l2--1980 and l9BlSmithsonianExhib'it,InstitutionPHOTOGRAPHING- Card Party (Reservations & tickets available at museum)OctoberI6NoonMuseum Luncheon0ctober262 p.n.Sunday Concert SeriesNovember1-California State ArchivesExhibit, 0RANGE CFATE ART292November 23December'l -JanuaryTravel inqTHE FRONTIERp.m.Sunday Concert SeriesSpecial Exhibit,5Trave'l ingANTIQUT CHRISTMASORNAI.IENTSDecember I35-8p.m.Second Annual lt'luseum Christmas Party,TREES AI\D TRADITIONS
l1ay3-JunelMay (dateCal'ifornia State Archives Travel ingnot set)Exhibit,CAt-IF0RNIA'S l,,lINE INDUSTRYF'luseum l,line Tasti ng PartyTRUST FUNDDONORS TO THE COI.,IMUNITY MEMORIAL MUSEUI'1.l980l4ay14,.l980through August.l5,inmemoryCarol i ne Ri ng1 erinmemoryof Geral di ne Hal Iof Geraldine HallIgnatiusBanasewiczinmemoryofBee and Dick BrandtinmemoryLola L.inrnemoryinmemoryinmemoryof Kate Ramsaurof Geral di ne Hal Iof Ivy Ernstof Lee l4cCuneinmemor-vof Emily {ilburVerna l"l. SextoninmemoryofMr. and Mrs. Joe Alexanderinmemoryl'1r. and Mrs. Joe Alexanderinmemoryof Bill Donovanof Hattie GraceBill Arnett1,1r. and l4rs . Leroy Davi sinmemoryofGenev'ievein memoryofErmon UmfressNorma Harterinmemoryof BerniceNorman and Loadel PinerinmemoryofVerna 14. Sexton'in memoryof BerniceAlice A.inrnemoryof Bernice B. Gibsont'1r. and l''lrs" Bunrell I,J. U1lreyinrnemoryofLeroy and l4erjel Dav'isinmerrnoryinrnemoryinmemoryMr. and Mrs. RandolphNormaSchnabelCaseP. HarterNorma HarterRoberta McCoy, l4a rcel 1a Hardyand Elizabeth Phillips,Betty andSoderbergLeroy and MeriMaudeK.elRobertsDav.isAlexandra BanasewiczFlo-vd NesbittLeeBurtisGibsonl,lcCuneGibsonGerald'ine Hallof Genev'ieve Burti sof Herbert F. Det li ttof Leona Johnson
rnmemoryof BerniceSons of Norway, Snowshoe ThompsonLodge No. 78inmemoryof Bernice BestThe Heart Federal Savings & Loaninmemoryof Bernice Best GibsonBart and DonnaEdwardFairfield-Suisun UnifiedDistrictSchoolGibsonGibsonin memory of Bernice BestGibsonSullivan School Faculty and Staffinmemoryof Bernice BestGibsonThelma Ashford Gageinmemoryof Bernice BestG'ibsontttlVi ol ette and A. J . l4cCabeinmemoryof Bernice BestGibsoninmemoryof Bernice Best Gibson'inmemoryof Bernice Best Gibsoninmemoryinmemoryof Berni ce Best Gi bsonof Bernice Best Gibsoni n mernoryof Bernice Best Gibsoninof Bernice Best GibsonGoverning BoardWalter and CeiiaI1r.anCI{audeMrs. lrl. A. Greene Jr.K.RobertsMary i4ul vanyClaud'ine Rol uf sVelmaB. 0lsenJean GustiFairfielmemoryin memor.y of Elizabeth Curtisnd-SuisunAdministrator'sinmemoryof Bernice Best Gibsoninmemoryof Bernice Best GibsonLola & Leighton Case and CarylTrailerinmemoryof Bernice BestMr. and Mrs. Mario Delin memory ofAssoci ati onRotary C'lubof Fairfield-SuisunPeroEl iGibsonzabeth Joyet CurtjJul i a Reyno'l ds'inrnemoryof Bernice Best GibsonVerna M. Sexton'inrnemoryofVerna M. Sextonin memory of Herbert F.MaudeK. RobertsinmemoryLucjlle Tokuno, Miharu Studio ofHair DesigninmemoryJoe and Jane RobertsinmemoryAdah R. Borcherti n memoryGenevieve W. BurtisofEl iofofElDel,littzabeth Curtisizabeth CurtisE'l izabeth Curtisof Bernice Best Gibsons
Edna Morrissey and Family'in memory of Bernice Best GjbsonMargaretinmemoryof Eljzabeth J. Curtjsinmemoryof Eljzabeth J. CurtisMr. and Mrs. Gerald Alleninmemorjrof Juanice HollinqsheadMr. and Mrs. Gerald AlleninrnemoryofJean l4oreheadI'tr. and Mrs.inmemoryofElMaddenBogue CountryC1ubJames Arnoldyifornia Retired TeachersAssocjatjon, Sutter-Yuba-izabeth CurtisCalColusaDivi si onoutright gf iftLouis and Miriam Faroneinmemoryof BerniceGeorgia and l,riilburGneeninmemoryof Lloyd A. EversHol mesinmemoryofSchnabe'linmemoryof Elizabeth CurtisR. A. & S. D. Schnabelinmemoryof Berniceinmemoryof Elizabeth CurtisPhiIip and tl eanorR. A. & S. D.l4rs.Al i ceA. SoderbergGibsonJean l'loreheadGihrsonof Bernice Gibsonin memory of ltlargaret 14. Berr5rinrnemoryMr. and l{rs. Burwell I,l. Ul1reyinmemoryMr. and l,lrs. Burwel I l,l. U11reyfl,Jesleyan Feliowsh'ip, FirstUn i ted l'4ethodi st Churchinmemoryof Bernice Best Gibsontmi 1.y l,jesselinmemoryof }'Jalter Redheadinmemor;rofMrs. R. S. Turneyi4r. and Mrs.BurwelIMr. and l4rs. Lynn F.hl. U11reyWestofGenevieve Burtisn rnemory of Bernice GibsonBern'ice Best GibsonVerna 14. Sextonin memory of Ira C. l'lcKayRich Flatland, l4arianne FlatlandAnne Flatland, Kathy F1at1and,and Marie Hyman'in rnemoryof BerniceJesse and ivade'l'in memoryof Jesse HeffinqtonCass'iusSimmonsC. IppersonDavid and SylviaLamon1nIttmemoryhonorLamon& Arthur Cheirnof E. l J. B. Jonesof the b'irth of Grady Bruceon August 4. 1979
'iceinmemoryof Eric & Elna NelsonNorman anci Loadel Pinerinmemoryof Jarnes L. BrierlyLloyd and SylviainnemoryofAlLovleHensonDr. and Mrs. HerbertBun relinIlrl.L. Brierlyin memory of Eljzabeth CurtisBrannenCarol i ne Rjnglerl'1r. and l'lrs.Jamesof James L. Brierlymemory'in memory of James L. BrierlyU11reyinmemoryof James L. Brierlyinrnemoryof Oren P. MooreMrs. Hugo De1 Peroinmemoryof GeraldineHenry and Norma Poffenberqerof Paul Schuettein memory of Lloyd l,l. Hensonin mernory of Lloyd [,,I. Hensonin memory of Lloyd hl. Hensonin memory of Edward Rosein memory of Vernie Crouchin memory of Lloyd HensonMr. and l4rs. l,l. R.t4r. and Mrs.DaursonDewey AshfordinEd and Jean GustinCarol i neS.RinglerRuth E. 0' Sul I i vanLoyd and Nora lli I burl4r. and lt'lrs. Frank hl.Mr. and Mrs. FrankWelterl,rj. WelterWallace and Dorothy CoatsandRosemary Redhairl'laudeK.RobertsGeng,lermemory'in memoryof Lloydinof thenemoryWoodrowlnl. Hensongrandparents ofBest, Henry and LuvinaBest and Constantine andCarol i ne Ki ng of Harke.y Cornersofl'larqitCaroline RinglerI 864'in memory of LloydEppersonHensoninmernoryofBee and Dick Brandtinmemor.yof Oren P. MooreBee and Dick Brandtinmemoryof Lloyd HensonqWoodrow Best
AMOS SMITH WIGHTllow many---ONE h HO NEVER RETURNEDearly pioneersthe country in search of aThe time was lB49 andcameto an areasuch as ours from acrossof life or perhaps even rjches?the message of "qold discovered'innew wayfor nnny,Californja" reached eastward. The nevls met the ears of nany a youngman who wasAmoseagerfor adventure. tnle might suppose that our subject,Smith t light, borninKentuckyIn researching an individualdjfficult to fillto gi ve \ /ay togapsspecu'linwhoin time withati onal1B?1,ofthese youngmen.lived so long aoo, it is ofteneventsong thewas oneway.in his lifeThe reasonandforit is easysel ecti nq Arnostc the Commun'it.y Memoriallnluseum, of Sutter County by hi s great granddaughter. Much of thematerial seemed to be of historical interest. Even though Anos's contributions were not of great jndivjdual signifjcance, they are of significancecol lectively with those of h'is contemporaries. H'is deeds aided the development of the West. Today, descendanbof thjs man are numbered among residents of this part of California.The content of this article is cornprised mostly of a compilation ofletters written to Amos l Jiqht in the lB50's and l860's. tiith this writer'sintroductory notes, to help clarify certain portions of the letters, it ishoped you will en,joy these accounts of l'ife so'long aoo. Note that thereis a rather continuous thread of pleas throughout the letters for Arnosto return "home."The period in history is pre-Civil ldar. The area of Kentucky whereAmos lived, had been settled for a considerably'longer period of time thanas our subject was thatman-vlettersCal'ifornia. Miqratjng to Californiawere givenand leavinq beh'indlDfamily, friends and
his slave holdingshave no evidenceundoubtedl.y wasthata big decision in Amos's ljfe.he Was a married man so perhapsthismadeittieabit easier to leave hjs home, even in his 27th year, and try a newlife in the hlest. It is bel'ieved that he devoted the next six or sevenyears of hjs ljfe to mining.l,Jecan speculatethathe traveled here from Kentucky with l'loss,Taylor, Porter and Spears, but will neverlettersmakeitap;rearfor certain. Differentknowthat these buddies of his later scattered toareas such as Strav,,berry Va11ey and Gibso':vi I le andthatDoc Spears re-io Richmond, Virginia area by'1855. The feeling one derjves fromreading these first fer"r letters from his friends is one of a qenuinecloseness as reference is made to the "CalifOrnia BoyS". After a fewturnedyears passed. mining seemed to be not as profitable forhavewished.PerhapsAmosas he mjohtsettl.ing down, having a wife and family and ranch-to be the next appropriate turn in his life- l{e find evidencethat he rented a small ranch the very nronth of his marriage to Fanny Nicholsing,i,rasPierce (see rental agreement of flovember 240 l856).I willtake you through the portionrancher and as a responsiblec'itizen.ofAmos'slifeas prospector,He served pos'itions such as Justiceof the Peace, chairrnan of the Board of Supervisors of Yuba County andDirector of Browns Va'l1ey Irriqation District. Some rnrill say Amos SmithWiqht did not leave a very larqe mark in our history. This may be true,but he does represent an ear'ly pioneer who didadventure.l-1ed'id vrorkto better himselfandcome herehis familywith a sense ofand hedidserveh'is community'in ways that he could.not be earthshakinq to find out why, while on the Board ofSupervisors, Amos ilas referred to as "Hooppole" lrli ght. It may not beItunjquemaythat he had slave holdings back in Kentuck.y. But one thing is\\
certain.hisitAsa researcher,Ispent some interesting hours peering intopast and reading Amos's personar mairfrom sorne r25 years ago.Anclrnade mefeer asif Ia smarl scope i,nto his rife a rife thatwas'less than duil and uneventfur. I wourdrike to share as crosely aspossible, happeninqs in his rife asare reveared in retters to him, oldnewspaper articres, )ibrary microfilms,courthouse documents, and infor-mation givento thishadof his descendants.As one derves into these retters, itis interesting to note some ofthe a rchai c terms used such as "drubbing,,and ,,doglgery,, for examp.le. Onealso must rearize that back in the days whenmany of these retters wereMuseum b.voneurritten, few people had any real formar education.Manyletters are verydifficult to decipher w'ith numerous run-on sentences,lack of punctuation,and poor speliinc. perhaps this is the propertime and place toemphasizethe importance for people to preserve ord records,retters, documents,to'identifyphotogrraphsandfor foil ow'ing generations to enjoy.An extensive searchdid not turn up photographs of Amos or his wife,Fanny' l'lhat we do knovr about Fanny i s thatshe was born Fanny Ni chor sPierce in Gennesse couniTrNew york, Januar.y5, rg35, and marriedAmos30,in Butte county carifornia. In a span of thirteenyears, six chirdren were born to them,but apparently only three rived toNovember1856,adul thood.The surviving son, Thomas Truman,whose photographwjllappear severaltirnes, is mentioned as marrying r,ary JosephineBurris. (The BurrisisknowntomanyBurris family).in this area today.They are descendantsof thisRanchsamehis wife rived a time at Gridrey, Bangor, camptonville and nroved to Berkeley area in the early l90C,s.Thomas was at leastfor a time, invorved in mining in yuba county alongthe Feather River.He arrcit2
it is only speculation that his interest in minjnq deve'lopedof his father. (ttote the cover picture -- Arnos'S son, ThomasOnce againbecauseis thi rd from I eft).letters or portjons of letters selected to share with youstart'in lB55 and the last one uras urritten late in 1863. lrJith a briefi ntroducti on to each I etter, -vou are ready to becli n read'ing them' TheThecontentof the letters is left as oriqinal as possible.lhis Fhoio with the cover photo. Gan we speculate this was a Sunday affernoonface canouling, with lady friends? There is an extra small boy in this piclure bul each man'scompareidenti{ied on lhe cover Picture.\bbe
***Apni,(-t(it** * * * * * *** * * * * rt * * * **10*** * * **, t t55i's [nom 7. T. l"lcttt: o{ [*'(ttom ** Cnagg'.t F.La.t. A{though we- havz no ctntutzn nomen- *aa* Amo,s, Lle aatwnz hz dzc,l-ine-d th.z ctd[zn,a"* tion a)cLL evLrL mctdz in n-ede,nencz tct tauvnll-I' Ln *** Xaten LohheafJondzncz.ThiA Letten* X * t * * it t( * * * rt * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Fri end l,li ghtIhow vretake this opportunjty of writing you a few Iines to ]et.youare geting along up here hlellMy c1aim hassold out oflleilr reare doing very well so farpaid very well for the time that ue haved workeditsome tvro vleeksbought oneago. my sixth part forthird last fal I for sjxit.Isevn hundredthatthehundredforhundred so you can seeold fellow is in luck for wonce. he uiould not take fifteenitknovrnow.Myobject in vlriting to you at this time is thjs. I heard thathad sold out your ciajrns and supposeinqthis time and would like to qet in tonotewrthy (?) buisnessforsomeyouthat you bras out of busjness atsumth'inqtime and asIthat would pay andhavebea good chance as ithink of that sort I would write you word and if you want to goin to itIwould be very gladsteam saro mi I Itohave youfor a pardner Itis this to bujld aat Crago\ f I at thi s sunrner. vJe can oet the rni'l 1 and putit up for fjve thousand dollars at moast and I think mutch less thanthat I have sent bel ow by arran that i s i n the bu i sness to know vlhatthe engine will coast. and will har from hjm in about two weeks he isa man that has been in that sort of buisness for sonte t'ime and a friendof mind and he vrants nne to go into it he says that he knows that itl.{
willpayr rellltlowopperration writeifyou think that you wouldme v,rordlike to go in toas soon as possible andlettheme know howlike to put in it and if you urant to see me about itlet me know at what po"int I can find you and I will come and see youat eny time vou nay set I dont knolv whare you are at this time so Iwill send this to Doc and get hinr to forrrrard it to you We are all wellat presant qot aletter from Pat the othir day he is rorell and says thathe is doing weli if old porter is withe you qive hirn my respects andthe same to ol d man -iayl or i remai n you i's Respectf u1 lymutch you r rou1dI. T. l'loss
* * * t( ***** * * * * * ***** * *****)c-toben 3, 1 555*. .- .-.-.--- .-:**********hJ'i*.LztLen is dnom n-Lend, Ge,onge Ponten o Stnawbznnq Va.(X-et1, Ca-Li(onnia to Amot Wighf. Pon-ten i's.tending 75 bq rtage dnLvest to Ano,s. Geonge Ponteninvi.tz,s Ano.t to [-oob af. th.U ys{-ace whene he- iawonlzing c,n tl,te Feathen Rivzn.*0oggenq (Web'sten"s 1881 d.i-eLLonafttl) meant !,owTlqe-gfrlg dhctp on but.** * x ** * ** *x****Fri end* * * * X* *********ir** * ********ght.I avail my self of thjs opportunity of writjnq to you a few lines;Yet at the same time giv'ing but little neurs of any importance. I lefthere last Saturday Morning. went by lvay of Forbes Town to 0phiro andwas quite anx'ious to See you, but it was with Some little difficulty Icould learn any thing about you. 0ld Man Youlen vlas in Company with rnewe passed neartowhere you were build'ing made many and numerous enquiriesof you, we made those enquiries of an g],dBuckfact(?) who keeps a *Dogery Al I that I coul d learn from hirn v,ras thatfor you butCould learn nothingSeveral Stores were about be'ing put upat lastnot atSawSomeoneortwo miles abovehjm. Ia man who told me he knew one of them to be you. but youvJereto the Mounta'in House. At this time the sunwas about Setting and not likeing the appearance of the Hotell, near by.hor,nehaveing gone upwe consulted eachwere damsore.other and thoughtit best to keep on to 0phir.and we were very much fatiguedindeed.Our feethowever we reached0phir in time to get supper Stayed all night and went to Marysville nextdayin the Staqe Iamnot fu11y prepared to say how I like the 0phirCountry did not look round buthotest placeIljttleButIdo knol one thingIdontlike ittomakea raise for you butever met with in the Country Andthat account. l,light ihave been doing rny best{{Pit is themuch on
vrithoutdosuccess Isend by the Stagedriver 75 whichat the present tjme. I hever in al1 my lifeat before.is al I Icanknew money so hard toat thjsplace vlhere I am working on Feather River. And Harrison Diggins ifthink Compet'it jon r ri I I run to high at Cherrokee, Nothing more atcomeNowWiqht you had better come up and lookpresent.Irerna'in your S'incerefriend\1Geo W Porteryou
AsMyselfSnow,1855*iLettzn i,t dnom Geonge Ponten o( Stnawbeft)Lu .VULzq to Amol"Wig\Lt. ft'tttt tzttett L's bnizd aydmenLL6u 0t. Spean's and dz,scn Lbe'd wintzn cond'LtLctnt Ln Stnautbznnq Va.Lt'et4.**** * * * t( ** * ** * ** * * * * * * ** x* ********7The-***qhtIhave an opportunit;rof writing you a fevr lines. I will availof the Same, Yet writ'ing nothing of any interest at all.at thisp1ace,at present issomeThe2 feet in depth, and very dis-in deed. T'imes are distreSsingly du1l, And if I knew ofany p"lace that I could make expences. down your way I would betempted to leave this place and Come down and spend Some 2 or 3Monthsat least And Wight if you know of any show that I can make any thinO.You vrill Confer on me a fiveing favour by informing me the Same I amvery tired of the l,lountains and So much Snovr. I have been l'.ljningr onGeorgia Gulch for the 1ast 2 Months. but the pay"is very poolindeedI have at last heard from Dr. Spears. he reached home'in oood health andsafety. fle send to you hi s best uri shes and respects he al so mentionedthe money he owes you, which amount I will make right v,rith you as soonas i can,, llothjng more to write at present I remain your Sincere friend,agreeab'le)Howis l'liSs Fannie)Geo, llj Porter.)PSLet me hear from you Soon.lrWf\
*****************x{ **************10 1kt,/ I oJatrtrnnnln t a,t\twLttL{ ---**i's dnom J. H. ltlc16aa.c, a coual.rt n KQn* tuehqLztte-tt*Ano,s \ligLtt. Tlti,s lection 0d tlutt (ettento* nz(ent to a ma.n wlrto had qone dousn to Bu,[.Lt-tt** Ne-I'son Countiu wish ol-d Mang, the aLave w(twtat,** The .[-a.tt pontion pcinl,s ouL that clutin Mclt,ta.c**i's .Loolzing don lti.n to ttotuttn to Kentuctzu. ** to,L,*Love. to oun "nui-eouaLn" ma.q mea.n tha.t Amo's harl* a(neadq tahzn Fa.niul {oz M-t bnidz.*rtx * * x* ** * ** * ** x * x* ** **** ** * * I-----He has gone down to Bulit & with him took o1d mary, and I hop shewill not come back to Nelson again they are a devil of a sett I coulrlnot let Liz goe out to Seee them out my haveing to goe after him. .hpwas out at christimas all the cold weather I did not qet hir formonth and could not get hir to come in she wanted me to hire hir to l)rMattings to wash all the year & hir in the family way again, She is aqood breeder, is a bout as much as can be sajd, as they qet old they a1lclet mean, they are al1 in good Health,1iz is got Stout & I thinK Healthythe I i ttl e Byoy 'is Hea I thy but SmalA.mos, I have not much News to write you thouqh I expect there is agreat change Sinc you left here a good many of you o1d acquaintances dead& some moved off Doct McElvany y,,as thrown out of his buqoy a few days*Thef,,a1agoe & died the sanne Night, be Sides a good many broken leqs & arms th'iswinter the Hardest ever experienced in Kentucky the oound has binwith Ice from the beginning of winter t'ill nownJamescoveredSlauohter the clerkis in his p'laece, Lots of wedings Mrs Winton toDoct James Muir partner of Dr. Hinds Aron Haris Marid again off is stillhere Single all though they have it he is to mary eny vreek to a Miss B.Po1ly, is mared Aunt Jane had bought a sma'll farm in Harder or Larne isvery ure11 pleased one of hir Brother Sing'le 'is with hir" it is avrygood litt1e p'lace off has bin down, & seen it, A. we have all bin looking for you, & Bristowe & FranK in this last fall - By evry vessell thatarrives from cal but none of you come & it 'is vey seldom we hear fromyou - please write oftnjr vrall Join in our love to you & our New cousin/died this w'inter & HindsJH l'lcIsaaclg
***30, 1 (!6.*irs [nom Thomat SpeaM, ChersteniLeLdCountg, Va., wni.tLen to Anor Uligt'tt, )ne o[ tl,te.Tl'te X-e-tten***"CaLidonruLa \cst1a" who n-ztunned hctmz irs Sytea.na.il daiXing. I(: l e cou.Ld lrcve done,seeni.LX, hza.Ltl,t in thz Eadt he would neve,)L lnve X-edtCa.(i[0rLn"La. lle, being a y:l,tqfician hinwe[-d, be.LLevz,s he I,ta.t cctnaunptlon. He Lovet the Ca.tidonnLabctq,s .tibe bnothe-tLL and l-onqt to tzz Ancst once moneanld [zeX, a,s " Lrappq a,s a bzld bug" .*Dnubbing - to thna.th ott bea.t wi.th a ,sticb.HiA he,a,[-th*Cctnsumystt-onir * * * *********-L a,sting o[ thz bodq; puLmonilLqtubencuLttti,s.* * * * ** * * ** ** ** ** ** ****** * *Dear Friend WightIhave prom.ised m-vse1f thousandsdone So andIam almostof times to writeafraid you thjnk hard of me indeed I admithave done wrong and deserve a good "drubbing,forgivemeyou r,rithout havrnocheerful'ly and wilIjngly.but Dear Cld tlight youIrnustl'ly health has been wretched indeedever since Christmas. Confined nearly the urhole time on my back and Ifeel so bad always,even nowo bothinbody & mindto commence a letter. Ive no enerqy of mind oramof a regular hypocondriac. I think ofdeterminedthat it is very difficultbody anda good specimen.you so Often every dayIIhaveto write. Tho. Ive nothinq that could interest vou fronr thisquarter apart from my sel f.last fall for a short-time Ienjoyed myself very we1'l huntjnq birds& knockjng about R'ichmond with a fewIofmy o1d Chumsvrith that exceptionfor the pleasure or comfort since. Could Ihave foreseen I would never have left Cal I believe now my health wouldnot have suffered. and I think my on'ly show ever to enjoy anything likehealth will be to emigrate again to some climate similar to yours. One ofmy iungs is very seriously affected in p1a'in English I have every symptomof *Consumption & believe I have it. It makes me feel bad to think ofhad aswellhave been deada"o
leavinghomewithout any constrtution & in bad healthalso. to tr v ormix in with this r"/icked world once more & on the other hand whatthe comfortsNoneoftowhenit to any of my folks. The.y uri11 be very muchopposed I knovr but if I remain one more winter I am a gone Chicken. wehad the hardest winter you ever saw in your 1ife. Ice on James River was4 ft think. nearly all the birds of every description & hares were killedfruit trees also. Crops are very indifferent this year in Va. the cornis suffering very much now with dry weather.I got a letter from Skjnner a month or two ago. he has just settledthoIyou have no health to enjoy them.been thinking of 'leaving this fall seriously,home amountof course. I'vedohave not rnentionedhimself he says at delphos 0h'io. inquired after you & a1l the boys" saiditurasvery hard to quit imulating"presume hemule Ii
Sexton Mr. and Mrs. Joe Alexander l'1r. and Mrs. Joe Alexander Betty and Bill Arnett 1,1r. and l4rs . Leroy Davi s Norma Harter Norman and Loadel Piner Verna 14. Sexton Alice A. Soderberg t'1r. and l''lrs" Bunrell I,J. U1lrey Leroy and l4erjel Dav'is Leroy and Meri el Dav.is Maude K. Roberts in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in 'in in .
