Letter 24 Original Page 1
Letter 24 Original Page 2
Letter 24 Original Page 3
Letter 24 Original Page 4
Letter 24 Enhanced Page 1
Letter 24 Enhanced Page 2
Letter 24 Enhanced Page 3
Letter 24 Enhanced Page 4
THE
CORRESPONDANCE BETWEEN ROBERT BOND JR. (1819- 1894) AND WIFE SARAH ANN (MAIDEN
NAME “FISK”—1823-1909) BETWEEN 1862 AND 1868
From the Mary/Sue Collection
Transcription of Letter “24”—from Robert to Sarah
16 November 1863—Date Provided in Letter
Transcribed by William B. Bond—Sept., 2013
PAGE
1:
Natchez Miss Nov, 16th /63
ever
Dear Wife must
write to you
agine1 and hope you
will receive
this with good
chear2
I have got well so that
I shall go
into camp today, those
things were
very good you sent me thee wines
Make me think
that I shall have to
Come home
and brin3 the Lemon
to the baby,
wat4 du5 you think
tell Willie
to make up is6
face to go
up stares7, ask him if
he will, if
I will Com8 home soom
thing9
you see I am the same chip,
you no10
me this is,
Robert Bond
PAGE
2:
write Soon
Ever true
Wife Sarh11 Bon12
from your
true husband
Robert Bond
PAGE
3:
this is for
WillieA & LellieB
My son be
wise, and make my
heart glad,
that I may answer
him that
reporoacheth13 me,
A prudent
man foreseeth the evil,
hideth
himself but the simple
pass on, and
are punished14
I have just
written to,
L. S.
Dickens
I have one
letter from
Mrs L M
GriffinC give her my
Love I will
write to her son
FOOTNOTES:
1. again
2. cheer
3. bring
4. what
5. do
6. his
7. stairs
8. come
9. something
10. know
11. Sarah
12. Bond
13. reproacheth
14. From Proverbs Chapter 22 Verse 3 of the King
James Bible.
LIST OF INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED:
A.
William Othello “Willie” Bond (1860-1928)—Fourth oldest child and only son of
Robert and Sarah.
B. Luella Hortense “Lellie” Bond
(1856-1893)—Third oldest child and daughter of Robert and Sarah
C. Louisa Maria Bond (1845-1896)—Oldest child
and daughter of Robert and Sarah Married to Alvaro N. Griffin who is away from
home serving the Wisconsin Volunteers during the Civil War.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
NOTE
1: Reading this letter is a challenge due to the unusual spelling and
grammar. In some cases I had to take a “best guess” as to what was written. But
it should be remembered that this letter was written “in the field” most likely
under very difficult circumstances. So it is a treasure that it exists at all. It
should be noted that Robert’s handwriting and spelling in this letter is much
improved over that found in letters 2 and 3.
If
anyone who examines a scan of the original can better make out what the words
are or can see anywhere that there is an error in the transcription, I would
welcome their input.
The
following is my attempt at a transcription of the entire letter with spelling
and grammar corrected:
PAGE 1:
Natchez Mississippi November, 16th 1863
Ever Dear Wife. (I)
must
write to you again and hope you
will receive this with good
cheer. I have gotten well so that
I shall go into camp today. Those
things were very good, you sent me
thee wines.
(It) makes me think that I shall
have to
come home and bring the Lemon
to the baby, what do you think?
Tell Willie to make up his
face to go upstairs. Ask him if
he will, if I will (bring him) home
something.
You
see I am the same chip,
you know me--this is
Robert
Bond
PAGE 2:
Write soon,
ever true wife Sarah Bond.
From your true husband,
Robert
Bond
PAGE 3:
This is for Willie &
Lellie
My son, be wise and make my
heart glad, that I may answer
him that reproacheth me.
A prudent man foreseeth the evil,
hideth himself. But the simple
pass on and are punished
I have just written to,
L. S. Dickens.
I have one letter from
Mrs L M Griffin. Give her my
love I will write to her soon.
NOTE 2:
This letter was written on a
single sheet of paper folded in half to make four “pages”. The top edge of page
1 has a thin red stripe, and the right edge of page 1 has a thin blue stripe.
With the white of the paper, it shows “red, white, and blue.” There is an
“embossed seal” indicating the paper manufacturer at the upper left of page 1
as was common on many papers of the time. The embossed seal looks like an
American flag on a staff with a banner over the top. The banner over the top
has writing on it, but I am unable to read the writing. Due to the embossed American flag and the
red, white, and blue decoration of the paper, I believe this paper was probably
Government Issue. The letter seems to be complete and there is no writing on
page 4.
NOTE 3: This letter was found (along with letter #23
dated November 14th, 1863) in an envelope addressed to:
Sarah A Bond,
Lyndon Station
Juneau County
Wisconsin
The postmark on the envelope reads “Natchez”. The date is very difficult to read, but my best guess is “Nov 1863” The stamp on the envelope was issued from
1861-1867. The folded letters fit this envelope nicely. It is possible that
both letters were mailed together and that his
envelope could be the original envelope these letters were mailed in.
NOTE 4:
This is an odd letter and quite different from the earlier letters
written by Robert. On page 1, Robert expresses his appreciation for the
“things” which Sarah sent him—with one of those things being her wine. It seems
odd that alcohol could be sent to troops in the field, but maybe that was the
case during the Civil War. Or maybe “wine” is a code word for something else.
In fact all of page 1 seems lighthearted with phrases like “bring the lemon to
the baby” and “I am the same chip”—as if this is playful banter between them
for which only the two of them know the meaning. Page 2 is just a closing, but
again Page 3 is different from earlier letters. The top of page 3 is a message
to Robert and Sarah’s children, William and Luella, but in the second line, he
starts “My Son”—not “My Son and Daughter.” He then goes on to quote scripture—Proverbs
Chapter 22 Verse 3 of the King James Bible. The complete verse is:
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth
himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
The
rest of page 3 refers to a letter Robert wrote to L. S. Dickens and a letter he
received from his daughter L M Griffin.
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