Letter Number 26--From the Mary/Sue Collection--Sarah to Robert--18 December 1863 (Date Determined Using Ultraviolet "Black" Light on Original and by Context)

 

Letter 26 Original Page 1 Top

 

Letter 26 Original Page 1 Bottom

                                                       Letter 26 Original Page 2 Top

 

Letter 26 Original Page 2 Bottom

 

Letter 26 Original Page 3

 

Letter 26 Original Page 4

 

Letter 26 Enhanced Page 1 Top

 

Letter 26 Enhanced Page 1 Bottom

 

Letter 26 Enhanced Page 2 Top

 

Letter 26 Enhanced Page 2 Bottom

 

Letter 26 Enhanced Page 3

 

Letter 26 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 “26”—from Sarah to Robert

18 December 1863—Date Provided in Letter

Transcribed by William B. Bond—Sept., 2013

Page 1:

Lyndon Juneau County Wis Dec 18^th/63¹

          Dear husband I seat myself this afte

rnoon to write to you, though I have no particular news

to communicate I have lately received two or three letters

one dated 14^th one 16^th and one the 7^th of November²

containing some flower & pepper seeds which I have but

just received, and as I have been very much hurried

the past week spinning some stocking yarn to take to

market I have delayed answering them untill³ today

and will answer them all at once hoping you will

excuse my negligence I will now thank you for the

seeds which I will endeavor to plant in the spring

I will say here that the pills that I spoke of in one

of my letters and sent to Delton done up in newspaper & other papers

to be mailed, after having

been gone two or three weeks were returned Mr Huntington

Post Master ??? ??? ??? ???⁴ and things

contrary to law so I shall have to keep them and hope

you will be well without them, as you say in your

last, you have got well, I hope this will find you in

good health, and I hope you will be careful of your

health as your situation will permit we are as

well as usual at home I had intended

to butcher or kill our hogs tomorrow and think

I shall kill Rosa the Heifer heifer at the same time

but it is snowing quite hard now and I think

I shall not be able to have it all done at present or

Untill³ it clears off which may not be by morning

I intend to sell half of the beef and hide to pay King⁵ the rest I think

I shall keep for my own use & the hogs I intend to keep

all of them, I have only three hogs & one of them is the one

you wished me to kill last spring it has always been

lame and I presume will not weigh over one hundred

PAGE 2:

lbs now the other two are good hogs and I think will

weigh over two two hundred apiece, last winter I sold

all my pork but one hog and had to go without or buy all

summer pork is now selling at 6 Dol 6 Dollars and

5 cts per hundred lbs I don’t know what beef is now

but two weeks ago was 4 Dollars and twenty five cts

per hundred lbs in Kilbourn common brown sugar

is from 12 to 14 cts per lb and Tea is 150 cts per lb

$1.50 cts per lb & coffee 40 cts I have got F⁶ Vail to get my

wood I have to pay him seven shillings⁷ per cord

stove wood cut ready for the stove in the wood

so I get no chips⁸ it was the best I could do as I could

get no one to do it cheaper the first cord he drawed

did not last a week he has drawn me three

cords I have been advised by several to make

a bee⁹ and got some wood hauled up but

perhaps if I should there would none come, I have

not fully made up my mind what I shall do

about it I shall do the best I can for myself and

family as according to my best Judgement¹⁰ in

all things hoping you will allways¹¹ advise me

in your letters I hear that Mrs Stevens has just

received some money by express for me but I have

not got it yet as it is so stormy they have not been

down to meeting Alvaro^A said in his letter to

Louisa^B you was going to send me $15 Dollars

save always what you need to make you

more comfortable, as I hope to be able to get

along by Industry and careful Economy if we

have our health which I pray we may and that

you too may have your health Seneca Briggs

called to see us two or three times he says you

are a particular friend of his and that he always

carries your traps¹² on a march I hope it is so at least

PAGE 3:

when you are sick I was very sorry to hear that

you sold your boots but I suppose they did not fit

you I would have been glad to send you something

by Seneca but had nothing to send except those

few berries which I hope you will accept

and the little Bible is one I have had ever since I was 16

years old and have sent it to you as a token

of love Please accept it also I hope the wine

I sent you will have the desired effect to

strengthen you both body and heart but never

to make you intemperate, I hope you will be able to

resist all the evil temptations of a camp life and be

spared to return to your family as good and even

a better man than when you left, you tell me to¹³

[Please turn over the sheet]

¹⁴Louisa^B sends her love to you and Alvaro^A

and says she don’t feel in a writing mood to

day but will will¹⁵ write to Alvaro^A in a few

days little Willie^C talks of his Father every day

PAGE 4:

look out for the praying men I don’t think many if

any men pray for me though I would like the

prayers of a truly good man But like your self¹⁶

I see verry¹⁷ few whose actions agree with their Sunday

Worship But I would that my husband was a man

that loved the Lord and tried to do his Duty to his

God and his Country too I believe you mean to do

your duty to your country I received a letter from

Erastus^D the other day and thinking you may

like to read it I shall send it to you I have also

received one from William^E in which he says he

thinks of changing his situation so I presume the

next time I hear from him he will have

taken him another companion¹⁸ Lellie^F & Sarah^G

are going to school this winter Sarah^G has got her

mind so much on parties this winter that I fear

she will not learn as much as I could wish

it is getting late so I will draw to a close

accept this from your own

          Sarah A Bond

NOTE¹⁹: The phrase “… Sarah^G are going to school this winter Sarah^G has got her mind so much on parties this winter that I fear she will not learn as much as I could wish” is circled and underneath the circle is written: “Sarah E Bond^G” and “this looks Bad” At the very bottom of the page--in the same pen—is the uppercase letter “S” or possibly “L”.

FOOT NOTES:

1.  This date is very difficult to read—particularly the month “Dec”. But it can only be December since, in the letter, Sarah refers to the fact that she is sorry that Robert sold his boots—something he told her in letter #23 dated 14 November 1863.

2.  The letters dated November 14^th and 16^th are letters #23 and #24. Neither the collection of Mary and Sue nor the collection of Billie P has a letter from Robert dated November 7^th.

3.  until

4.  These words are on the fold of the letter, and I cannot read them. It looks like there might be four words.

5. “King” is also mentioned in letter 27 and seems to be someone Robert and Sarah owed money to—perhaps a mortgage?

6.  I am uncertain of this letter, or even if it is a letter! But it looks like it may be an “F”.

7.  It seems odd that the term “shilling” is used—perhaps it is a holdover from when Robert was born and lived in England until he was about 13 years old.

8.  I am guessing that this means that the stove wood was chopped in the woods and not at Robert and Sarah’s home--and that therefore there were no “chips” from chopping available to burn.

9.  Presumably a “bee” is where neighbors would get together at the home of Robert and Sarah to chop the wood.

10. judgment  

11.  always

12.  Presumably military and/or personal equipment.

13.  Narration continues on page 4.

14.  These four lines seem to be a separate note written by Sarah at the bottom of page 3 and not connected to earlier narration.

15.  Repeated word

16.  yourself

17.  very

18.  The wife of Sarah’s brother--William O. Fiske—died in June 1862. He remarried in 1864, and had a son born in June 1864.

19.  The circling of the phrase and signature was made by Sarah Elizabeth Bond sometime after the letter was written. It is not known whether this was written before the letter was sent, or after it was returned with Robert. Since Sarah Elizabeth Bond married Augustus Boughton in December 1867 and adopted the last name “Boughton”, it was presumably written before her marriage.

LIST OF INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED:

A.  Alvaro N Griffin (1838-1916)—Husband of Robert and Sarah’s oldest child Louisa and served with Robert in the Civil War.

B.  Louisa Maria Bond (1845-1896)—Oldest child and daughter of Robert and Sarah. Married to Alvaro N. Griffin who is away from home serving with Robert in the Civil War.

C. William Othello “Willie” Bond (1860-1928)—Fourth oldest child and only son of Robert and Sarah.

D.  Erastus Edward Fisk (1836-1908)—Brother of Sarah. He lives in Sarah’s childhood home of Killingly, Connecticut, and also served in the Civil War as part of the 18^th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.

E.  William O Fisk (1816-1903) Brother of Sarah. He lives in Sarah’s childhood home of Killingly, Connecticut.

F.  Luella Hortense “Lellie” Bond (1856-1893)—Third oldest child and daughter of Robert and Sarah

G.  Sarah Elizabeth Bond (1847-1912)—Second oldest child and daughter of Robert and Sarah

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

NOTE 1: This letter was written on a single large sheet of paper (12 ½ inches X 15 inches) folded in half to make four “pages”. There is a 3 ½ inch X 7 ½ section cut out of the large sheet at the bottom right and a small, rounded 2 inch X 3 inch section torn from the top of that cut section. This makes Pages 3 and 4 shorter than pages 1 and 2 and with a “chunk” missing—on the right side for page 3 and the left side for page 4. But this seems to have been done before the letter was written and— based on context--none of the writing seems to be missing. There is an “embossed seal” indicating the paper manufacturer at the upper left of the front side as was common on many papers of the time. The embossed seal is oval in shape and it looks like there is the image of the U. S. Capitol Building inside the oval. It seems to be the same as the embossed seal on letters 3 and 27. The letter seems to be complete.

NOTE 2:  The writing in this letter is extremely faded and difficult to read. Transcribing this letter was very time consuming, challenging, and in most cases could only be accomplished by using an ultraviolet (black) light. In this case, the black light was shone on the letter, a few words were read and copied, and the process was repeated—over and over. But in spite of this difficulty, I believe the transcription to be at least 95% correct. Fortunately Sarah was a good speller and writer and context gave hints as to what the words were. But it should not be forgotten that it is very fortuitous that the letter still exists. It was mailed to Vicksburg Mississippi December 18^th, 1863, and had to be saved and carried by Robert as he moved about during the Civil War until he returned home. And much of the fading was likely due to the fact that it became wet in the pack Robert was carrying. After all, it was December!

However, I must admit that in some cases I had to take a “best guess” as to what was written. 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. But this is probably one letter—far more so than others--where access to the original would be necessary to make corrections.

NOTE 3:  This letter was found loose and not in an envelope.

NOTE 4: The spelling and grammar in this letter are reasonable so I do not believe an overall transcription is necessary.

NOTE 5:  This letter describes daily life on the farm of Robert and Sarah in Lyndon, Juneau County, Wisconsin while Robert was away serving in the Civil War. The major topics are flower and pepper seeds that Robert sent Sarah and some pills that Sarah attempted unsuccessfully to send to Robert. There is an inquiry as to Robert’s health and the hope that he will take care of his health. Sarah describes the butchering and sale of farm livestock, and the local prices of items. Sarah is concerned about wood for the winter and describes what she has done to obtain wood and her consideration to “make a bee” to get wood chopped. She describes how she heard from son-in law Alvaro that Robert had sent her $15 which she hadn’t received yet, and that she had sent Robert wine and a small Bible—with the hopes that the wine would strengthen him in “body and heart” but not make him intemperate. Sarah goes on to say that she hopes Robert will resist “camp temptations” and return “as good or even a better man” than when he left. She also expresses the hope that he will do his duty to God and country. Sarah finishes by saying that she received letters from her brothers Erastus and William and that daughters “Lellie” and Sarah were attending school—although she worries that “parties” will interfere with Sarah’s learning.

One of the most interesting things about this letter is the circled phrase:  “… Sarah^G are going to school this winter Sarah^G has got her mind so much on parties this winter that I fear she will not learn as much as I could wish” and in dark print: “Sarah E Bond” and “this looks bad.” At some stage, Sarah’s daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Bond must have read what her mother wrote and was chagrined that this statement made her look bad. But this addition is a window into the lives and activities of family members at that time.