Pleasant Corners Ill.

May 27, 1865

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Dear Brother Whit

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A couple of days ago a letter was brought to me directed in your well remembered handwriting and as it had been nearly seven years since I had received such a missive before you can guess how glad and thankful I felt, thankful to you for the kind remembrance, and thankful to our Heavenly Father that through all your ramblings his loving care has been over you and shielded you from danger and death. I shall send your letter on to mother for they tell me it has been nearly two years since they have received any word from you and so it will give joy to her and all the inmates of the old homestead.

I do so much wish you would come back to the old nest before they leave it for strangers to inhabit as I suppose they will do before long, perhaps in the spring, as Lucius intends to build a house on his farm adjoining and move, and then will give up the old place. Perhaps you have been informed of his marriage, but if not I will tell you all I know about it. Last September, I think , he married Miss Minerva Potter, a daughter of Nathan Potter. I think you used to know him. Mother writes that she is an intelligent, good looking woman but of a slender constitution. Tempe is living there with them but talks about coming west again. Elvira is here with us this summer, but intends to go home whenever Tempe makes up her mind positively to come west. Elvira spent the winter with Ade in Polo. Mr. Waterbury sold his farm last fall and bought a very pleasant house in Polo and Elvira thinks they are very pleasantly located. Fordyce is still in the army but thinks he shall get discharged before long.

I have heard nothing from brother George and his family in a long while. We are all in comfortable health though James is pretty well worked down just now. He has worked rather too hard for his strength this spring, in sewing, planting and fencing and having taken a little cold withal has now for a few days looked rather drooping. Our boys, Willie and Howard are fast growing up. Willie will be ten years old in a few weeks, and is a large strong boy beginning to be quite a help in farm work. His scholarship is respectable for his age though nothing extra. Books seem to have no peculiar attraction for him. I think he don’t like them as well as we did at his age. Howard is in his fifth year, a restless, frolicsome child just taking the first steps in the path of book knowledge under my tuition.

In regard to your question, I answer it would not be cause for rejoicing but for deep grief to have a brother or any other friend suffer in any way through the terrible war that has so long raged in our country, but I often think there is almost or quite as much cause for anxiety on your account where you are in that inhospitable country as there would be in the midst of battles, while the motive that would lead one to offer his life in his country’s service seems to me far nobler than that which would toil and endure privations just to acquire wealth.

But thank God the war is over I hope, and no more lives need be sacrificed to purge our land from the dark crime of oppression. I trust our nation, both rulers and people will henceforth be ready to deal justly by every inhabitant of the land of every race and color.

But there are other sins which are very prevalent in our land such as intemperance and profanity and sabbath-breaking and these and all others must be repented of and forsaken by all the people if we would enjoy the favor and love of a righteous God. Would that each of our great nations would try to so humble themselves and abandon every sinful habit that we might become a people truly free even as the Truth makes free then would this fair opening spring be a harbinger of the moral spring of joy and blessedness which would henceforth reign in our beloved land.

It seems that you have no intention of returning soon at any rate to the land of your birth. I have and do still hope that you may return while our mother still lives but I know it matters not so much where we are as how we are in heart and life and whether we so use the time and other talents which our Father has lent us that we may receive the commendation, “well done good and faithful servant.”

We have had quite a pleasant spring though rather dry just now. The farmers in this region have sowed very little wheat this year on account of the ravages of the bug which has nearly destroyed the crops of wheat for several years past. Corn seems to be the great staple and that was injured by the drought last year to some extent. James has never farmed very extensively, but has more land under cultivation this year than ever before, about 4 acres of new breaking which he sowed with wheat as the bug is not apt to molest it so much the first year, some ten acres of oats and 12 or fifteen of corn, so that if favored with medium crops we will have the where with to take us through another winter.

James preaches still occasionally but as he receives no salary he cannot devote as much time to preparation as he otherwise would and sometimes feels that he might as well give up preaching entirely. He conducts a sabbath school and I hope our efforts to benefit the young in our neighborhood may not be wholly in vain. And now dear brother let us both try so to live that if we are never permitted to meet again on earth we may not fail to meet where there are no sad parting words in the blest world above.

 

Your sister

Mary