April 8, 2011, 10:47 AM | #76 |
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Your office
LOL, I can imagine! You should post a pic, so we can all see what you endure to bring us such treasures.
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April 8, 2011, 08:37 PM | #77 |
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Since my wife is a volunteer preservationist at one of the local museums, I won't taunt her by posting pictures of what she believes is an absolutely horrific situation.
I figure that by the time I retire, everything should be in order.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
April 9, 2011, 09:29 AM | #78 |
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The office
Horrific though it may be, it still provides us outsiders with a welcome look into the history of an era that many of us have very little knowledge of. It's also an era well-connected to the guns we love so dearly, so that makes it doubly interesting!
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April 15, 2011, 12:45 PM | #79 | |||
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It's easy to dash off a quick email or text message these days, so I never really gave any thought to how a somebody might have composed a letter back in the inkwell days. Even when I was in the Navy, when I wrote home, what I wrote was what you got.
Writing drafts of letters, even to family, was common back in the 19th century. And it's fortunate, I think, because we've managed to save several draft letters. We know what they were reading - these give us a little glimpse into what the folks were writing. This is from my great-great-great-great grandfather, Christopher Cooper to, I believe, his brother in law, Jacob Davies. Jacob was a tanner in New York City. At the time, Christopher lived in Wheeling, Virginia. The first letter is dated 1823, but I think that it was actually 1834 based on Christopher's description of his "bodily punishments": Quote:
Quote:
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Christopher was concerned about providing for his family after his death - he ended up living until 1846. The farm was eventually sold around 1890 and apparently it provided for his wife, Jennett until she died in 1857. The place was sold off in pieces through 1890, with the exception of about half an acre that is the family burial ground, along with an access right of way. I don't know who owns that bit of land today, but several of the headstones are still there.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
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April 26, 2011, 04:28 PM | #80 | |
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Those of us who are students of the era know that the "wild west", such as it was, including ranching, mining and sundry assorted ventures, was a reality almost up to the start of the Great Depression, especially in the more remote areas of the west. There were places in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada that had to be dragged, kicking and screaming into the 20th century and that didn't happen, sometimes, until a substantial part of the century had passed.
My great-great grandparents had seven children. One of them was my great-great uncle, William Cooper. He, like his dad, was a miner in Idaho in the last of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s. In 1921, he moved the family from the Boise Basin to Jarbidge, Nevada to work in the Bluster Mine. Almost 80 years later in 1999, his daughter, my cousin Josephine Cooper, made a recording talking about growing up in the mining town. Bear in mind that this is the early 1920s - but, other than the way that they traveled to get to Jarbidge, notice just how easily it could have been the 1880s...or earlier! Quote:
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
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May 9, 2011, 04:03 PM | #81 | ||
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My great, great, great, great grandmother came from the hellfire and brimstone branch of the church, which apparently caused my great, great, great, great grandfather a great deal of grief. Although all we have to go by are letters, it becomes apparent that he didn't share Jennett's Christian zeal - nor her love for her family back home in Wales.
However, Jennett's sister Ann also lived in America, so they kept a correspondence going, although it seems that it wasn't terribly regular. But, as you'll see, they were definitely two of a kind. I don't know how affected they were by the Second Great Awakening - it was certainly right around this time, but I had always assumed that my family was Catholic - my great grandmother was, which caused quite a bit of religious self-searching on my great grandfather's part, as he was a staunch Methodist (and I know that I have some letters between the two that discuss their religious differences - I'll get to them). I guess more research is in order. As with most of the 19th century letters that I have, punctuation was non-existent. I've added periods where I think that they should be, but preserved the rest of the writing as-is. Quote:
Quote:
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
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May 9, 2011, 09:30 PM | #82 |
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Reading these letters is something else! My GGGG uncle Charlie Crosby rode shotgun on the gold stage from Idaho City to the Boise Assay office. He is the reason I'm involved with black powder. I have his 1860 Army. Made in 1862, it's in great shape.
My family has been in Idaho since 1861, when my GGGG Grandmother's family moved here. Thanks for the letters! Andy Baker |
May 9, 2011, 10:20 PM | #83 |
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That's pretty interesting, Andy - Charlie would have stopped at the Minehaha stage stop that my family ran back then! It's kind of funny how this stuff ties together. It sounds like the Crosbys and the Coopers showed up here about the same time.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
May 9, 2011, 11:18 PM | #84 |
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Intresting string!
I have not yet seen the new True Grit, having saved it for the home version I have ordered. I am really looking forward to seeing it! I have always had a knack for decoding the paragraph and sentance structure of the times and I really appreciate it when writers put the extra effort into "periodising" the speech in a film. I truely enjoyed deciphering the speech in Deadwood (once you got past the attempted "shock vulgarity"). The old Victorian English was very thrifty, it sometimes used one word to convey an entire thought. It is truely like Shakesphere, as you must find the alternative terms used then translate it into todays more complex language. It's hard to explain how to decipher the language but once you get it , it becomes simpler. ZVP |
May 12, 2011, 07:11 PM | #85 |
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My great grandfather, William McNeil, homesteaded in the southern end of Long Valley in Valley County, Idaho in 1899. He and his brother each bought 120 acre parcels adjacent to each other.
It's one of the most gorgeous places that I've ever seen and certainly would have been one of the most brutal in the winter. My great grandparents were married in 1901 and I think that my great grandmother made it through one winter before she put the kibosh on the homestead. It had a dirt floor back then and that never changed. In the late 1960s, when my dad took this picture, it still had a dirt floor. The difference was that the current owners were storing farm equipment in it. I remember seeing the old cabin every weekend in the summers when we went up to our "new" cabin at the lake. Sometime in the mid-70s, the heavy snows and lack of maintenance finally took its toll and the old place collapsed. It's long gone now.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
May 12, 2011, 09:35 PM | #86 | |
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Idaram - 1860 Colt Army from 1862
Quote:
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May 13, 2011, 04:28 PM | #87 |
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I'll sure try to get a few pic's up this weekend. Hey Hardcase - I was getting a home re-finance at the Home Federal Bank on 8th St. in Boise a few years back. The loan officer (a lady) told me her relatives ran the stage stop between Idaho City and Boise. Any chance you two are related?
Will try to post some pics soon guys! Andy PS - Hardcase - You ever hear of Uncle John McClellan? Ran the 8Th St. Ferry in the 1860's -70's. His sister was my GGGGrandmother, married to Charlie Crosby's brother Fayette. (My GGGGrandfather) Last edited by idaram; May 13, 2011 at 04:35 PM. |
May 13, 2011, 05:10 PM | #88 |
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Could have been a cousin, idaram, I've got a few that have been in and out of banking.
I haven't heard of John or Fayette. But I'm not so up on Boise history as Boise Basin. I'd love to see those pictures, too.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
May 20, 2011, 12:48 PM | #89 | |
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I thought that this one was very interesting. It tells a little bit about the discovery and naming of Sailor Diggins, along with some of the trials and travails (at least financially speaking) of running a business and of mining back in the day.
It is to my great, great, great, great grandmother from her son William (my great, great, great grandfather's brother). Of note, Sailor Diggins was considered to be in California, but it's actually just over the border in Oregon. Quote:
Incidentally, William did do pretty well in both mining and sales. He sent several thousand dollars back home and eventually moved back to Houses Springs to live out the remainder of his days in relative comfort.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae Last edited by Hardcase; May 20, 2011 at 02:29 PM. |
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May 20, 2011, 01:56 PM | #90 |
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I love the language uses of the day.
My grandfather was courting my grandmother. He wrote a letter to her and one of the sentences was: "May I expect that you will save your Friday evening next for me?" |
May 25, 2011, 12:41 PM | #91 | |
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In 1831, my great-great-great-great grandparents were fairly well established in Wheeling, Virginia. Christopher had been working in the iron foundries, but probably, by this time, had left that business to start a grocery store. He was in his mid-40s and not in the best of shape - the iron business was extremely hard back then (it's no picnic today, either!)
I'm not sure what Jennett was doing at this time - probably working in the store as well, along with being very active in the church. In this letter, one of Jennett's old friends from Wales, Mary Batten, has come to America. Although she addressed Jennett as "sister", they aren't related. The names are a little confusing - keep a close eye on the different Jacobs, Benjamins, Anns and Marys. Good luck with it! What interested me most about this one is that Mary Batten talks a bit about apprenticeships. Also, there's a brief mention of the start of her sea voyage. Of note, the vessel "Cosmo" that she sailed in was a 490 ton, single deck sailing ship. I'd roughly estimate that it was, maybe, 150 feet long. Having crossed the Atlantic in a 450 foot, 4000 ton frigate, I can't even imagine just how miserable a copper-sheathed, wooden sailing ship would be. Like I keep saying, those folks were a lot tougher than us. Quote:
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
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June 1, 2011, 06:49 PM | #92 |
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Back around 1863, the townsfolk of Idaho City got together and built a Catholic church, the first one in Idaho (not such a tough record - Idaho became a territory that year.) The church made it through the first fire in 1865, but didn't survive the second one in 1867. It was rebuilt that year and got through fires three and four in 1868 and 1871.
It still stands today. Mass is celebrated every Sunday. Here's a photo of the congregation, probably sometime in the early 1890s. I recognize my great grandmother, Mary, all the way in the back in the middle, along with my great, great grandfather, Frank Cooper. I don't think that the church ever had a full time priest because the population was always in such flux, even during the peak of the gold rush. Thus, in 1901, when my great grandparents were married, it was by the justice of the peace because the circuit priest was not available. When he arrived, he told them that they had been living in sin and would have to be remarried after they had lived apart for a while. According to family lore, that's the last time a priest was ever allowed into their house. It probably didn't help matters that my great grandfather had been a member of the Loyal Orange Lodge for all of his adult life, either.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
June 1, 2011, 07:13 PM | #93 |
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Hardcase why arent you writing a book about your family?
WildthesedaysitseasytopublishAlaska ™©2002-2011 |
June 1, 2011, 11:17 PM | #94 |
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It's on my bucket list, WA. I'm still sorting through all of the material. In fact, I've got all day Saturday set aside for another trip to the state historical archives to get copies of 60 or so court records. It's interesting - we talk about how litigious society is today. I have no idea if my family's legal finagling was commonplace, but they were so bound up in the courts it's astonishing!
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
June 5, 2011, 01:28 PM | #95 |
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Sorry I've been so long in getting this posted. Hope this works!
Here is Charlie Crosby and his '60 Colt Army. Andy |
June 7, 2011, 06:04 PM | #96 |
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those are very articulate letters- particularly if the spelling hasn't been corrected. A lot of 19th century writers were very good with words and sometimes, grammer but creative and inconsistent with spelling. I have heard that the formal language used in the series "Deadwood" was not all that uncommon and it certainly did show up in written material
There is a popular conceit that cowboys did not use vulgar language. They probably didnt when talking to their mom. I have heard Deadwood critized because of the frequent use of the Queen Mother Of All Curse Words and its derivations. Some have even said that that particulary word-having to do with procreation, (and a current hip-hop standard) was not in use at the time. A perusal of Eugene Fields' " Ode To The Old Fashioned Harlot" will put an end to that idea. It was based on the Old Oaken Bucket and delivered by Fields to a men's club in 1888. He also wrote a lyrical poem about Socrates and Alcibiades that Oscar Wilde might have liked. |
June 7, 2011, 10:27 PM | #97 |
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I've tried to leave the spelling and grammar as-is, but sometimes I think that my fingers automatically type the right word. The one thing that I did add is punctuation. Almost none of the letters have any - they're one vast run-on sentence. No periods, commas or correct capitalization. It usually takes a while on the first read to parse a letter. Also, penmanship varied from very, very good to very, very bad.
Sometimes I feel like a forensic proofreader.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
June 22, 2011, 04:09 PM | #98 | |
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I don't have kids, but I have a niece and some nephews. And I remember some pretty rambling telephone calls when they were 9 or ten years old where there were a lot of subject changes, ums and uhs and some of the most mind-boggling run-on sentences you ever heard.
I guess it's a kid thing (although I'm pretty sure I was quite astute and well spoken at age 10. That's my story, anyway). When my great grandmother's sister, Essie, was ten, she wrote her grandfather and her aunt a letter. She lived in Idaho City, they lived not too far outside of St. Louis. Here we go... Quote:
By the way, although "Papa's" gold mine turned out pretty well (Papa was my great, great grandfather Frank Cooper), they didn't go back. Instead, they brought "Grandpa", who, in real life was my great, great, great grandfather Christopher Cooper, out to Idaho City, Idaho the next year.
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
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July 7, 2011, 04:53 PM | #99 |
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I'm transcribing a pamphlet that's long out of print and copyright called "Idaho City - Queen of the Gold Camps". I'll put a link to a PDF version of it here when I'm done. It has some most excellent information on the gold rush there during the Civil War and, although it's specific to Idaho City, much of it could just as well be a generic history of gold mining of the day.
One thing that kind of made me chuckle was a brief summary of business activity in September of 1865. There was a list of the number of various establishments within Idaho City (or Bannock, as it was called back then). Here's a sampling Newspaper: 1 Saddle Shop: 1 Photograph Shop: 1 Paint Shop: 2 Church: 2 Tailor Shop: 3 Jewelry Store: 3 Tin and Stove Shop: 3 Hotel: 4 Drug Store: 5 Cigar Stand: 5 Billiard Parlor: 5 Barber Shop: 6 Bakery: 9 Chinese Laundry: 10 Blacksmith Shop: 12 Restaurant: 15 Dry Goods and Clothing Store: 20 Law Office: 23 Grocery Store: 36 Saloon: 41 Now, that was at the beginning of the year. In May, most everything burned down. Of interest, all of the saloons burned. None of the churches did (although they did burn in later fires.)
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
July 11, 2011, 11:34 AM | #100 |
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Here's a link to a PDF file of the little book that I mentioned in the previous post. It's a transcription of a pamphlet that came out in 1958 about mining and other events in early Idaho City, Idaho history.
From what I know about local history, most of it's true. Even if you're not as wound up in southwest Idaho history as I am, it's an interesting read about a pretty typical mountain mining town of the mid to late 19th century. As far as I can tell, the copyright has long since expired and it's been out of print for decades. Idaho City - Queen of the Gold Camps (about 96KB)
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Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae |
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