Name/Title
Letters to William Jackson, Daniel JacksonEntry/Object ID
03770aTags
William Jackson, Daniel Jackson, Robert McLeod JacksonScope and Content
LETTERS WRITTEN FROM OCTOBER 27, 1856 TO MARCH 5, 1858, TO WILLIAM A. JACKSON OR DANIEL B. JACKSON, WHILE AT UNION COLLEGE, SCHENECTADY, EXCEPT FOR ONE WRITTEN TO JEANNIE MOORE BY HER MOTHER AND TWO BY WILLIAM A. JACKSON TO DANIEL B. JACKSON BEFORE THE LATTER WENT TO COLLEGE.
Letter 1: Catherine T. Jackson to William A. Jackson
Letter from Catherine T. Jackson to William A. Jackson, dated September 19th, 1857.
Hamptongh Sept 19th/57
My Dear Willy
Just returned from Goshen & dined on roast pig which Julia and Rob. butchered and dressed, tomatoes are abundant and sweet corn plenty - melons just beginning to ripen Mr Marshall gets on as usual - this week he and his brotherinlaw have been cutting buckwheat in the mornings and the remainder of the day cutting up corn not half done either yet tho the week is spent as it is rainy to day the boys are going over the sheep once more - Your Father bought a lot of fifty ewes to keep over the winter I suppose - this afternoon Mr. Hunting and school were to have a picnic in Mr Bull's woods - the Goshen band were to be in attendance but the rain has put an end to all their anticipated joys, it was to be rather a small affair - no notice of it in the papers a mere accident I heard of it had it been held the boys would have attended By this time you have got your room to rights and feel quite at home again, Dan. I suppose has still some longings for the old stone house and the kitchen comforts he once enjoyed - We often speak of you and every little thing that hap-
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pens to the boys, Julia says she will just tell you about it - once bringing home some tar in a bucket instead of hanging it under their wagon they put it between their feet but it was up to their necks ere they reached home - that was fine nuts for Julia whose jokes Rob. bore with a very bad grace Your Father's health is much the same as when you left - and things go on as usual - we are busy from Monday morning till Saturday night tho' nothing very urgent at present - Charley has been drawing manure on some of the meadows On Wednesday of this week the fair is to be held at Goshen and Rob. Jim & Charley all are making reckoning of going - I hope the day may be pleasant - that they may enjoy all that they expect - poor mortals ever in pursuit of happiness - too low they build who build beneath the skies - in the knowledge and love of God and obedience to his commands true happiness is only found - What a dreadful wreck - the Central America how many homes are made desolate by that catastrophe - still people will travel - and many for the love of gold will peril life and domestic comforts - I recd a note this morning to attend the wedding of Miss Bogart - at the church of the annunciation in N. Y. on the 23rd of course we do not go but it was kind in her to remember us - this must be our equinoxal storm - it is cold and chilly - hope Jack frost will keep off for a time - Dear boys I wish I could stir up Rob. to write you - he could tell you a great many
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incidents I overlook but you know he has no taste for letter writing so you must be satisfied with my poor scrawls - I must write to Alex. ere I put by my writing utensils so I cut my sheet, and reserve the remainder for him - May God bless and keep you
Your ever affectionate Mother
C J
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Letter 2: William Wickham Jackson to William A. Jackson
Letter from William Wickham Jackson to William A. Jackson, dated September 24th, 1857.
Hamptonburg Sept. 24th, 1857
My Dear Boys
Having an hour or two leisure I embrace the time to scrawl a few lines - My own health is about as it was have no expectation of its ever being any better - We have had so far a very cool backward Season as yet not much frost - corn & buckwheat had a touch of frost a week or ten days ago - Since then no frost but cool & threatening almost every night - almost every body has commenced cutting up corn but very few have done we are a little more than half done - get along as usual very slowly - Marshal now has his brother in law a smart able bodied man takes after him in almost every particular - they both as usul begin late take a good long noon and quit early - I am sorry for his sake as well as ours that it is so - he Marshal seems to understand how work should be done, but has no faculty at all of going on with it - were he an industrious man he has had a fine chance - a fine growing season, and good crops thruout with the exception of potatoes and even those he has left in the ground through all these hard rains to rot worse & worse spent 3 or 4 days just when he
should have dug them in nothing on the farm in fact the farm is indebted to you boys for getting on as well as we did through the all important season of haying & harvest - We have bought 80 sheep much higher than last year Charly is drawing out manure on our mowing grounds & you know Roby & Jimy go to Montgomery I cant tell about the school I wish you would write to them alternately often and induce them to answer you, it may be & certainly ought to be a great source of improvement to them of course - I hope & trust you are doing well and making the most of your time. I would often think of the future not only for this world but particularly the next for remember I beseech you that the future, is all that is worth living for here - as utterly worthless as I know myself & as you all know me to be still I would gladly impress on you both the importance the all importance of atteng to the great future & besides it renders you more happy & respected here
If you ever any leisure time I wish you would devote it to decyphering this scroll it may teach you to render into english hyeroglipics I think if you learn to read this you will deserve an extra mark
Affectionly yours
W W Jackson
Wm A & D B Jackson
