LETTERS OF JOHN D. MOLER, Letter to his sister Hannah (Moler) Anderson, dated 7 March 1866 Transcribed and submitted by Marysue Eulitz, (c) 1999 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Cresco, Anderson County, Kansas, March 7, 65 Sister Hannah: Yours of the 17th came to hand yesterday. And now after the days labor is over will try to collect my ideas and write you a few lines. It appears your people desire me to give some information in regard to this beautiful State. I will try to stick as close as possible to the truth in doing so. The country is generally quite sparsely settled though in some places it is too thickly settled. People are generally poor, not poor ignorant white trash as the negroes say, but generally pretty well educated. All take great interest in education. There is some as fine school buildings as I ever saw. the laws of our State are quite favorable to education. The schools are all free. There are several good Coleges in successful operation. Two Methodist Coleges. I cannot brag of our society as there is not people enough to make society. But here is our beautiful and fertile country almost as fair as this paper was before I wrote on it and society and schools and churches will be just as we make it. Land is increasing in value some but good locations can be had for very reasonable prices, say for from two to ten dollars per acre. Improvements are generally very poor. The whole country is covered with grass. There is a scarcity of timber although I think there is enough, or at least any enterprising person can get all they need. The country is high, dry and rolling, but not to much so for farming purposes. And I believe it is the healthyest country I ever saw. The soil almost every place is from one foot to five foot deep and excellent for all kinds of small grain, but we do no expect a large crop of corn oftener than once in two years. There is considerable tobacco raised. It is said not to be excelled for Tobacco. There is some cotton raies in this county. persons that are in the stock business are the most successful in making money, and it is attended with the least labor. I will give you a history of my opinions in the stock business. I have about three hundred cattle, horses and sheep. We live on the west side of a thickly settled neighborhood (3/4 of a mile from school house worth $1500.00) there is a beautiful little stream of water battles along through our farm and in summer I sit in the house in the shade and watch the stock from the back door. (Our pastures are not fenced.) and if any try to stroll away I just mount my riding horse and drive them back. Grass is so plenty and good that stock does not have to roam far to satisfy themselves. In the middle of the day when the sun is hot they all collect under the great Elm trees by the side of the creek. I feed but little in winter. I have 260 acres under cultivation and am getting sett in Kentucky blue grass and timothe which grows well in this country. In winter I turn our calves, about fifty in number, and our imported short horn Durham cattle on the Blue grass pasture which grows nearly all winter. I will sell this summer over three thousand dollars worth of cattle, all of my own raising. Mary owns the sheep and will sell two hundred dollars worth of wool. I have about eighty cows this summer. We sold one calf for $100. and have one $300. calf, and several cows worth three hundred dollars a piece. I have over one thousand acres of first rate land and we are building a house costing $3500.00. Mary has several thousand dollars worth of town property, so you may judge for yourself whether we done well by moving away from Jackson township in Ohio. Persons with more sense and more industry doe better than us. And had it not been for this cursed war we would have done a great deal better. We did not know but what we might be driven away from our home and were reluctant about going into business untill the last two years. There is no doubt but that we will ultimately have Railroads all over the country. The great Pacific railroad runs through our state and is now finished from St. Louis to Lawrence. I dont know what to say about moving to Kansas for there is so many that become dissatisfied and go back to their old homes poorer and wiser people. I am well satisfied that persons comeing here with a few thousand dollars capital and determined to stay, can as soon as they learn the ways of the country do well (in two or three years). I now do not consider it a difficult matter to invest money in stock and more than double it each year. William Hiram and Nelson Tiptons from Franklin County, Ohio, were here this winter and were quite delighted with the country and are going to move here in a few weeks and go into the wool growing business. It costs nothing to keep sheep in this country and they are more profitable than any other kind of stock, but I would kick a sheep out of my road. I have raised forty bushels of corn to the acre by just droping the corn in the third furrow and turning the fourth furrow on it when breaking the ground, and that was all we done to it. We have some windy and disagreeable weather in winter, seldom have much snow and no sleighing. A great many of our ladys say they are not satisfied with the country and many go away but are glad to come back to Kansas again. There was a Methodist preacher and wife named John Mc Elfresh from Maryland a few years ago who staid all night with ____ last night. He said he had some relations named Anderson in Maryland. This sheet is full and I am not near done. In looking over the foregoing pages I see it is not plain enough. The land has nearly all been disposed of by government to speculators and others, and is unocuppied, so that people that live here have the use of all the unocuppied land they need for pastoral purposes free of all cost and will for ages to come in many places. For on account of the scarcity of timber the country will never be settled densely as in Ohio, and other places in timberland country. There is an immense quantity of stone both sand stone and lime stone on almost every mile square of land. The Prairie grass is of a very nutritious nature, there is no grass superior to it for several months in the summer, and when mowed it makes good hay. Every enterprising farmer has a mowing maching and mows all the Prairie grass they want. They dont have to won the land they mow. There is plenty of stove coal almost everywhere, and there is a stray suspicion of Petroleum or oil springs. There is several salt manufactorys in operation. Fruit trees do well and wild fruit is abundant. There will about sixty persons move into this neighborhood from Big run and Jackson township this spring. So you may know I am not without some influence even if I do live away out among the Indians. I would be pleased to give any person from your state any information in my power or assist them any way I can to make desirable locations with a view of settling in this country, but not for speculating purposes. Dan, Grif, and Efaw will be here in a few weeks I suppose and they will do well if they do not get discourages too soon. Henry is doing very well at his business and has made several thousand dollars. Truly yous, John Moler. March 9, 1865