LETTERS OF JOHN D. MOLER, Letter from Nelia Moler to sister Hannah (Moler) Anderson, dated 7 May 1864 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From marysueeulitz@prodigy.net Thu Jun 17 23:47:23 1999 Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 16:34:46 -0700 From: Marysue Eulitz To: merope Subject: Re: Moler Letter 8 written by sister Nelia Moler [The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] Garnett Kansas, May 7th 1864 Dear Sister Hannah I received your letter last Saturday and have not had an opportunity to answer it sooner. I went out to John's last Saturday and staid till Thursday when Henry came after me. I had a very good time and would have enjoyed myself better if it had not been for Mary's complaints against John, Dan & Henry. You just ought to hear her once and you would conclude she was deranged. She has succeeded at last in buying a house in Baldwin City and is going to take the children and move there in the fall and let John stay where he is. She has sold her share of the property in Ohio and is going to have it fixed so John can not get a cent of it. She says every bit of money he gets he gives it to Henry without interest and then Mary is so confounded proud she can not bear her. Henry says he does not owe John a red cent and the money he borrowed from him he paid ten per cent interest for, so you see Mary is doing every thing she possibly can to injure him, but I do not think her talk will amount to much for he is generaly liked by all who know him and is certainly getting rich for he owns too good fames of a hundred & fifty acres each, two town lots, five hundred dollars worth of cattle and the same amount of sheep. I know one thing and that is Henry has been very good to me, he paid my expenses to come here and met me at Princeton and gives me everything that I want from the store, and says when I want to go home he will give me money and go with me there. He made me a present of a gold pen since I came here. While I write Mary is sitting here reading the Gazette and Henry the Commercial and the baby is in bed asleep. I am so sleepy I can hardly see and have been for the last month. This afternoon we went out to the nearest neighbors to call and while there a lady came to make me a call and two came yesterday especialy to see me. The people here think I am quality so they put on their best duds when they come to call on me. Sunday afternoon, I will try to make a finish of this letter today. Mary & I have just returned from church where we heard a Baptist minister hold forth. I receiver a letter from Griff, Han, Jane and Saunders Moler all in on envelope the other day, the one from Roll went home so Han & Griff put one in with it and directed it to Princeton, Ill. and Jane wrote one and started them again. Han has a very bad cough which she is afraid will end in consumption, she also said she had answered your letter. Griff said some fellow stole the canoe and he followed them and caught one and paddled him and he left without saying good bye. I suppose Jane is at home again for she said in her letter she expected to start last Wednesday. I learned from her that several persons in Illinois had taken a great fancy to Myself & Henry, the girls took Henry to be a young man and one went so far as to give him her card and wanted him to write to her. I do not know whether he has done so or not. Roll Molers letter is very entertaining indeed, he writes all about the country and everything else in general; he says he never sees any one but their company except once in a while emmegrants to Salt Lake and the mines; he has not seen a white woman since he has been there. I had an introduction yesterday to a Captain in Colonel Clouds regiment, but did not know it till after he had gone so did not get to enquire after him. There is considerable of fear entertained here of Quantrell making another raid into Kansas. They have to keep a strong guard on the border to prevent him if possible. I have dreamed of him coming several times since I have been here. I see by the papers that a draft is soon to take place in Ohio and the Militia will be ordered out for a hundred days; if it is true I do no know what will become of Han, Jane and the rest of them at home. I suppose you would like to hear my opinion of John's children so I will give it the best I can. Nelia is very smart for her age, she can read any kind of writing and write very well herself, she got your last letter and read it for me, but she has an ungovernable temper, she looks like Mary, she has not grown very much. Allie has not changed much except in size, she looks like she used to and is the same pleasant little body she always was. John is considerable larger and uglier than he was, but is a good boy to help his Pa work, Albert is about the size of Non but is not near so smart or pretty, he is very bashful too. Mary looks about as well as she used to but she just frets herself sick about other peoples business. I can see no change in John except that he looks older that he did; the took me out and showed me his farm and cattle upon a thousand hills; one would suppose that had never seen this country that it was level but it is far from it for it is more hilly than any part of Ohio I ever saw, and as for the wind it is no use to try to describe how hard it blows for I should fail in the attempt, but I can say that it has kept up one continual blow since I have been here. I have just been to dinner and had canned corn, strawberries & Peaches besides other good things. Laura came in here and got the ink and spilled it on herself and the floor and when I went to take her out she bit me and left her mark. She is one of the most lively babys I ever saw, she is continualy on the go and cries after Henry every time he leaves the house. He has gone to a temperance meeting now. I suppose you would like to hear something of my travels. I started from Columbus on Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock in company with Jane & Doug Moler, we passed through Urbana, Piqua and got to Indianapolis about twelve o'clock at night, and changed cars and it was impossible to get a seat so we took a sleeping car, went to bed but I could not sleep for looking at the fancy fixings in the car. Doug slept in the story above us to guard us he said, and he said Jane snored so loud she almost raised him up. We arrived at Michigan City, in Indiana the next morning, one of the oddest places I ever beheld, it is covered with white sand and it drifts about like snow; when you would walk in ti there would be tracks just the same as in snow. There I met with a wounded soldier by the name of Mitchel, he was first rate company as far as Chicago. We got there about eleven o'clock Wednesday and staid till half past eleven at night, then took a sleeping car and woke at Princeton, found no one to meet us so we got in an Omnibus and went to Dr. Mercers, Janes brother-in-law and found them in bed. Doug staid in Chicago till the next day and then started back to Columbus. I staid in Illinois two weeks and enjoyed myself hugely, the people there were so sociable. I had quite a number of calls while there. I went with Jane & Mary out to her sister Almedas and staid two night and to her Mothers one night and had first rate times both places. Billie Welch is quite a good looking young man and an extra good base singer. Jane said in her letter he was very much pleased with me. I am very glad to hear it. There was a gentleman and his wife that called on me several times while in Princeton, he was the leader of the choir and a splendid singer, he came and brought his wife and another lady to sing for Henry & me the night before we left. After they got though with the hymn he sang several comic songs and I never heard anything that would compare with them. He was a good deal like George Bellows, only considerably more so. Henry & I started from Princeton on Thursday afternoon at three o'clock, go to Quincy at ten at night, staid there till morning then crossed the river, got on the cars and started again, got to Weston at ten o'clock at night, took the Steam Boat Emilie and got to Leavenworth about sunrise Saturday morning, staid all night there and on Sunday got in Henrys buggy and was off for southern Kansas. We staid all night in Lawrence (that desolate place) that Quantrell visited last summer; early Monday morning we started again, took dinner at an Indian house and got here about sundown, very tired and sleepy, so ended my journey. Now I will quit, I do not think you can complain that I did not write enough for once. Henry wanted me to leave room for him but I cant see it. He would thank you to write to him for you owe him a letter. Mary & Henry join me in much love to one and all. Write soon and as long a letter as I have written. Yours Nelia.