Augusta County: D. V. Gilkeson to Gilkeson's brother
(probably Hugh Gilkeson), August 27, 1858
Summary:
Gilkeson delivers a number of health updates (including an extended section on
his ailing mother), speaks of farming, and worries about a recent smallpox
outbreak.
August 27 th 1858
Home [probably Brookfield]
My Dear Brother
Your letter has remained already too long unanswered but I suppose I had better
answer it now than leave it longer, yours was received just as I was on the eve
of starting to the springs and since I have returned my time has been taken up
with one thing and another until I have put it off until the present, it is now
Andrews time to write but as he has some other
letters to answer I will write supposing that it makes no difference to you so
it is a letter from home; I am sorry to inform you that mother is again very
poorly she was taken on tuesday morning last and has been quite unwell since we
have had the [unclear:
Dr
] in to see her he has been here twice I think mother is worse this
morning we all went to bed last night we left a candle burning in the room
father saw that he could give her any thing
[page 2]
she needed in the night I got up about two o;Clock an hour ago and found she
had rested pretty well until about 12 but since that time she has been restless
I concluded to stay up til morning, she bids fair to have a bad spell and I
think it impossible for her to stand a bad spell now as she is at best very
weak, I
[added: dont]
see that there is much change on cousin Nancy Marshall she returned
about a week ago from Bath where she had been for two months nearly she is very
poorly and very feeble Tom is right unwell at this time and has been for two
weeks or more he was complaining of a disordered stomach and above (or
below) that his horse jumped with him one day and came
near smashing one of his privates it has been swelled terribly the Dr told him that unless he was careful he would have
to have it taken out it is now better but still he is not well he suffers
sometimes a good-deal of pain with it, the rest of the friends I believe are
well and not much sickness in the country I forgot W
m
Guthrie has been very unwell for a month or more past but is
now better and the friends are easy about him there was some time that they
though that he would not get well his disease
first was dysentery or flux and settled into inflamation of the bowels, you will perhaps [deleted: will] ask why I was at the springs I reply to get an apetite I have not had any apetite
hardly since I left Ga last spring a year. Mary was
going to her Uncle
[page 3]
Gamble's and as they are only 8 miles from
Stribling springs I went down there on a tuesday and came back on Saturday and
as father wants to go to Crawfords I went out with him and wednesday and came in
on Saturday he staid until last wednesday just a week
and came in on the [unclear: cars] I think you asked in your last what
[unclear: Pancoast] charges for the operation on his [added: x (fathers)] eye I am
surprised that we neglected to tell you as it was a question that was frequently
discussed in this neighbourhood and even persons
who we would have thought would never thought about it were perfectly indignant
at it and vowed they would never pay it, for my part I was not a great-deal
surprised it was only $500 five hundred dollars, they asked him a day or two
before they left what his charge was he told them they did not say any thing then but in thinking about it father said he
could not sleep for thinking about it he said that Pancoast had been very kind
to him and he wanted to compensate him but he really did not feel like he was
able to pay so much, Andrew in thinking about it was right out [MISSING SECTION]
[page 4]
be satisfied Andrew told him that even that was too much he then
went and saw father and told him that if they would pay him $300 that he would
be satisfied they had but $200 with them they paid that and he told them to send
him another $100 whenever it suited him to pay it to take his own time about it.
Andrew says that he wont send him another cent father
says if he gets to see pretty well that he will send him another $100 father
cant see a bit better without his glasses than he
could before but with his reading glasses he can read very well his glasses for
going about dont suit him very well I think that
perhaps he can get a pair for that purpose that will suit him better, their
tavern bill in Philadelphia was very moderate the Landlord and Landlady were
very kind, It is now daylight I will stop writing for a while will add more
after while when I see how mother is
8 O'Clock We cant see that there is much change [unclear: on] mother this morning This is a damp day and raining some which we farmers are very glad to see though I am affraid it is too late for corn we have had no rain for five or six weeks our corn for low ground would be perhaps pretty well made but bac[added: k]ward corn must be cut short we had a very fine corn season [deleted: for] [deleted: came] until spring time the ground is so hard that we have got but little ploughing done we are ploughing now in our meadow which is [unclear: oat] stubble and it breaks up very bumpy, we have threshed some of our best wheat it weighs about 60 1/2 wheat is generally very indifferent I have heard of some oats being threshed that weigh about 18 lbs to the bushel
Mrs Caldwell died a few weeks since of paralysis, John [unclear: McLure] is sick at this time and they say is threatened with paralysis
We were sorry to hear that small pox had broken out in [unclear: Summerville] we hardly know what to do about writing to that office for fear [continued on side of first page] you wont have a chance of hearing from the office, I think we had better not hear from one another awhile than to run the risk of catching the disease though we are anxious to hear for fear the disease may get among some of our friends
I believe I will add no more at present hoping to hear from you all soon if there is no danger in your going to the office, I believe the people of Summerville would have been perfectly justifiable in killing that little stuffed [unclear: not] Joe Glen for his abominable fool hardiness, as I understand it was through him that the small pox got to summerville, the family all join in love to you and your little fellows We hope that little Ema has gotten stout before this, Give my love to Mrs [unclear: Rounsavalle] and Mrs McRee's family
Your affectionate brother
D. V. Gilkeson
