Jordan is a hard road to travel

Livingston, McLean County, Illinois
June 2, 1855

Mr. Griffin[g],

Dear Sir: Perhaps a letter from this source will take you a little by surprise but be not afraid for it’s from no one but a returned Kanzas wanderer. You perhaps have been informed that Gilbert the carpenter has left those diggings. I did not make up my mind for a certainty that I would return to the free states until my arrival in that little hot bed of proslavery termed Westport. It was pretty sickly there which made business dull & so I concluded to return. Thanks to somebody’s stars, I once more stand on freedom’s soil, where peace and harmony reigns – except on the great liquor question. That I desire to see agitated until king Alcohol is ushered from our midst. As you are obliged to remain there, I hope you will continue to fight the good fight with much success. I know that you and your work are looked upon with a good deal of contempt by a certain few, but let them work out their own salvation. Barking dogs don’t often bite. It’s an old adage that workman are known by their chips. That certain few have been to work there longer than you have – what I would like to see is their products…

Please give my compliments to Mr. [James] Goodrich & your dear folks & be careful for Jordan is a hard road to travel, you know. No more at this time. Answer as soon as convenient & I remain yours to the last, -- Mortimer Gilbert

The identity of Mortimer Gilbert is not well established. He was known to be born in New York around 1828 -- possibly in or near Tioga County where he was acquainted with James Griffing's family. In the 1850 census, he seems to have been living with master builder Daniel Elmore in Ulysses, Tompkins County, New York. After returning from Kansas, he apparently took up residence in Jackson, Michigan where he married Mary E. Griffith on 9 October 1856. In 1860, Mortimer appears in the Jackson, Michigan census rolls as a "master carpenter." Living with him was his wife and his younger brother, William K. Gilbert, who was a farmer. In 1880, Mortimer and his wife still appear in the Jackson, Michigan (4th Ward) census rolls. Mortimer was still employed as a "stair builder." The last notice I have of him is in the 1910 census at Jackson, Michigan, where he resided on Blackstone Street. The 82 year old widower was being cared for by his 56 year old niece, Mary A. Gilbert.