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It is trouble, trouble, all troubleOwego
[New York] Dear Augusta, We received your last letter yesterday. I am sorry you are [not well]. Have you been to a physician? Perhaps one might give you something that would help you. I cannot bear to hear that you are deaf and I think that you will get over it. You must have taken a very hard cold or is it not the effects of that starvation year? I hope you will not ever see such a year again. Our crops suffered for the want of rain the first of the season, but for the last month we have had plenty until now. It is very smoky and we need a shower and hope we shall get one before morning. Your father intends to commence mowing tomorrow. The most of our grass this year has turned to daisies and to make good hay must be cut when in blossom. The girls and Stephen have gone to church. The [Owego] Creek bridge is down and people have to go down and drive through the creek. Mr. William Ransom has the building of the bridge and we expect it will be put up soon. Charles Nealy’s wife died Thursday evening and was buried yesterday. There was a great many at the funeral. We all went. Mr. [Charles Hall] Everett, the Congregationalist Minister attended the funeral. He spoke very well. He is very young – does not look to be much over 20. Charles and his boy and girls have gone to his father’s… Mrs. David Taylor is better. I saw [your husband’s brother] Samuel at the funeral. He said his folks were all well. Did I write to you that George Stroup had gone south to work on the bridges? He went 2 or 3 weeks ago with 20 other mechanics and 10 woodchoppers expecting to work on railroad bridges near Washington, but we hear that they all have had to be sworn into the service. Louise [Chadbourne] lives in Chauncey Hill’s house. Jeb says she has come there for all her bread and butter. Helen Bristol teaches yet and has got to to make up the public money. Some days she has only seven children. She never has had over 9. Steve did not get enough to pay for mending the wagon. The one that drove the horse was [made to pay but the other did not]. I was in hopes that they would have to go to jail. Steve could have had them put in jail but he thought it would not pay. He had to pay between 2 and 3 dollars as it was. But that nuisance is done… I do not see how you can cut and make coats. Are they sack coats? I have always cut and made my husband’s everyday pants, but not his best ones. I hope you will have wheat enough for your own bread. Our wheat is not near ripe. I wish I could send you a hat for Willie. Our girls have both got hats. All the girls wear hats and some old women too. Sarah’s hat is made of that whole straw that [your sister] Rachel had just before she died. She only wore it once. Mary’s is made of that Husean, the one that was your Aunt Augusta’s & we had one that was your Aunt Betsy Platt’s. It took nearly both to make one, it was so broken, but it has made a very pretty hat. Their hats are narrower on the side and 3 or 4 braids wider in front and back. Mrs. Goodale took their old bonnets, sewed them over, and colored them black for five shillings apiece. They have them trimmed with velvet and they are very pretty hats. I think you are very ingenious in making blocks for hats. Am glad you have cheese. I made two cheeses last week. We have had more strawberries this summer than we ever had before. Have canned 3 jars. Our raspberries are beginning to get ripe. How is Johnnies foot? I think he had a stone bruise. [Your brother] Ralph used to have so many and they were so painful. You must put on _______ of hog’s jaw when they first begin to come, and bread and milk poultice softens them. You did not write anything about James Goodrich. Do you know where they are? I should not think they would be sent into Arkansas to Curtis’ army as they are suffering. [Your sister] Sarah is making Steve a black broadcloth coat. Your father gave him money to get the material [which] cost 7 dollars. I got him light mursuils for a vest and cashmere for pants. I will send you a piece of the pants. They cost 2.88. They are nice. His vest cost 78 cents, besides cutting and making. This Monday after washing the girls have gone to mill with a bushel of corn and taken Kate Merrifield with them. She is a young lady writing Helen Bristol. She is a schoolmate of hers. Her father lives in Indiana… Goodbye. [Your mother – Mary Ann Goodrich]
Owego
[New York] Dear Augusta, It is the last Sunday in July. How fast the weeks and months go. It bids fair to be a pleasant day. [Your siblings] Stephen and the girls have gone to church. The [Owego] Creek has been so high that people would not cross, but they cross today. Some say it will be six months before the bridge will be finished. I think I shall not go to the [Owego] village many times if it is so. I wrote in my last to you that they were going to have a mass meeting on the park [in Owego] Wednesday. [1] Well Wednesday morning it was as usual a lovely morning but did not rain much and about noon the clouds broke away and came pretty near clearing away; and the most of the people started to Owego. I staid at home and so did Mrs. [Mary Ann] Bristol. [Her daughter,] Helen, invited Mary to go with them. Steve went and took Sarah and George Berry. Your father had rather walk across. Our folks had to go up around by the Depot and went to your Aunt Lucy [Fiddis’] to leave the horse. Just as they got there it commenced raining and I hardly ever saw it rain harder. Sarah staid there. Steve went down and got into the [Ahwaga] Hall. Your father got into Mr. [Robert] Cameron’s store out of the rain. Mr. [Wheeler] Bristol got under a tree in the park and the girls sat on the back seat and did not get wet. They have a top to their carriage. Helen, Kate Merrifield, and Mary sat there through the rain and a great many others staid there expecting after the rain to hear some speaching but the Ahwaga Hall was crowded, and for it all, it was such a bad day. There were a great many people in Owego. It rained till about 4 o’clock and after the rain, people commenced going home. Stephen went over in the evening and heard T. K. Beecher [2] and others. Kate Dean [3] sung, but they did not get many volunteers [to enlist for the army] that day. George Berry says that Friday he heard that they had 80 volunteers and that if they did not get enough they would begin to draft the 15th of next month. If Stephen should be drafted, he would have to go [as he cannot afford to pay for a substitute]. When Sarah came home she brought Lucy and Mrs. Bryan and Bill Bryan. Steve and George walked home. Steve drove up by the depot for them. They staid till Friday morning when the girls took them up and around to the Mansion House near the depot and they walked the rest of the way. Mrs. Bryan is a very pretty woman. She is out of health. Mr. Bryan is the inventor of a patent truss. You will see it advertising in the [Owego] Gazette. He is conductor on the railroad. A Mr. Greene, a conductor who lives on the same street that your Aunt does, has lost 2 children. They had two daughters and two sons. Their oldest daughter, Laurette, has visited here with Lucy. The next oldest daughter was Lucy Greene. She died and was buried the 15th of this month. Frederic was sick at that time. He died and was buried just a week later and Mrs. Greene was sick at that time. They have been very kind to your Aunt Lucy [Fiddis] and her family. Mr. Greene gave [Lucy's daughter] Anna passes to go to Addison and back, and to your Aunt Lucy who has been there twice. [He also gave] Lucy [a pass] to Elmira; it did not cost her anything. Mr. Greene has a brother somewhere in Kansas. I believe he is Capt. of a company and they think he is in the same Regiment that James Goodrich is. Do you know anything [about] him? I am glad when Sunday morning comes. It is so quiet. We have not had good hay weather the last week. Our men come nearly every day but did not get in any hay till Friday & then they got in 6 loads Friday & Saturday. Steve cradled some of our wheat, which if it was not Sunday today, ought to be taken up. I presume a great many will work today. Your father is reading a book. The title is ‘The Woman in White’ by Wilkie Collins. [4] Sarah has read it and she could not let it alone until she finished it. Steve has nearly read it through. I think it must be very interesting. It is Mr. McCallum’s book. We received your letter last week. What does [your husband] James do for his eyes? We are having beans from our own garden and peas, but they were given us. Helen [Bristol] brought us a basket full of peas and Mary went up to Mr. McCallum’s and got a basketful. I think I shall get two cucumbers to night for supper. With love to you all and kiss for the boys. Goodbye. [Your mother, -- Mary Ann Goodrich]
Owego [New
York] Dear Augusta, It has been two weeks since I have written to you but Sarah has written in the time. It is Sunday morning – a cool pleasant morn. The girls have gone to church. Fred Stiles came over and helped ketch [and harness our horse] Prince. Yesterday your father was making fences around his stacks. The crowbar fell onto his foot and jamb his big toe very bad. It hurts him to walk. Yesterday morning, Stephen went over to Owego [New York] to take a ride on the cars. Mr. Bryan, a conductor that boards at your Aunt Lucy [Fiddis’], has invited him to take a ride on the cars with him to Hornellsville and we suppose he has gone as he has not come home yet. We told him to bring his handkerchief [so he could wave it as he rode by our place] but he did not as we saw. I hardly know how he could have got away from the Depot without being taken but I suppose he was or we should have heard before this if he had been put in jail. We are having terrible times in this country and getting no better for it. Now is the beginning of hard times. The war has just begun. When it will end, time will show. A great many have enlisted in Owego [during] the last week. They have had war meetings every evening last week. They have put off drafting till the first of September. All that enlist now will be put into old companies. At Apalachin [New York], there is not men enough left to take care of the crops, and it is said that there is not over 8 or 10 men in Candor [New York] that will be liable to be drafted [as] all have enlisted, but I cannot believe it. John Thorn, [who enlisted in the 5th New York Cavalry, Company G] is a prisoner. John Curran is dead. Philip Goodrich is among the 600 that are brought into New York sick and wounded. Lieutenant E[ugene] B. Gere is home wounded in the shoulder. John Thorn was in his Co. Cavalry. [5] Louise Goodrich [Chadbourne] is at her mother's very sick with neurosis; her "Chad" has had to go to Binghamton [New York] and he may have to go to war. George [O.] Stroup we hear is not as well. He has been better and has rode out. Your Aunt Mary sent for me to go there Wednesday and visit with your Aunt Lucy Berry and Frank, Fred Goodrich’s wife. I had a very good visit with your Aunt Lucy. She is better than she has been. Frank Berry brought his mother over. Thursday morning the girls went to the village and done some trading, and your Aunt Lucy and Mrs. Chase and two children came home with [your sister] Sarah. [Your sister] Mary walked home. And [in the] afternoon, Jennett McCallum came and staid to tea. It was a very warm day but I think they had a good visit. After tea, Sarah took them home. Friday the girls went down to see Eliza Cortright. They have been thinking of going for several weeks. They called for Frank & Lur__ Taylor, but Frank had gone with Malvina (she came down in the forenoon) and soon after got there Ruth Goodrich & a Briggs girl that is visiting there came, so they had quite a party. Last week, Mr. [Wheeler H.] Bristol had a letter from Mr. [Oscar] Packard in New York, the man that married Fanny Worthington. He had had a dispatch from [Oakland] California that Mr. Robert Worthington was dead. He died Thursday [August 13, 1862], and they ought to have got the dispatch Saturday but did not till Sunday and then he wrote to Mr. Wheeler Bristol. Robert [had] married Jenny Bristol. She has a child 8 months old and is left so far from home, but I suppose she is not left poor. She is two years older than Helen [Bristol]. She has been gone nearly three years. We have just got your letter commenced August 11th. I shall expect to hear news that you are sick after going to camp meeting, and I should not think that your children were well enough to go. Did Jacob [Orcutt] say much about James’ hand? Had it been painful and is he cook yet? [6] We read about them going to Helena [Arkansas]. We suppose they are going to Little Rock – at least the papers say so. It does seem if Ralph is living we could hear from him. Our [Owego] Gazette says that the citizens of Kansas are to be enrolled in militia for military duty and Mrs. Berry wrote that she read in the Baptist American that they had had a great battle in southern Kansas. You may have trouble yet where you live. Some say we shall have trouble here [in upstate New York. Some say] that the English will [side with the Confederacy and] come upon us from Canada [and will] kill, burn, and destroy all. I do not think that trouble is as near us as it is with you [in Kansas]. I should think that you needed your men to be on the borders to protect your state and not to have had all their soldiers go in to Arkansas. I do not ever expect to see [my son] James again, but I wish he would write to us. It is trouble, trouble, all trouble. I am sorry that you cannot have rain. We have a plenty here, and our corn is good considering our cold spring. We had corn and beans for dinner yesterday for the first. Our potatoes are rotting. I do not know what to think about your uncle [Elizur Goodrich]. Have you written to them or heard from them lately? I wish Maria would write to Sarah. She is owing her a letter. I fear he has lost all or nearly all his property. George Stroup has had the typhoid fever. Frank [or Francis, his wife] is nearly worn out taking care of him. Aunt Mary says there is nothing [left] of her. Our folks have finished their harvest and we are having a rest as to cooking. Your father’s foot is swelled considerable today and pains him. A week from today they are going to commence drafting. Edward Jones enlisted [in Company C, 109th New York Infantry] and went to Binghamton [New York], and before the company got ready to go he has had to come home sick with chronic diarrhea. Hope you will not get sick at camp meetings. Love to all. Goodbye, [your mother] – Mary Ann Goodrich [1] Mary Ann Goodrich's description of the "Great War Meeting" closely matches that appearing in the July 21st edition of the Owego Gazette. It reads as follows: "Notwithstanding the drenching rain yesterday, Owego presented quite a manly appearance. The great heart of the people is thoroughly aroused, and nothing seems to prevent the patriotic men of old Tioga from doing their duty. The parade of the Firemen and Zouaves and the exercises on the park were therefore prevented. Ah-wa-ga Hall was densely crowded, whilst the streets and the stores were thronged with people. The Meeting was addressed in the afternoon by Hon. A. S. Diven and Rev. T. K. Beecher of Elmira, Col. B. F. Tracy and Wm. Smyth, Esq, and Hon. R. H. S. Hyde, of Berkshire. In the evening speeches were made by Rev. T. K. Beecher, and Dr. Doane of Washington. The Owego Cornet Band, under the direction of D. Wallis Reeves, enlivened the occasion with its soul-stirring music, while Miss Kate Dean, the celebrated singer, sang several patriotic pieces. The meeting in the evening was also favored with a patriotic song by Mr. McCauley, of New York. A series of patriotic resolutions were offered by A. A. Beebe, Esq, of the Gazette, and unanimously adopted." [2] Rev. Thomas Kinnicut Beecher from Elmira, New York. [3] According to an article in the May 22, 1862 Owego Gazette, Miss Kate Dean first gave a concert at the Ah-wa-ga House in Owego, New York on May 24, 1862 where the tickets for her performance were sold for 25 cents. She gave a number of concerts to the Federal soldiers in camps around Washington D.C. during 1862, accompanied by Millie Graham. An article appearing in the Washington Sunday Morning Chronicle, in regard to her camp visits reads as follows: "Miss Kate Dean, the eminent vocalist, who has done such great good among the soldiers composing the army of the Potomac, by singing to them patriotic and inspiriting songs, during last week visited quite a number of encampments in the vicinity of the capitol -- among others, the regiment at Fort Ellsworth, Captain A. Von Patkammer commanding, and that of Colonel Christian, located at Fort Lyon. The reputation of Miss Dean had preceded her, and officers and men of both regiments united in tendering her a most enthusiastic welcome. At the latter fort a substantial stage was erected in front of the Colonel's tent, and neatly carpeted; and when Miss Dean appeared, attired in a unique military costume -- the regiment having been previously brought into line -- the cheers that greeted her and her accomplished companion were almost deafening. She sang a number of songs, in each of which she was several times interrupted by the plaudits of the soldiers. The singing of the two popular pieces entitled, "The American Standard," and "We're Going on to Richmond," composed and set to music expressly for Miss Dean by Professor Bagiolio, fairly took the men by storm. It rendered them almost wild with joy, and they evinced their gratification in loud and prolonged cheers. The success of Miss Dean at Fort Ellsworth was equally gratifying. It is her intention, we learn, to pay a brief visit this week to her home State of New York, where she will give a series of concerts, and then return to Washington, to resume her visits among the soldiers. We predict for Miss Dean that success at home which has everywhere attended her in the capital and its vicinity. The soldiers, especially, will regret her absence, and hail her return with joy." [4] “Wilkie Collins was born on 8 January 1824 and died on 23 September 1889. In those 65 years he wrote 25 novels, more than 50 short stories, at least 15 plays, and more than 100 non-fiction pieces. A close friend of Charles Dickens from their meeting in March 1851 until Dickens' death in 1870, Collins was one of the best known, best loved, and, for a time, best paid of Victorian fiction writers. But after his death, his reputation declined as Dickens's bloomed. Now, Collins is being given more critical and popular attention than he has for fifty years. Almost all his books are in print, he is studied widely, and new film and television versions of some of his books have been made. Nevertheless, there is still much to be discovered about this superstar of Victorian fiction.” For a Picture of Wilkie Collins, click here. Source: www.deadline.demon.co.uk/wilkie/wilkie.htm If you would like to read "The Woman in White," click here.
[5] The source of this information was probably the August 21, 1862 edition of the Owego Gazette. In that issue, under local news, it was reported that "Lieut. E. B. Gere, of Co. G, 5th N. Y. cavalry, who was wounded in the battle at Orange Court House, returned home on Saturday evening last. He reports John Thorn as prisoner, and John Quinn, dead, both of his company." According to the book, Our County & Its People, Tioga County, New York, page 583, Eugene Gere was shot through the left shoulder in a cavalry charge at Orange Court House in Virginia on August 2, 1862. After the war, Eugene married Emily A. Truman, daughter of Lyman Truman and Emily M. Goodrich, a second-cousin of Augusta Goodrich.
Gravestone
of John ("Jack") Thorn [double-click on image for enlargement] |
