William Gay Butler letter to Jonathan Butler 2nd, 1834 March 8
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Handle
http://hdl.handle.net/11134/690002:409
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Persons
Correspondent (crp): Butler, William Gay, 1799-1857
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Title |
Title
Title
William Gay Butler letter to Jonathan Butler 2nd, 1834 March 8
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Origin Information
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Parent Item
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Resource Type
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Digital Origin |
Digital Origin
reformatted digital
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Description |
Description
Letter addressed from Pine Creek, and sent from the Allegan, MI, post office with no postmark, for 25 cents postage. The paper is torn and stained with red wax residue where it was sealed. William Gay Butler writes to his father Jonathan Butler in West Hartford on receiving Jonathan's letter dated January 13 eight days earlier. He left home on February 23, and his wife and children were well. They had a mild winter, and William got the hired hands who were chopping wood for him to put up two small houses. Jonathan's certificate for their land purchases was received and paid over to William. William writes that Jonathan said Mr. Burnam would not let him deposit it for the land office clerk Theodore Sheldon. Apparently Sheldon's signature was forged for the certificate in order to deposit it, and Sheldon wrote to Jonathan on its safe receipt. Jonathan was worried his partners in one of the land sales would seek funds from him. William writes that he expected to pay for 1/4 of the wood chopped on Jonathan's land and sell it to receive his share, but that neither he nor anyone else would build anything there without his knowledge and orders. Jonathan advised William to enter a fraction of land for his children, and William says that instead he entered a 40 acre lot and two small fractions for himself. He intends to pay his debts, have enough to support himself and his family comfortably, and give his children a good common education, "which with Industry will obtain them a living, and if I should have any thing left for them, after I was done with it, they would be as welcom from me as they would be pleased to receive it." His wife Mary and their children plan to go to Ohio the next summer, and William notes that Jonathan has said nothing about visiting Michigan then as suggested. He writes that he hopes on consideration Jonathan will feel able to come in body and mind, but crossed out "mind" and wrote "purse." William would travel to Illinois and Indiana with Jonathan, and then back as far as Ohio if not to Connecticut. He writes that he has his flour, corn, etc, with him, where he expects to take water. He purchased 25000 ft of assorted pine lumber and will finish setting it up for rafting that day; it is six platforms long, 16 ft wide, and 15 B (boards?) deep. He will start rafting Monday and be home Tuesday evening with no bad luck. William writes that this is the first lumber rafted in large quantity, and he has engaged an old raftman to run it by the thousand at his risk. He paid almost $200 for it and intends to finish his houses, and thinks R. R. Crosby and his other neighbors will want some of it. William writes that Jonathan does not mention William's brother Epaphras Butler, but that he assumes he must "have great trouble and hard times and poore living but I do not think he has any one to blame but him selfe. I do not pitty him but do his Children sinsearly." William suggests Epaphras should move onto Jonathan's new land in Michigan, but does not wish to solicit him, "for if he should I should never expect to heare the last of his blameing me for my advise to come." He describes the local crop prices: wheat 44 to 50 (cts a barrel?), corn 25 to 31, oats 18 to 25, potatoes 25, wild hay $3.00 a ton. William says he could sell his place at $500 for each eighth part, but has concluded not to sell any more for the time being. He urges his father to write to him and confirm whether he or William's brother Nathan Butler will visit that summer to see their land and settle William's debts. He directs Jonathan to send mail to the Newark Allegan post office, Michigan Territory. In a few lines on the otherwise empty back page, William subscribes himself Jonathan's son and humble servant.
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Rights Statement
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Note |
Note
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Local Identifier |
Local Identifier
79.23.111
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