Dear Miss Elizabeth,

For such I must call you.  Permit me thus to address you & I hope that you will forgive me for taking the liberty of so doing.  Dear Liz could I but have been the object to have gained your affections, how happy should I have passed through this world of sorrow, but as it has pleased God to center your affections upon another who I hope is more deserving than my humble self I wish you peace, pleasure, and happiness.  I wish it from the foundations of my heart.  Cast your lot where you may, let circumstances bee as they may I shall ever love you for the heart that once and truly loves can never forget.  How often it has been said that absence conkers love, but oh believe it not.

Miss M. E. Traughber:

Dear Miss,

With the deepest regret I now attempt to address you .  My regret is caused from disappointment on the part of my friends which makes it out of my power to go to Texas at this time.  Be assured that there is nothing that I regret more than this, believe me.  It is not on account of that love, which I have so often professed, ceasing to exist, for I do asure you as an honest man if I could arrange my business in time there is nothing that would afford me so much pleasure as to go with the one whom I have so long fondly loved and can never cease to adore, but it is out of my power to go for a few months but I am determined to go as soon as I can.  I have one request to make of you, will you grant it.  I hope you will.  That is to write to me when you get to Texas and let me know whare you reside.  Will you write?  The relationship existing between us will certainly garantee confidence.  Let me ashure you I will never abuse the confidence you may repose in me.  Please write soon, excuse all mistakes and believe truly that I am your affectionate lover,

J. J. Jenkins

Dear Liz,

It is with pleasure that I have the opertunity of addressing these few lines to you to say to you that I have arrived thus far on my journey safe.  We have had all sorts of weather since we left .  Yesterday it snowed all day. Today has been clear but not warm enough to melt in the shade.  I have not been warm but once since I left home and that was today.  When we stopped to eat dinner we stopped at a big fire out in the woods and the wind was blowing tolerable some and I got on the side so as the wind would blow the heat through me and the could out and I got a dram and it made me feel somewhat comfortable.  Last night I lay down to sleep and I was so cold that I could not go to sleep and I got up and got a blanket and raped it all around me so it made me go to sleep, but I was not warm after all.  I am 10 miles from Lawrenceburg and it is Saturday night and it will take me two days more to get to my journey’s end and you must not look for me until next Saturday.  If you do not receive this letter you must not be uneasy.  I am your loving husband until death,

George

Dear Wife,

I am compelled to write to you again to inform you that it is probable that I can not get home before about the last of this month.  Since I rote to you I got the chance of bringing some passengers back to Springfield.  Mr. Johnson wants me to take his sister-in-law back and I do not know wheather I shall stay to take them back or not.  If I do it will be several days before I start back as she is not ready to go and will not be before next Monday.  I am at present at her house 18 miles from where I left Mrs. Beaumont.  We all got here safe and sound.  I have seen some of Alabama since I got here and it is some.  I have seen some of the worst country here that I ever did see and some of the best.  Oh Liz you do not know how bad I want to see you, but it is a great pleasure to set down a rite just as though I was a talking to you, but it is not as good when it comes to sleeping.  I feel mity lonesome away down here in these wild woods.  They call it the suney South but it won’t do me.  It may do som & them that likes it may have it for me.  I may be possible that I may start home tomorrow.  If I do not I will not start before next Monday & I will get home about Saturday as it will take about 6 days to come.  I have had tolerable good health since I left but I am a little sorter home sick.  It looks like we would have some rain today.  If you get this letter in time I want you to write me a letter to me at Nashville.  I am your loving husband until death.

George

Dearest George,

Imagine the pleasure that thrilled throughout my soul when I received your letter.  It caused that sensation of love to thrill throughout my soul that was scarsely ever caused before, for I have seen so much trouble about you since you have been gone that I could scarsely contain myself.  But since you have the chance of bringing some persons back with you I think I can wait a few more days, but it really does appear to me that you have been a year, but I still hope to see you in a few days. Were fate to decree that we should never see each other again I know that I never could be happy another moment.  You say that I do not know how much you want to see me but I think that I can imagine I can, at least jusge you by myself.  You say that you feel very lonesome and I am sure that I can simpathise with you on that subject, you must not laugh at me when I tell you that I cryed last week because you would not come home but what made me cry was that I had not received a letter from you.  You wrote to me but the letter was miscarried to Springhill in Maury County.

You must bring me a pair of shoes sz 5 as Mr. Strickling has not made me any yet, and it appears that he will not.  You must bring some snuff when you come home, you have not many groceries but you must not wait to get them.  Jo says he is not getting along very well at the stable.  The black horse has been hired out every day since you have been gone.  Jo has a chance of selling the omnibuse at $125.  I think you had better come home and see about it.  I think it will be a very good chance, do not delay coming home as soon as you can.  I remain your affectionate wife,

Mary E. Baird

Dear George,

I hasten to answer your letter dated November the 11^th and inform you that we are getting along about as well as comon.  I think Nancy’s health is better than it was last winter.  You must forgive me for not wrighting often.  I received two letters from you before you reached Dallas and then I rote immediately.  I expected it to be there by the time you arrived.  We are all getting fat here eating backbones and sausage meat.  Tell Liz that the heifer looks like she will have a calf before long.  Major Barid sends howdy to you and says he wants to see you very bad.  He goes out on the Nashville Road and watches and cryes all day.  He is in very bad health.  Christmas is most done with its fun and frollick.  We had one of the most splendid circuses here.  It performed on the square free as a Christmas trick with some of the best performers in the West.  We have had one of the finest autums we ever witnessed.  We had no winter until the second week in December. The snow is falling fast, it is about six or eight inches deep.  It commenced about sun up and more about ten o’clock.

Uncle John B. Persise has moved to Batesville Arkansas.  Dear George I want tyou to be cautious about your health.  The colera is yet in the valley of the Missippi.  You had better come back to Tennessee before the Indians scalp you or the ague slay you before the colera prevents you from your return.  It seems like a long time since you left here and I want you to wright as soon as you get this and tel me when you are agoing to start back.  Also I and several of your neighbors wants to have a true statement of that country as to the city of Dallas, the climate, the water, the land, the timber, the health of the community, and everything you know about it and whitch you like best that country or this and under all the circumstances whether you would advise any person to mover there or not.  The health of this community is generally good.  Flour is three dollars per hundred, pork is two dollars, corn is seventy five cts to one dollar a barrel.  I must draw to a close a remain yourever dear aunts,

Mary & Nancy [Ferguson]

Dear George,

I received your kind letter of the 30^th ult which gave me much pleasure to hear that you were all well, although I sympathize with you for your misfortune I am glad you were not entirely burnt out and saved your dwelling.  Nancy and I  at this time enjoys very good health, during the summer my health was not so good.  I have been taking Williams Sarsaparilla and think that it would be very good for you.

And now I will give you all the information about your Farther’s family that I can.  Your Farther’s name was Isaac and come from Strasburg, Shenandoah Cty, Va.  I do not know what your grandfarther name was.  I think that your grandmother name was Mary.  Your farther had two brothers.  One was named Jacob; he come here to this country in 1819 and died in Reynoldsburgh.  And he had a brother Joseph that remained in Va. and had two sisters and one of them was name Mary and I cannot remember the other’s name.  Your grandmother had two brothers by the name of Reece, one was named Joseph.  Your farther learned his trade from him.  I do not know the others name.  Your grandmother had an uncle that lived and died near Port Royal, his name was Jacob Fettener.  And this is about all the information that I can give you it has bin so long ago that I forgot all about it nearly.

John Gorham left here about 2 week of October for the Ironworks in Stewart Cty.  He is clerking there and gets $600 a year and you know he will be rich right off.  Mary Braden has gone thru the switch patch here at home and she is the topic of conversation in every circle and now she and her farther speaks of going to Europe but they have not started yet.  I would give a full account of the affair but it would ocupy too mutch time and space.  The know nothings are taking the day her but knowbody knows who they are so it is know nothings all around.  Married Mr. I. L. Davis to Miss Ruby Tomma.  Sister Percise is still in the pouts yet.

I wish you would be very cautious about your frontier excursions for fear the Indians will come across you and take your scalp.  I often see accounts in the papers of murders and other depredations commited by them on the frontier of your state.

Nancy sends her love to you, Lizy, and Babe.  She is often taking on about Babe.  She wants to see him very bad.  I believe I have no more never or anything else of importance to wright to you about.  You must wright to me as soon as you get this.  I remain yours affectionately,

Mary and Nancy Ferguson

P. S. Direct your next letter to Nancy.