Letter to Laura Ann Arnold (Jackson)

Containers:

Box 1, Folder 71

Scope and content:

Written from VMI, Lexington, Virginia. Letter regards family news.

Language:

English

Other descriptive data:

Lexington, Va.
Oct. 1855

My Dear Sister,
Your letter to Wirt appears to have had a good influence on him such as to induce him to relinquish his idea of returning to Indiana. Yet he has gone beyond what I authorized him to do by purchasing a farm at eight dollars per acre. I restricted him to seven at most. But notwithstanding if Cousin Wm. Neale will approve of the bargain I have determined to advance eleven hundred dollars. I well know that there is a risk but it appears to me that I ought to run this risk for him. He made the purchase without consulting Cousin Wm. and it may be that he has been cheated. I have written to Uncle Alfred to forward between seven and eight hundred dollars if he thinks it should be done, but with the condition that the contract is to be approved by Cousin Wm. and the deed to be made out in my name. Wirt says that he has paid ninety five dollars of the purchase money by selling his horse to the person from whom he purchased.

Mr. Thomas left for home yesterday and I left at the house where he was staying a testament for him to carry to Mrs. Hilley. It may possibly be that it was not delivered to him, please let me know whether Mrs. Hilley gets it. He was not in when I left the book and he told me afterwards that he had not received it, but I requested him to ask for it before leaving.

Tell Mr. Arnold that I want to get about two thousand acres of land warrant and ask him whether he could purchase me any if I were to forward the money and at about what price does he think it can be procured. I do not want to make any purchases until after Christmas as the general impression I believe is that the price will be lower about that time, but I would like to know what it is worth now. Tell him that my intention is to let the land lay after purchasing it for a number of years without selling it and that as the lands in Kansas are less culled over than those in the free states I will for the same amount of money get better land and that Kansas will almost certainly be a free state and this will give the advantage of a free state in selling should I years hence wish to dispose of them. Ask him what he thinks of these views. Tell him that I have been told there is considerable good land in Illinois still unappropriated and if so I want to lay warrants on some of it as it must ultimately command a high price.

I hope Mr. Campbell will come on and that you will be able to keep him. Aunt Clem told me in a recent letter that soon after my leaving she was laid up from

[end of letter appears in margin of this and previous pages]

Charly & Julia took prizes.

I received Dear Ellie's tomb stones today enclosed a draft of the head stone, it has a full blown rose and a rose bud on the top. William Junkin my youngest brother-in-law is to be married tomorrow to Miss Anna Anderson a lovely a pretty girl. Our synod was a delightful assembly. Your affectionate brother.

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Correspondence

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