Dear Father and Mother,
I embrace the oppurtunity of writing you that we are all in
a reasonable state of health at the present, thanks be rendered to Omnipotence
for the same. Hoping when these lines come to hand will find you and yours
enjoying the like health. This may inform you that through the mercie of the
Lord we have embraced religion for about three years. We are both members of
_______Baptist Society. We have had seven children and have burried three of
them. My oldest child I have living has had fits for about three years which we
call William. The other names as followeth Nancy, Edward, George are the
children we have living. The children we lost one died with choking ______, one
with a sore mouth, _____other _____to death.
This may inform you that I have never regretted moving from
that country to this country for I have lived plintiful. I have farmed ______
for provision. I have lived on land of my own for about six years. I expect to
rase 700 bushels of corn for this year. Corn is selling now for 50 cents ______
barrel.... This neighbor has ____ the present crop.
This may inform you that I have sold my place I now live on,
and I am going to move to my father-in-laws to take care of the old people
while they live. That is by their request. I should be very happy to see you
all come to see me and take a good look at this country, for I think it is a
far better country for a man to make a living in than that country is, for we
can rase our grain – our pork much easier here than you can there.
We can make our own sugar very handy if we try, and we can
buy plenty of our country-made sugar at six or seven per pound. We can buy
coffy at 25 cents per pound. This is a very fine country for sault. We can buy
plenty for one dollar a bushel. Pork is worth from $1.50 to _____dollars per
hundred. We can buy cotten here at sixteen cents per pound.
This is a very fine country to raise sheep. (They) yeald a
heep more wool here that they do there and the women have no trouble here in
carding wool for ____ we have carding machines to card wool into rolls in this
country.
It is a fine time to buy land in this country. Congress land
is worth $1.25 per acre. That is, you can buy 80 acres for $100 and any number
of acres above that quantity at the same price but you can’t buy no less than
80 acres of Congress land.
A man can settle here on Congress land _____ and do very
well. I think if you all would move to this country you never would regret it.
This may inform you that all kinds of property sells very low.
So I must conclude my letter. I want you to write me and let
me know how you all are doing and where my brothers and sisters lives. I heard
last_____that sister Elizabeth was dead. I want you to direct your letter to
Peola, Orange Co (unty) for my father –in-law lives six miles (and) a half from
there. I don’t know when _____ the oppurtunity of comin to see you & if
_____ see each other in this world I hope we w_____ to enjoy the Ble____
cricified redeem(er)____. Give _____ to all enquiring friends.
So I remain your dutiful son until death.
George Silver, Martha Silver
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