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Letters from Dr. Elijah Ealy to his wife at Dayton 1849-1850


COPIES OF LETTERS WRITTEN IN 1849-50

By Dr. Elijah Ealy on the GOLD RUSH to his wife at Dayton

Dr. Ealy died December, 1851

 

St. Louis  April 18th-1849

Dear Sal:

               I started on Saturday evening from Cincinnati on the steamboat Thomas Jefferson and after a very disagreeable and cold voyage I arrived here this morning and found James Odell waiting to take passage for St. Joseph.  We are now on the same boat and expect to start tomorrow morning.  I have been quite sick with a cold which I caught the very day I left home, but now I feel quite well, and will be able to enjoy myself much better on the voyage up the Missouri River.  I had intended to write from Cincinnati but did not feel like writing a letter. I intend to write to mother today and let them know where and what I am at, and also insist on her coming out to see you as soon as possible.  I saw Samuel Foley in Cincinnati and he promised to send you seven dollars in the course of a few weeks; he will either send it by Mr Rakstraw or by mail.  I have not heard anything of our Company, and do not expect to hear of any of them here.  I want you to be extremely economical in the use of your money, for I may not return as soon as I expected.  I will write you again from St. Joseph.  Be careful of the girls, and keep them under strict discipline.  Yours forever                E. Ealy.

(Mrs Dr. Ealy Dayton Ohio)  Same sheet. Marked PAID instead of stamp.

______________________________________________________________________________________Independence   April 25th- 1849

Dear Sarah:

                    I am now within 4 or 5 miles in Independence, and not knowing how long the boat will stop there, I have commenced writing while the boat is under full blast, snorting like a great seahorse, and shaking so much that is very hard writing.  I wrote from St. Louis, and suppose you have by this time received my letter.  The Missouri River is low and very dangerous to navigate, we do not run at night, and get along very slow.  We started last Thursday and it is now a week and we are not yet within a hundred miles of St. Joseph, and it is somewhat doubtful whether the boat will be able to get there or not, as I before stated the river is low.  We have not yet heard anything of the Company, but believe they are at St. Joseph.  Mr. Odell and myself have been well since we left St. Louis, though I am becoming very sick of steam-boating so much.  I am able to take but little exercise while on the river, and shall be very glad indeed when I arrive at St. Jospeh.  I do not like the provisions that are furnished, & they are becoming worse every day.  The butter you could smell a mile & many other things equally bad.  We have had no cholera on board of our boat & but little sickness of any kind.

27th.    When we arrived at Independence the Captain of our boat refused to go any further, in consequence of the low stage of water, and another boat the  St. Joseph, Captain Baker being about to start up the river, Odell and myself took passage and are now within thirty-five miles of the town of St. Joseph & expect if no accident happens to arrive there tonight.  We have learned today, that our Company reached there on Sunday last, so we are far behind them.  The country is swarming with Californians & still every steamboat is loaded with them, that is coming up the river.  And numbers who have started too early have become homesick and are returning.  I am determined to go ahead unless prevented by sickness or some calamity.  There are some very fine & flourishing towns along the river, though there is not much variety of scenery & you are never out of sight of islands covered with cottonwood from ten to twenty feet high.  I shall not close this letter until tomorrow.

28th.     I arrived at St. Jospeh yesterday evening & found the company encamped about one mile north of the town.  They look rather worse of the ware, having long beards & uncouth in their appearance.  D. Kemp & H. Winters have been sick, but they are both recovering, now able to be about.  I found here Broadwell & Benjn. Knisely, they left Price & Joseph Knisely in Arkansas and state that they cannot fill the contract.  But they would not refund the money & in all probability we shall lose every dollar.  But this is not all, the Company took one thousand dollars of Kentucky money, which it appears is not good, or at least is not current here.  So we shall most likely lose that also.  They have purchased 45 mules here, at 50 dollars a head & can get as many as they wish at that price.  There are about 4 or 5 thousand Californians here & at Independence & they are still coming.  All the Dayton men are here, though I have not seen any of the other companies except Thomas Clegg.   The grass is just beginning to grow & it will not be safe to leave here for 10 or 12 days.

     Some of the companies are leaveing here for Fort Kearney some thirty or forty miles from here & there waiting until they can get pasture.

     John Edmonson is going to St. Louis & I shall send this letter by him.  I shall write again in the course of a week.                 

                                                                                                  Your affect,ly    E. Ealy

     I should like to hear from you very much, but unless you have already written, it will be too late to find me here.

(Mrs. Dr. Ealy, Dayton, Ohio.                        Same sheet, no stamp or mark visible)

______________________________________________________________________________________

St. Joseph,  Missouri.  May 6th 1849

                                                         I have been disappointed in the time of leaveing here.  I supposed that we should have been off by the 4th of this month, but it is not likely that we shall get further than 8 or 10 miles by the 12thas the grass is not yet sufficient to support the mules.  I have become quite tired in laying in camp, now ten days.  I am extremely anxious to be on the march, and wending my slow & tedious way out over the plains & mountains.  H. B. Crist arrived here yesterday, and stated that he had called to see you  & reports that you were well, but had been sick & also that one of the children had been unwell.  I am glad to hear that you have both recovered.  Crist will not go with us.  He received a letter from home, stating that his wife is sick, and he will return today.  James Odell also received a letter stating that his wife is very sick, and he will also leave here tomorrow for home & I intend to send this letter by him.  Several of the men are homesick, but I think they will get better as soon as they are on the march.  We have had rain in copious showers for the last three days, and it is very muddy, both in and out of camp.  We are not very particular about washing as we seldom can get clean water, where we are encamped, about 1½ miles from the town.

     I have not washed any of my clothes yet, but will have to go at in a day or two, something I do not like at all.  If Lib was here she could do it for me or Cal. either.  It will take hard rubbing, as the black dust which was blowing here, for the first 7 or 8 days after my arrival, has colered our clothing and persons so much that they all look more like negroes than white persons.  Californians are still arriving, as many as there were one or two weeks ago & they are crossing and recrossing in every direction, but in the course of two weeks the town will be quiet.  Many young men who have come here with the intention of going to California, have become intemperate, spent all their money & are obliged to return, the best way they.___ And a number have determined to sell out their wagons and return, having become discouraged in consequence of finding such an imense emigration.  Our fare here in camp is poor indeed, nothing scarcely but sea-biscuit & flitch & coffee.  I have had nothing else since I left the boat, game is very scarce, having nearly all been killed before we came here.  The biscuit is so very hard that we can scarcely eat without soaking it for some time & I have no doubt that our teeth will be worn down to the gums.  But I can live on what others can and I am determined to go ahead unless prevented by sickness.  I could not think of returning to home unless some very strong reason should present itself, for I am well convinced that if  I live to get to Cal. I will be enabled to obtain a large amount of gold, that too in the course of 1 year or 15 months from this time.  I should be very glad to receive a letter from you before leaving, for if I do not, it will be impossible to receive a letter from you before some time next fall.  I may have an opportunity, of sending a letter by some returning party, when on the plains & mountains.  I should like if you would place some accounts in the hands of a justice of the peace, for collection, as I think you will not get the money without, Popes acct. & Bidlemans & Mrs Browns, Lewis, & some others which I cannot think of.  Finchs acct also unless they will settle before the first of July.  I wish you to be extremely economical in the use of your funds, for I may be disappointed after all my trouble & expense.  I hope you will be careful of the children & give them but little strong medicine.  Cal should take some gentle purgative medicine every day or two & if you follow such directions, I shall have the infinite pleasure to find you all sound & healthy when I return from my long & laborious journey.  I think frequently of the situation of Martha Ellen & the thought fills me with sorrow.  I wish you to send Lib to school, but do not keep her at it too steadily, as it will injure her health, I have no doubt.  I expect to see some very hard & difficult times, before I return, but I feel that it would be disgraceful to back out without the very strongest reasons, such as I do not think will occur.  I have embarked in an enterprise which I believe to be a good one, and one which will be profitable not only to me, but to all who have engaged in it.  The thought that I shall be separated three thousand miles from wife & children, excites at times sorrowful emotions & a feeling that the chances of seeing you again are very narrow.  But we must hope for the best & trust that the Kind Providence which has conducted me thus far in life, will sustain me in every difficulty & bear me under his protecting care to my beloved home, sweet home, again.  I shall endeavour to write to you again before I get out on the plains, and then will have to bid you a long farewell.   Yours Ever

                                                                                 E. Ealy. (On outside: Mrs. Dr. Ealy Dayton Ohio

                                                                                  Per the favour of Mr. J. Odell

 

                                                                                                              St. Joseph   May 13th 1849

Dear Sarah:

                   I received both your letters, one yesterday & am quite rejoiced to hear that you will be permitted to remain where you are & I am very glad that you are in some measure reconciled to my journey, as it gave me considerable anxiety & disquietude, to think that you were so much opposed to my leaveing.  I am very sorry that I did not go with a smaller party of men, as we have had considerable jangling.   We have had great difficulties in our company, as we commenced wrong in the first place, our contracts have been too heavy, we have too much of everything, and cannot sell what we have to dispose of.  After all we cannot carry more with us than will be just sufficient to carry us through to California.  There is great disaffection in the company at present & there is some danger of the company being divided into small parties.  But if we can move from our present camping ground, I think we shall get along more smoothly.  We are now in the indian  territory about 7 miles beyond St. Joseph, but we cannot remain here long as the cholera is prevailing amongst the Californians.  We lost one of our co. a few days ago with it, who was sick only two days, Wm. Palmer of Fairfield, his wife is now living in or near Dayton.  I wrote to his wife & gave her an account of his death & burial.  Henry Winters will return tomorrow & Mr. Horton of Piqua, will leave in a few days.  Winters has been quite sick but is now able to go home.  I do not think he could stand the journey across the plains & mountains.  I am still determined to go ahead, I feel rugged and stout enough to travel through.  The kind of life which I live is calculated to strengthen the constitution.  I live on flitch sometimes not cooked at all & biscuit, sleeping on the ground in tents, with nothing but a thin buffalo robe underneath & a blanket to cover and when it is very wet we crawl into the wagons, which is a most difficult place to take a nap, on consequence of so many boxes & other hard articles, pressing you so closely.  But I am getting accustomed to this mode of living & now do not complain, as I expect to see much harder times before I reach the place of destination.  There is no probability that we can starve as we have more provisions in proportion to the number of men, than any other camp, that have started on the same journey.  There are a great many emigrants not less than fifteen thousand, and there is no doubt but  there will be much suffering & misery on the mountains, but we are determined to push ahead, and get ahead of the ox teams if possible, and if we find we cannot, we shall abandon our wagons & pack our mules & make forced marches until we reach beyond the desert country in the mountains, where we are safe I think.  If I have any opportunity to write on the way I will do so.

     Where we are now encamped, the beautiful rolling prairie extends for many miles around & is one of the grandest scenes my eyes ever beheld.  We see indians travelling to and fro every day & this morning about sun-rise two indian boys came into camp, with their bows and arrows and nothing but a blanket to cover their nakedness.  We gave them some biscuit & raw bacon, which they ate greedily.  When I arrive Cala. I will write to you and give you a history of our journey.  And when you write direct your letter to San Francisco Upper Cala.  In all probability this is the last letter you will receive from me, until next fall and I know you will be as anxious to hear from me, as I from you.  I hope your health will be preserved & that of the girls also & whilst I am on my long & laborious journey, either in the day or at night I know my thoughts will be towards home & wife & daughters will never be out of my mind.  And I now must bid you all a long and an affectionate farewell, and I am still strong in the belief that I shall see you again, but if the Almighty Disposer of human events should determine otherwise, I hope He will permit us to meet in that better world where sorrow, trouble & death never enter & where we shall be united, never again to be separated.

                                                                             Your affectionate Husband,

                                                                                                  Elijah Ealy

P. S. You mentioned in your letter that Mr. Gebhart disputed hi (torn.)  I tell you it is just & right as it stands on the book & no more visits charged than I made.

                           E. E.

Give my respects to Mr. Beaver, Revd. Rosenmiller and other inquiring friends.

 

I will now set about writing to Mother & tell her to visit you & remain with you all summer & fall & until I return, which will be next spring or soon after, therefore dont trouble yourself much about your situation as the time will soon arrive when I shall be on my return again, and now I again bid you farewell.

                       E. E.

I enclose you the last money I have left $5.00.

                                                 (addressed: Mrs. Dr. Ealy, Dayton Ohio  per Mr. Horton

 

 

Camp Ewing   June 3rd 1849

Dear Sarah,

                  Having an opportunity of sending a letter by a party of soldiers who are returning to the States, I just have a few minutes to write.  We have reached Platte River and intend to remain here a few days for the purpose of recruiting our animals as they are considerably fagged.  Our company are all well at present.  We are still travelling in a prairie country & will be for some time.  We are all anxious for a change of scenery.  We met some who are returning even after having travelled three hundred miles.  I shall write by every opportunity.  I was out hunting yesterday & succeeded in killing a fine large deer, the first game which has been brought into camp.  It is quite a luxury after living so long on salt bacon.  We intend to be after the buffaloe in a few days travel from this place.  We have seen numbers of antelope & some elk, but they keep beyond the reach of our rifles.  I am becoming accustomed to this mode of life & can endure about as much as any of them.  We can not find ponies, & consequently have to walk a great deal.  As the party are about starting I must close.

                                                            Your affect. Husband

                                                                                                 Elijah Ealy

(On back, same add. stamped Fort Leavenworth Mo. in a circle and a large X)

 

 

Near Salt Lake Cala.  Saturday July 21#-1849

Dear Sarah,

                   Understanding that the mail will leave Salt Lake or the Mormon City tomorrow or the day after I concluded to write this evening & have a letter ready by the time I reached there.  I am now within 20 miles of the Mormon City which is situated in the valley of the Great Salt Lake.  I expect to reach there tomorrow evening.  We took this route because we understood it was the nearest & best for pasture.  About one third of the emigrants only have taken this route.  The others have gone the Fort Hall road.  I wrote a letter & mailed it at Fort Larimie, which I presume you have received by this time.  We have not yet suffered any for want of grazing, though we have had some very bad road.  I enjoy excellent health & the others of the company are well.  John Smith requests me to state that he is well & hearty.  Silas Broadwell is also in good health & rugged as a bear.  Benjamin Kneisley was drowned whilst attempting to ford the north branch of Platte River on the 29# of June.  He was swept from the horse by the swiftness of the current.  We could not recover his body.  His clothing & other property was placed in the hands of John Smith.  You can inform his friends of the death of Benjamin as soon as possible.  I this evening met with George Mull for the first time, I did not hear of his being on the route & was right glad to meet him here amongst the mountains.  He is travelling with a company from Canton Illinois, with oxen.  He is well & desires me to request you to let his mother Mrs. Hare & his sister Mrs. Unger know that he is here & intends to be in California as well as the rest of us by the first day of Septr., next. I spent an hour with him & took supper.  They had a Rocky Mountain pot-pie, made of sage hens, I ate heartily of it, as it was the first pie of any kind I have tasted since I left home.  By the time I caught up with our train it was very dark & raining, the first shower we have had for six weeks, & is very acceptable I assure you on account of the dust, which has been very annoying.  From Fort Larimie to Green River the country is dry, sandy & almost barren, with the exception of the narrow bottoms along the water courses.  But from Fort Bridger to where we now are, 20 miles from Salt Lake, grass and water in abundance & we learn there will be no scarcity on the whole route with the exception of about 40 miles where there is not a particle of either.  And we are now in fine spirits, being quite certain that we shall be in the land of glittering gold in 5 weeks from this time.  The nights here in this mountainous region are quite cool, sometimes frost & on the 4 day of July we had ice an eighth of an inch thick.  But we very seldom pitch a tent, spreading our robes on the ground & our blankets over us, we can sleep soundly.  The air is so fine & dry that sleeping in the open air is much more healthy, than to be in a tent or in a wagon.  On the 12# day of this month we crossed the South Pass & found near it banks of snow.  But we can see mountains on the north & south, with their tops covered with snow, which to us is a great curiosity.  We have an abundance of biscuit & some flour, enough to last a month or six weeks after we arrive in Cala.  and it is our intention to go to gold digging immediately & work all winter at the dry diggins as they are called, so that by spring we will have a pretty sum, some of which I shall exchange for coin & send you as much as I think you will need until my return.  I shall expect to find a letter at Francisco, from you & I shall write immediately after my arrival there & let you know what the prospects are for obtaining gold.  The Mormons give us quite encouraging news with regard to the obtaining of gold.  I saw at Green River Ferry about 1 ounce of gold which the ferryman had, some of it as large as common sized fish scales, and others of a different shape, as large as a grain of wheat.  A Great many Mormons have gone to the gold regions, some have returned bringing large sums with them, so that you may expect to hear something rich when you receive my next letter, witch will be from the land of gold.                                                                                                          Affecty. yours

                                                                                                                                      E. Ealy.

P. S.  We have been under the necessity of reducing our freight, by throwing away a number of articles.  And it astonishing to see thousands of pounds of provisions, such as bacon, rice, flour, beens etc, laying along the roadside, which has been thrown out by the emigrants.  The indians will not touch any of them, for fear they contain poison.  Wagons, tools of every description, guns, axes, shovels & spades, picks, trunks & clothing are also strewn along the way & at camp grounds.  Enough provisions have been left to rot on the road, to feed the poor of Dayton for many years.

23rd.  We arrived in the Mormon City this morning, & will leave in a few minutes.  Population 4 thousand.

         Elijah Ealy  (Outside: Same add.  Paid 10  Salt Lake Cala.  July 16  (apparently he had  got confused on dates)

 

 

Letter of Dr. Elijah Ealy of Dayton, as a Forty-niner in California for gold, to his wife.  Dr. Ealy was the father of the school teacher, Mrs. Belle Sharts, who passed away in 1945 and was the mother of Joseph W. Sharts, Esq.

                                                                                                                                     Uba River California

My Dear Sarah:                                                                                                             Sept. 30th, 1849.

        After a very tedious & laborious journey of four months, we struck the Sacramento Valley about one hundred miles north of Sutters Fort, having taken the Cala & Oregon route, which leaves the old road at Humbolts River about 80 miles above the sink.  It is the best route, but at least one hundred miles further.  On the 15th of the present month we reached the first settlement, Lawsons Ranch.  When at Salt Lake I mailed a letter for you, which I suppose you have received before this time, it was, I believe, on or about the 23 of July.  But as that letter may have miscarried I will now state that Benjn. Kneisley was drowned in attempting to cross the north fork of Platte River.  We appointed John Smith administrator & he has received his share of the stock into his hands.  We had a hard time of it, indeed; it is no sport to cross over a barren, sandy & rockey country, as it is from Fort Larimie here.  There is no grass except on the water courses & in one place we had neither water nor grass for 60 miles, with the exception of what we carried with us.  Cattle died on this desert in great numbers.  We did not lose a single mule.  And fortunately for the emigrants, the citizens here have sent out, on all the routes, provisions & cattle to help the emigrants through.,  Capt. King, McCorkle & the Smiths & others we passed on Humbolts River.  King had a fight with the Indians.  It appears from what I could learn that they had some of their oxen stolen & a party went out into the mountains in search.  They found the Indian thieves & they commenced shooting their arrows.  King was wounded in the arm.  He succeeded, after a hard struggle in which the Indian seized his rifle & attempted to wrest it out of his hands, in shooting him through the heart.  The others in seeing their red comrade fall, took to their heels & were soon out of sight.  They were very troublesome & stole away a great many oxen & horses.  I saw one company from Missouri that had all their oxen stolen.  These depredations were committed principally on Mary or Humbolts River.  There were many fights & a number killed on both sides.  I saw one man that was killed by an Indian- since we crossed the desert- he was shot in the back with a steel pointed arrow.  They never gave us any trouble.  We had very poor living as our bacon was all used more than five weeks ago.  Bread we had plenty & have some yet, occasionally we could buy a few lbs. of bacon at 50 cts. per lb.  Hard bread and coffee was our principal diet for 4 hundred miles, with the exception of some game which we succeeded in killing.  A deer would not make more than 3 or 4 meals, among such a hungry, half-starved set.  There were eleven of us together at this time & we have cooked as many as 11 sage hens (they are nearly as large as turkeys) & ate them all at one meal.  Provisions became very scarce on the last three hundred miles of the route & some were compelled to kill their cattle.  The Packers were not able to carry a great deal with them, and many run out and offered high prices for bacon and bread.  A dollar a lb for hard bread or bacon was frequently given.  I believe, notwithstanding all the difficulties, the emigrants will arrive in safety.  They are pouring in, in great numbers.  There is great excitement here, in regard to the gold.  There is just at this time a hustle and running from one gold region to another.  Great stories are told of men making fortunes in a few days.  And I have no doubt many have done so.  The fact is gold is abundant on all the streams which rise in the mountains east and southeast of the Sacramento River.  And almost every man you see has his little bag of gold.  It passes current here at 16 Dol. per oz.  Myself, J. Edmonson, H. Marot, F. Creighton & J. Haage are now on Uba River about 60 miles northeast of Sutters Fort.  We came to this place 8 days ago, but found the richest diggins all claimed by others.  It is only in places that fortunes are to be made, but it is exceedingly hard labour to get it out from amongst the rocks.  A crowbar, picks, shovels & spades are the necessary tools for digging.  And then the ground & dirt must be carried to the water, which is frequently 30 or 40 yds. off.  Here it must be washed either by a machine or pan.  The machine is very much like a cradle with a seive at the head.  We went to work and averaged twelve dollars each per day, but this is considered here doing a poor business.  The prices of everything here at the mines are very high.  Flour 30 cts. per lb. beef 25 cts. sugar 50, bacon hams $1.50 per lb & other articles at the same rates.  Molasses at $4.00 a gallon.  The wages of hired men are from ten to 16 dollars per day.  We sold our stock for eight hundred dollars and after everything was settled I had for my share about one hundred dollars.  I intend to leave here & go to some of the dry diggins, south of Sutters Fort where I expect to winter.  It is the hardest work I ever worked at but I am now hearty & vigorous & will not lie idle.  Many are making by diggins in the mines one hundred dol. every day but there are a number who do not make over five dollars.  The merchants & those who deal in provisions are making splendid fortunes.  As I do not feel in a writing mood I shall close this and write again in the course of a week or two.  I intend to send you some money as soon as an opportunity presents.  If I succeed in the mines this winter you may expect me home in the spring.  There is a person going to Francisco, who will be the bearer of this letter & inquire for a letter or letters from you.  When you write direct your letters to Sacramento City, Cal

                                                                                                  Your affectionate husband

                                                                                                                            E. Ealy.

 

 

Sacramento City  Octr. 24# 1849.

My Dear Sarah,

                 I have been here a few days looking round for a situation but the weather is very warm & sultry & I do not feel well & shall therefore leave in a few days for the mines.  I have written two letters to you already, but the probability is that they will all arrive at the same time, as the mail only leaves here once a month.  I have this morning bought a draft & shall enclose it in this letter to you, and I shall enclose a copy of the same to Mr. Gebhart so that one or the other will arrive in Dayton.  You can sell it for a small percentage to Mr. Gebhart or some other merchant.  And for the draft of eighty dollars I have been obliged to give five ounces and a quarter of the finest gold, which I dug & washed out of the Yuba river diggins.  I did not like to risk more at one time, & if you receive this draft I wish you to write immediately after it is paid, for I have still a third copy which I will send in case of the miscarriage of the 1st & 2d.  This city contains about three thousand inhabitants & is improving rapidly & it is astonishing to see the amount of business that is done here.  This is the place to make money & every man who is not engaged in a good money-making business in the states, should by all means come here.  The Rivers are full of gold as well as the mountains & many men who emigrated to this country four or five months ago, have returned with large sums of gold.  I do not fear but that I shall do well,  it is my intention to mine all winter & then in the spring I shall look out for some rich wet (?) digging & make my fortune in a few months, after which I expect to return home.  I have received no letter from you yet.  I have sent to San Francisco twice but there has been no letter for me.  Now I wish you to direct your letters to Sacramento City Cala., where I will be more likely to get them.  I shall visit the city again before the rainy season sets in.

     I have seen a few of the Dayton boys here, & I learn that they are all doing well, especially T. Clegg & his three sons.  Geo. Mull is here now in the city & is going with me into the mines.  In fact I have met so many old acquaintances from Shippensburg & Dayton that I feel perfectly at home.

     There are now no less than thirty vessels laying in the river here & already the wharf presents the appearance of some of the eastern cities.  H. Marot & Edmonson are here now but they are gong down the river for the purpose of going into business.  I shall probably send you some money during the winter if I can get to the city.

     I shall put a few scales of gold under the wafer, so that you may see what it is like, they will be small scales however, as it would not do to put much weight in the letter.  But I have seen gold here from the size of a point of a pen to the size of a nutmeg.

To Mrs. Sarah Ealy,  Dayton Ohio.                                        Your affectionate Husband

                                                                                                                E. Ealy.

(Outside, badly torn/ Mrs Doctor Ealy, Dayton Ohio, with a square stamped 40)

 

                    

                                                                                                                                   January 21 1850

 

                                                                               Deer Creek, Upper Cala

My Dear Sarah.  

                        I had the infinite gratification to receive a letter from you on yesterday & the only one which has been received by me from the States, since I left St. Joseph.  This one was brought from San Francisco by a person who went expressly for letters.  As your letter is dated August 19th, and you say that you have written before & given an history of Martha Ellens sickness and departure to a better world, and as I cannot expect to receive that, I shall be ignorant of the cause of her death until I hear further from you. I regret very much the death of our poor little unfortunate child, although it occurred eight or none months ago.  but submit with humble resignation to the will of Divine Providence.  I feel extremely anxious to know all about her up to the time of her death, and wish you not to forget it in you next letter.  I have written several letters since I have arrived in this country.  I also bought a draft for eighty dollars & sent it to you, which I sincerely hope you may receive the money for.  When I left Sacramento city I intended to go to the Southern mines, but I changed my notion & am now on this creek, about one hundred miles in the mountains. We had a bad time of it after we left the last Ranche at the foot of the mountains about twelve or fifteen miles, , the rainy season set in & it rained every day and night for 20 days & of course we could go neither forwards nor backwards, & having no shelter except our bedding, we were drenched every day & suffered extremely. G. Mull took sick & was unable to do anything for two weeks.  This was about the last of Oct, & if it had not been for the timber, pine & oak, we should almost have perished with wet & cold.  Our wagon had a double cover & the provisions were not damaged with the exception of a small quantity of flour & Pilot bread.  Disagreeable as the weather was, I could not give up the passion for my old favourite amusement which you can easily know, without my telling it here.  I hunted over the hills & valleys after the blacktailed deer & shot quite a number, as they are very plenty and not wild.  In fact we have lived on venison & beans ever since we entered the mountains. A great many persons took cold & were sick, but I verily believe that the exercise in hunting as well as the excitement prevented me from much suffering, as I was only sick two days with a fever. At this time I wished myself home I can assure you.  When I left the city I supposed that I should be able to mine pretty much all winter, but the reverse has been the case, for it has rained almost every day & the road was so bad that we were a day travelling 25 or thirty miles.  When we reached this place it rained for a week or more as well as snowed to the depth of 18 inches, but we went to work in the snow & built a log cabin in 4 days, and you cannot imagine how much rejoiced we were to get in to a house with a roof on it.  We have not chinked or daubed it, as we were well satisfied to have only a shelter from the rain & snow.  We have provisions to last until the first of April, about which time we intend to move about 30 miles from here, on to the Uba River where if we keep our health we intend to make our fortunes as the gold is abundant there.  As we can do but little this winter I shall be obliged to remain during the summer, for I think it would be folly in me to return home without taking with me from 5 to ten thousand dollars which I think I can make by next fall at furthest.  There are hundreds of persons who came here last summer that have returned to the States with fortunes, but as we were late getting in, we had not the same chance to get rich diggins as those who arrived early.  But you may be assured that there is an abundance for all, & only requires a person to labour hard, to bring out the glittering gold & he who can endure the hard life & toil of working in water & amongst rock & sand & will stick to it every day for a few months cannot fail to obtain a large sum of the pure metal.  And if I had remained & been contented at Roses Bar on the Uba River I might have been worth 7 or 8 hundred dollars, but as it is,  now I have not over 2 hundred in cash, but I intend to make up for lost time by going into it lustily in the spring & summer.   My health is better that it ever was & I have done more hard labour in one week here than I ever did in my lifetime before.  This mountain exercise, together with the pure cold atmosphere, for now while I am writing there is about a foot of snow on the ground & it is still snowing faster than I ever saw it fall in the States is very conducive to health & well calculated to invigorate the constitution.  There is within the area of two miles about one hundred log cabins & we are not without society, rude & rough as it is, for here it is not allowed for any person to wear breeches without having a patch on the seat & on the knees as well as a slouched hat or cap & no man is permitted to shave his beard under a penalty of 5 dollars.  So you may know what kind of apparel I am clothed in.  One thing I am certain of you would not know that it was your husband were you to meet me, such a change in appearance has this Cal,a visit produced.  The Dayton boys are scattered through Cal,a from one end to the other.  some south & some are in the northern mines, but how they are doing I do not know.  Ever since the rainy season set in there has been but very little provisions brought to the mines, & consequently many more obliged to leave for the city, which became crowded to excess, much suffering was the consequence as well as vice & immoraliity practiced to a great extent.  The city likewise has been partly overflown water & a great quantity of provisions damaged & its reported here that hundreds were obliged to flee to the vessels on the River.  Some were compelled to climb trees to save their lives.

I am very sorry to learn that you have some trouble in collecting accounts, but I will endeavour to make up the loss by sending you enough to live on until I return.  You shall not suffer for want of money for by  every opportunity I will send you some.  I am very much rejoiced to find that you are contented & I hope you will remain so until my return for there is no use in greiving about matters that have already taken place.  For my part, I feel able & am willing to endure everything in this country in order to get a sufficient sum of money to enable me to purchase some property & live somewhat more independently than hereto- fore.  I think you ought to agree with me on this point, & not give yourself much trouble on account of my temporary absence, for the time will soon come when you will find me landing in Dayton. I am very glad to learn that your friends are not forgetful of you & are willing to assist you in time of need, for which I feel under obligation to them.  I hope you will pursue a wise & prudent course with the girls in educating them as they should be, teach them to obey & respect you without being harsh with them & if they fall sick let no one give them calomel unless in the last extremity when no other remedy will answer.  I wish I could send you some rich & valuable present but I cannot now.  Perhaps you will receive one next summer.   You may say to those who wish to come here that the emigrants by the land route all arrive safely.  30 thousand or more of those was not half as much suffering as was anticipated.  If any of your Brothers wish to come tell them not to go into a large co. & they will travel along much faster.  Three or 4 men to a wagon, light & with a falling tongue with 12 or 15 hundred freight at starting & there will be no danger.  You will have some difficulty in reading this letter as I am writing with my wash pan on my knee & with a bad pen.  I could fill another sheet but this must suffice for the present.  I shall send this letter off tomorrow & also send an order for letters to San Francisco.  But I wish you to direct your letters to Sacramento City.  Remember me to all our friends,

                                                                                                   Your Affectionate Husband

                                                                                                                             Dr. Ealy

N.B. I shall not write again before April 1.

 

 

Middle Fork of the Uba River Cal a

April 22, 1850

My Dear Sarah,

                          I embrace the opportunity of sending a letter to you by Mr. Heeley who is about to return to the States & will leave here in a day or two.  In a letter which I wrote to you sometime in Feby I stated that I intended to mine in the south fork of the Uba.  I did mine there about three weeks & done well.  I then sold out my claim for fifty dollars & removed to my present location.  I together with six other men have taken a bar & intend to turn the river here so that we can work the bed of the stream which is supposed to be very rich.  The river at this time is very high, in consequence of the melting of the snow above, & we cannot do much until the water falls, which may not be until sometime in July.  We have had a trying & laborious time of it as we have had to pack everything on our backs, up & down high & steep mountains & frequently through snow from two to six feet deep.  It is the most slavish, fatiquing business you can imagine.  But I am determined to spare no pain, labour & encounter every difficulty in the hope of procuring a sufficient amount to justify me in returning home in the fall.  It requires a snug fortune to live here in the mines.  I have paid as much as $1.50 per lb. for flour & $1.25 per lb. for pickled pork.  Six dollars for a pound of Sal Eratus.  Vinegar two dollars a pint.  Potatoes, onions & other vegetables were so enormously high that I never have bought any.  So you may judge what it costs me to live here.  In February I gave Mr. Conner, Esq. of Ohio, one hundred dollars for the purpose of buying a draught in San Francisco & two letters, one to you and the other to Mr. Gebhart.  He has returned to the mines & told me that he purchased the draught & mailed the letters in time for last months steamer so you have received it by this time.  Eight days ago I went down to my old winter quarters on Deer Creek & gave a storekeeper by the name of Bowers, & who has been engaged in carrying to & from the cities.  I say I deposited in his hands five hundred dollars to purchase a draught in San Francisco for you for which transaction I paid him thirty-five dollars.  This if he reached the city before the first of May & no accident occurs with the mail,you must receive in June. It is a very great risk in sending money by persons here.  I do not like to do it, but I know you must have it & I will send it at all hazards.  I have received two letters since Jan., one from you & one from Brother Henry.  Every letter which I receive in the mines costs me two dollars besides the postage but we are all so anxious to hear from home that we would rather pay ten dollars than no get letters.  I have never received a newspaper from Dayton, & it is not worthwhile for you to mail them as they are never taken out of the Post Office in San Francisco.  I have paid a number of times one dollar for the reading of a newspaper so anxious are we to hear from the States, being shut up in the mountains & out as it were from a civilized society.  But I cling to the hope that I shall in the course of 5 or 6 months change this mode & place of habitation & be on my way to the land of good butter & Johnny cakes.  Our living for last two months has been nothing but unleavened bread baked in a pan before the fire, pickled pork & coffee.  But they are now beginning to bring to the mines in this region, being within 8 or 10 miles of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains, dried fruit, pickles in jars & other vegetables all of which are considered very great luxuries here, but very dear in consequence of having to be packed on mules a great distance.

     We have had an immense quantity of snow here.  I believe I have seen more snow within the last 7 months than in al of my life previously.  I have traveled with 50 or 60 pounds on my back & where the snow for many miles would break to the depth of from two to four feet, pretty hard traveling you will say.  But the snow is going off very fast & in the course of two or three more weeks none will not be seen except on the northern side of the mountains & on the Sierra Nevada where nothing but the tops of the tallest    pines are seen above the snow.  Indians are numerous all through this section, but they are not hostile, though some of the them  are thievenish.  One stole my large bowie knife, whilst at the same time I thought I was eyeing him closely.  By some means he slipped it under his blanket, escaping my vigilance.  Ill knife him if I catch him as I valued the article highly, having brought it through from St. Louis.  We have had them to pack & sometimes to work in the diggings, but they do not like either, being rather indolent & independent.  Last night three of them lay at our shantee beside the fire.  But as the night, towards morning as is always the case, became cold & the fire low they crept in along side of myself & comrade, endeavouring to get under the blankets, but I kicked the one next to me out & I should have done the same if it had been a squaw as they all have too many Phrenoligists traveling through their long bushy hair & feeling their bumps.  They live principally on acorns, which they either roast in the fire or pulverize into meal, mix with water & bake.  I have no dread of receiving any injury from them as they appear to be good natured & friendly.  A rifle or a revolver is a giant terror to them.  I have frequently during the time I was in Deer Creek, killed deer, when the Indian, hearing the report of the rifle would come running & want part of it.  I generally gave them the forequarters for packing in the saddle.  They deceived me sometimes however, for on my returning to the cabin I learned that they had not been there.  As they are frequently half-starved I suppose they halted on the way & eat all up.  Deer are abundant through the mountains here but at this season very poor.  I have become tired of the sport of shooting them as it is such a difficult business to ascend & descend the very high, steep & rugged hills to find them.

     I yesterday saw one of the Dayton Co., J. Hoke who informs me that Peter Bear died last fall on the American River.  My health has been remarkably good, with the exception of two or three days, since last fall.  I sincerely hope I may enjoy the great blessing of health so that I may be enabled to labour with success in the mines during the summer & fall months, being the most pleasant & favourable time for mining: for I assure you however delightful & agreeable the dry season  might be, the rainy or winter season as it is called, is just the reverse, and I am by no means anxious to spend another wet & snowy season in the mountains of Cal,a.  It is true there are no cold, penetrating, boisterous winds or hard freezing weather, but rain & snow just any amount & almost continually.  I have endured many hardships & been much exposed to rain & snow & I am now most heartily rejoiced that this disagreeable season is over.  As my sheet is full I must close though there are many subjects on which I should like to write.  You mentioned something about boarding in your last letter.  You must exercise your own judgement about the matter, do as you deem best.

                                                                                 Very affectly Yours,

                                                                                                                      E. Ealy

To Mrs. Doct,r Ealy       Dayton Ohio

 

Middle Fork of Uba River   July 11#  1850

My Dear Sarah,

                         I had the pleasure of receiving two letters from you on yesterday, one bearing date in Jan. & the other March 29#.  I have been looking so anxiously for the last two months for letters from home, that I have not been able to enjoy much contentment & peace of mind.  I expected to hear of the money which I sent you in Feb#, but you have not received it, & the five hundred which I sent in the latter part of April, I hope I shall hear of your receiveing, next month.  The fact is I have been here now on this stream ever since the first of April, & have made nothing, not even as much as will pay expenses.  I have become discouraged & disheartened on account of the dull prospect on our bar & have sold out my claim for the small sum of five hundred & twenty eight dollars cash.  I was a little too fast or I might have had a few hundred more, but still I am satisfied, as a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, for I am inclined to believe the whole claim will prove a poor one & if the men who are now on it will realize a thousand dollars each, I am much mistaken & there is some doubt in my mind whether they will get enough to pay expenses.  I have thought seriously of returning home this summer & am at times very home sick, but I think it would not be wise in me to start during the warm summer months, & besides I am anxious to make five or six hundred dollars more before leaveing.  The emigrants (overland) have been litterally pouring in for the last week & they report that there is a very great scarcity of provisions along the latter part of the route, many being compelled to kill their horses & eat them.  You mentioned that David & A (obliterated) were on their way to this country better remained at home, for there is now such a vast number of persons running over this country that I cannot imagine what they are to do or how they are to get along.  There are thousands who will never be able to return to the states for want of money.  I intend to leave letters at different places for David & Alex so that they will be sure to find one, & giving them directions where to find me.  I think it altogether probable that I shall leave this river & go down to Deer Creek or on to the American River, where I want to make another small raise, (for large ones I do not expect) & then make for home, which will be in Oct# or Nov# if I am not disappointed.

     I hope you will not become disappointed in consequence of your troubles & difficulties but bear them will all the energy, & courage & resolution so characteristic of your sex.  If you have your trials & vexations, I have mine, & have endured every kind of hardship here & since I left.  I have suffered much anxiety & solicitude on your & the children's accounts, but I console myself with the reflection that unless death intervenes, I will be with you some time in the fall & if I am not able to bring home thousands, I will &, which to me is of more value than gold,  I will bring home renewed vigour & health, a constitution invigorated by a mountain life.  I hope you will endeavour to sustain yourself by a firm belief in the glorious truths of the Gospel & by a life of piety & virtue merit the aid & approbation of Heaven.  I have lately had many dreams about home, but cannot take time to relate them, especially as some of them might disturb the tranquility of your mind.  I am exceedingly anxious to hear of the money which I sent you, as I would not like to leave until I heard whether you had received it or not, for if you should not it will be a bad business for us both.  I have now about seven hundred dollars in gold & shall probably send part of it to the city for the purchase of a draft, though if I shall make up my mind to leave certainly on the first of Oct# I shall not, but take it to the Mint.  I hope you will be economical in the use of money, for I would like to purchase a home when I return, and as I have given up the expectation of taking much home with me, it will be somewhat doubtful whether I shall be able to accomplish the object of my desires or not.

     You complain that I do not write often.  I now tell you that I have written on an average at least two letters every month.  The bungling manner in which the Post Office business is conducted in this country is a source of vexation & disappointment to all.

     I am glad to hear the children are going to school, I hope they will be good & obedient scholars.  It gives me much uneasiness to hear that Caroline is still troubled with her spells.  I fear unless they discontinue soon, they never will, & that injury to her mind must ensue ere long.  They may however leave her about the same age that the left Lib.

     You speak about boarding, but I think that there is no one who would board you & the children on reasonable terms for any lenth of time & it would be unpleasant to be removeing from house to another , & besides where or what would you do with all the things, & besides it would not be prudent for you to board at a public or even a private house where there are many men.  Unless you could obtain boarding with some widow lady on reasonable terms you had better remain as you are until my return.

     As I intend to write again in the course of two weeks I will bring this letter to a close, and send my very best respects & love to that best of woman & my warm friend Mrs. Thomson who it appears has not forgotten me.  For you my dear Sarah I cherish a deeper & stronger love than ever & wish for no more or greater pleasure than to see & be with you, & hope that when we again meet, it shall be to part no more until death & that our lives may be one uninterrupted series of pleasures & happiness.

     Conduct yourself wisely & prudently, as I believe you will, & I will reward you with the sincerest love of which I am capable, do the best you can for the children, & I promise you that my life shall be devoted to your best interest & welfare & I will now further promise that if I should live a century I will never leave you for so long a period again.

     Those friends who think worth while to inquire of me I send my best respects & hope that I shall soon be able to give them a hearty shake of the hand.

                                                                                    Your absent but affectionate husband

                                                                                                                       E. Ealy.

P. S.   I have broken the seal of this letter for the purpose of gratifying your request to sent you a lock of my hair, having, ever since I received your letter making the request forgotten it until the letters were out of my reach.  And now it affords me pleasure to comply & I hope you will receive it not only as a token of remembrance but also one of love.

     I would like to send you a gold specimen, but at this time I am not in possession of any that would be much of a curiosity to you.

     As you will not receive this letter until the latter part of August, I will say that it will be of no use for you to write after the first of Oct#, unless I determine to remain a month or two longer, and of which I will inform you in due season.

   I will certainly write again in two weeks.

                                                                                            E. E.

  (Evidently enclosed in a separate envelope as the letter uses up all space.)

 

 

August 17th 1850                                                                       North Fork of American River.

My dear Sarah,

                        I had the very great pleasure to receive your letter bearing date June 21#, in which you state the fact of your receiving the two drafts which I last sent you,  I had supposed that the first one would not be received, as  I have lately learned that the person with whom I sent the money to the city got into a drunken spree & very much neglected his business.  The fact of your receiving both has relieved my mind of considerable anxiety.

     My last letter was sent from the middle Uba, some time last month & then stated that I had sold out my claim for five hundred dollars, & it was most fortunate that I did for the company who remained did not take out of the whole concern ten dollars, for it proved a perfect failure.  I left there about two weeks ago & on my way here I was attacked with the dysentery, though not so bad as to prevent me from travelling, it was a severe task however as I was anxious to reach this river, the heat of the sun was intense, & the nights cool.  By the time I arrived here I was quite reduced, debilitated, & home sick so much so that I had concluded as soon as I recovered to go to the city & take passage for home.  But the men with whom I came here, found pretty good diggins.  We have worked five days & made one hundred & eleven dollars each.  We think we have a place & intend to work it out though we have to work in the water most of the time.  There are seven men in the company, but we shall be obliged to hire that number of men in order to get it all worked out before the rainey season sets in, for it is the intention of all of the company with one exception, to leave for the states just as soon as these diggins are worked out.  I have now about nine hundred dollars & am quite certain, if my health remains good that I shall make here from one to two thousand dollars. I am very sorry to hear that you have so much sickness amongst you, even the cancer.  I have sent a letter to the city for David & Amos, & left notices several other places, but I must confess that I do not expect to see them here, for they would most likely turn back.  I have made some inquiries of J. Pease, but so far without hearing any thing of him.  He was at Weaverville on this river last Nov#., I shall endeavour to gain all the information of him I can & communicate the same to you.

     I hope you will not become discouraged, but endeavour to keep up your spirits, for you may rely upon my return sometime during the fall, but at what precise time, it would now be imprudent for me to say.  I am very anxious to get home, but as there is a chance for me to make a little more I must stay a while longer.  For it would be very foolish in run away from diggins where I can make from twenty five to fifty dollars a day.  I will if I have a chance sell out my interest & leave, but I would not be willing to take a small (typing error??), I might take one thousand or fifteen hundred dollars.

     I send you five small specimens of gold.  The one which is somewhat shaped like a heart, you will receive as an emblem of my attachment to you; the other one shaped like a shoe, for Lib, one for each of the other girls.  The remaining one to your mother or Bell as you like.  As I intend to write again soon, this will be a brief letter.                                                         Yours Affecy.  E. Ealy.

           (No postmark.  Evidently enclosed in envelope)

 

 

          UBA RIVER, Calif., Sept. 30, 1850.

     Dear Sarah—Provisions became very scarce on the last 300 miles of our route, and some were compelled to kill their cattle.  The packers were not able to carry a great deal with them, and many ran out and offered high prices for bacon and bread.  A dollar a pound for bacon or hard bread was frequently given.

     I believe, notwithstanding all the difficulties, the emigrants will arrive in safety.  They are pouring in in great numbers.  There is great excitement here in regard to the gold.  There is just at this time a hustle and running from one gold region to another.  Great stories are told of men making fortunes in a few days.  And I have no doubt many have done so.

     The fact is, gold is abundant in all the streams which rise in the mountains east and southeast of the Sacramento river.  And almost every man you see has his little bag of gold.  It passes current here at $16 per ounce.  Myself and four others are now on Uba river about 60 miles northeast of Sutters fort.

     We came to this place eight days ago, but found the richest diggings all claimed by others.  It is only in places that fortunes are to be made, but it is exceedingly hard labor to get it out from amongst the rocks.  A crowbar, picks, shovels and spades are the necessary tools for digging.  And then the dirt must be carried to the water, which is frequently 30 to 40 yards away.  Here it must be washed either by a machine or a pan. The machine is much like a cradle with a sieve at the head.

     We went to work and averaged $12 a day each, but this is considered here as doing a poor business.  The prices of everything here at the mines are very high.  Flour is 30 cents a pound, sugar 50 cents a pound and bacon hams $1.50 a pound.  Molasses is $4 a gallon, and other articles at the same rates.  The wages of hired men are from $10 to $16 a day.

     We sold our stock for $800, and after everything was settled I had for my share about $100.  I intend to leave here and go to some of the dry diggings south of Sutters fort, where I expect to winter.  It is the hardest work I ever worked at, but I am now hearty and vigorous, and will not lie idle.

     Many are making by diggings in the mines $100 every day, but there are a number who do not make over $5.  The merchants and those who deal in provisions are making splendid fortunes.  I intend to send you some money as soon as opportunity presents.  If I succeed in the mines this winter, you may expect me home in the spring.  There is a person going to Francisco who will be the bearer of this letter, and enquire for a letter or letters from you.

                                                                              Your affectionate husband,

 

 

                                                                                                                 E. EALY.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

                                               San Francisco         Sept. 29th 1850

My Dear Wife,

                       When I last wrote you I did not expect to be, so soon, thus far on my journey home.  When I wrote in August I stated that I would not leave until the last of Octr. but there has been considerable rain & the river has risen, so that we could do but little towards mining & fearful that the rainey season would soon set in, we concluded to leave entirely.  The very day that I wrote you last I took the fever & in fact, while writing I did not feel well, which is the reason of the letter being so short.  I was very sick for a few days, but soon recovered.  In that letter I enclosed some specimens of gold which I presume you have by this time.

     The only information I can gather of J. Pease is that he is dead & died somewhere in the south.  I received a letter from my brother William about 10 days ago, he had lately arrived in the country.  He states that he saw David & Amos on the Platte River, and were well, I suppose they have arrived by this time.

     I called yesterday to see Gideon Aughinbaugh & his lady,  They treated me very kindly & invited to call frequently while in here.  I will leave here day after tomorrow (Monday) the Bark Laura Snow, a sail vessel bound for Panama, she expects to make the journey in about from 25 to thirty days.  From Chagres I will take a steamer for New York or Orleans.  I think I shall reach home if no accident happens, about the middle of Novr.  I cannot boast of at present of my health & am very anxious to get home.  I have about fifteen hundred dol, which is more than I expected to have when I left the Uba.  My passage will cost me from two hundred & fifty to three hundred dollars.  I will carry what gold I have with me rather than pay  6½ percent for having it sent by the express lines.

                                                                   Your Affect. Husband

                                                                                                         E. Ealy.

P. S.  I have taken cold since I arrived in this city & I do not feel in a writing mood.  This will be my last from Cala.

                          E. Ealy.

                       (No postmark)

 

(The David and Amos mentioned in these letters were David & Amos Kneisly, brothers of his wife.  She was a daughter of George Kneisly.  The Bell mentioned was a younger sister of his wife; she married a Downing.  Lib was Elizabeth M. Ealy, their eldest daughter.  Catherine (Callie) who had the spells died when about 20 years old, after years of sickness.  Sarah Isabel (Belle) Ealy, my mother was the youngest daughter.  She remembered as a child of 5 years old being seated on the gate post of their home on Logan street and seeing a bearded man jump off the packet boat coming up the canal and picking her up and kissing her,  It was her father.  He had come home by way of New York and had heard Jenny Lind sing while there.  He resumed his medical practice, at Fifth & Pine streets Dayton.  He died however within two years.  A letter dated Jan. 6, 1852, from D. P. Rosenmiller, Hanover, Pa., condoles with my grandmother on her husbands death.  He was, I believe, the first pastor of the English Lutheran Church at Dayton, of which church my grandfather was a charter member.  He had sent him a previous letter from Hanover, Pa., dated May 6th 1851, congratulating my grandfather on his safe return and success.

     

 The youngest child was Elijah Rush Ealy, my uncle, who went into the fire insurance business & moved to Chicago.  

                                                                      Joseph W. Sharts.)

  A note written in pencil by someone says Dr. Ealy died Dec. 1851   aged 59

 

                                                                                                                               Hanover, Pa.  Jan. 6th 1852

Dear Sarah Ealy,

                      Respected Friend

     Having heard the afflictive news of the death of your Dear husband whom we also loved as one of our most valued friends, we thought that we would address a few lines to express our sympathy with you.  In his death we can see how soon all our earthly prospects can be disappointed. Having returned from his toilsome journey to California with the proceed of his labor, he purchased a hope & then the prospect seemed fair for him to live a peaceful & contented life with his beloved family.  But how soon is he called away!  A few short months only transpire & he is carried to that narrow & final house the cold, cold grave.  But altho this was distress to you & your dear little children, yet he died a happy death triumphant thru faith in Jesus Christ.  This is a great & a sufficient consolation. I knew your husband intimately for many years &  I knew him to be a fair & consistant Christian.  I was distressed to hear of his Death, but rejoiced to hear that his death was peaceful & triumphant.  We hope that you will console yourself with the thought that your dear husband although taken from the society of his beloved family is now enjoying repose from all trouble.  Train up your dear children in the ways of piety, that you all may meet again in a better world, where sorrow & sighing will be known no more, but when the wicked cease from troubling & the weary  will enjoy eternal rest.

     We are pleased to know that you have a home of your own, and being handy with your needle you will be able to provide comfortably for your children.  The little girls too will soon be growing up & will be able to render you some assistance in your household duties.

     Mrs. Rosenwiller sends her love, & aprises you of her deep sympathy with you in your bereavement.  Our daughters too join in love to you & your children.

     Write to us when you can find leasure, we shall always feel a deep interest in your welfare.  I will be pleased to hear from you.

     Give our love to all ingrieving friends.

                                    Yours in Christian Affection

                                    G. P. Rosenwiller

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