Petroleum Ritchie Co.
July 2. 1865
Dear wife & Daughter With pleashure
I take my pen in hand to let you know
that I am well & harty & hope that theas
fiew lines may find you all injoying the
same blessing I was looking for a letter
from you yesterday but was disapointed
I got a letter from brother George yesterday
I will send it home in this letter We hard
sometime ago by Knoxes letter that D. Palmer
was ded let me know if it is so or not. &
I wanto know if the gras is worth a cutting
in our lot & how them froot trees is a growing
in the lane I wood like to if you wood trim
of[f] the unesisary sproughts from all of
the fruit trees There is some buds put in
that peach tree in the end of the lane back
of the barn take notes [1] of them for their was
budds put in every limb & if they have groad
midling rank cut off the oald limbs a
peace a bove Is their eny apples on the tree
next to the hog pen Tel me how the little
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apple trees is a growing & if you have eny
pares on them grafts on the apple tree in the
garden. I have nothing to do yet & I havent
much to right a bout that I know of that wood
be of much sadisfaction to you thare is a man
here that ar sinking 3 oile wells & yesterday
morning he struck oile in 2 of his wells a grate
eal suner then he was expecting & it excit
ed him very much the 1 well is onely 1.15 ft [115?]
& the other one a bout 4 hundred feet this oile
is worth 35 dollars a barle I supose that thoas
2 wells might ne worth 2 or 3 hundred thousand
dollars & it is anough to excite eany man
I am a bout theas wells every day & I think
I could rig up a derick & all of the wood
work of what belongs to the boring power
July 3 I am well & harty this morning &
some of the neighbours has bean in here getting
our boys to harvest & some to how corne &
some to plow I dident go for it is the a
pearence of a very worme day & if I cant
make 2 dollars theas worme days working
I woant work I think it woat be very
long before we will be mustred out & sent
home We doant get the papers reglar but
the people tels us that all of the 1 years man
is orderd to be musterd our a medeatly
by the war department & I think that we
will be home in good tim to healp you to
eat some new potatoes & a good fat peace of
mutten Tel st[effy?] to have some good fat mutten
ready to cill when he hears of us cuming
[&?] can have 1 cilled & Neoma you may get
a good hind quarter or 2 when you here that
we ar on the road & I believe we will eat
some rosteneers at home this fall if our health
stays good We have a bout quit doing
[????????????????] it is [????]
[page 3]
Neoma I supose that you have better
times this sumer then you ever had for you
hadent as much cooking or washing to do
as when I was at home I expect you ar a getting
tired of doing nothing a little like my self
for I never was tired doing nothing before
But I hope that the Bees will swarme that
much to ceep you a sturing a round a nough
to ceep your health good But be careful of my
[?]ale & not have it wore out for if you do
if I need [?] when I come home I will take yours
& youse it in its place. Wel Mary Jane how
ar you a getting a long I supose you ar
a growing as fast as a corne stalk you sayed
in your last letter that you thot I wouldent
know you & your mother harly when I wood
come home I wood like to know why I hope
that the reason is that & your mother
is got so much better looking. That is my [??]
July 3. 5 PM I just received your
welcom letter of the 27 & was glad to hear
from you that you ware all well & getting
a long well & that you ar getting a long
so well with the bees you sayed that
you had 6 new swarmes of bees & you
sed that you gave T R [Mcomb?] 1 & does
that 1 make the 7th do you not count
the 2 that went of in you 6 tel me
I wasent afronted about what Neoma
sayed consirning me [?]spect she sayed
I [??] towards hur & about ceeping
in good hart I am in good speritts as
long as I here that you ar all well
& in good speritts at home for as long
as my health stays as good as it is
I am making as much clear in cash
as I wood do at home but as soon
as I can get a furlow I will com
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shure except they ar a going to
discharge us soon The general
opinion is that we will soon
be muved from here for we ar onely
a expenc to the goverment here
They have moved all of the 74th
that is east of Clarks burgh to
Clarksburgh & they ar doing very
little duty there We ar all well
Goll [2] got a lettter from home to day
of the 27th he is all right
We havent saw Capt Wilson [3]
yet I believe that I must
close for this time & Answer
amediatly & tel me those
perticklers & tel S C Brown
to right me a letter right a
way & tel me what I wood
like to know Nothing more
at presant But Jane I will
send you A presant a 10 cent
peace & be a good girl to your
mother
J.W. Compton