Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Letters - Dear Alice, Remember me in your prayers (and dreams), Your cousin, L.A. Gould, Bemidji, Minn.


 Dear Reader,
      The next scores or so of posts will be not my own writings, but correspondences of my Great-Grandfather Leon Gould. This letter is to his cousin, Alice, whom he later married! Great-Grandpa Leon had a large family (of 11 children), and journeyed as secretary to Alexander Smith in the RLDS church before eventually joining the Church of Christ (TL) and becoming an Apostle. His descendants have been blessed with a rich spiritual heritage and many true family accounts of  what can only be called miracles. If you read these letters and are interested in reading more of the Gould family history, look for a book titled "Trek of Faith" by Peggy Tucker. These letters contain the original spelling mistakes and have not been corrected. Feel free to print and keep these letters in your own family history files if you so wish. In the future, a book of Leon's writings will be made available. Enjoy!



                                                                                          Bemidji, Minn. Dec. 15, 1898
Miss Alice Anderson,
Moose, Minn.
Dear Alice:- I will now answer your letter—which I have not received yet.

      I have emigrated from my native country since last writing to you and am now a wanderer in a strange land. I left home the 5th inst. From Park Rapids I took a tie pass and at night found myself ten miles from Lake George with no house near so I built a fire on the warm side of a friendly pine and stayed until morning—no charge for bed or board either. 

     Have taken me a homestead and intend to build me a home if I can in the wilderness. I like the country better than I expected I would and have not been homesick at all. It was my intention to come down to Moose and surprise you but don’t see how I can now.
Victor says you want to take a homestead if you are old enough. We found out the other day that a woman can take a homestead before she is twenty-on,- if she has been married once. So if you have been married you can get a home. But you must have been married at least once. A man can take a homestead before he is of age if he is married. So if I had known that I could have been married a long time ago—maybe.

     Yesterday Oron and I saw a deer and we didn’t do much but shoot. O. shoot twice and I shot five times. The deer went on.

     This morning I went out and in a little while saw six, did not shoot at any of them. Five of them were all together, in a herd, I mean. We are making calculations on having vension for supper tomorrow.

    Earnest hunted deer with me this forenoon. Kilo went to town this afternoon. We are having all kinds of times batching it and really a bactchelor’s life would not suit me very well anyway.

    I will close now wishing you health and happiness, and asking you to remember me in your prayers (and dreams).

                                                                                Your cousin,
                                                                                 L. A. Gould
                                                                                 Bemidji, Minn

No comments:

Post a Comment

I like you too ;)