Letters - Dear Madam, Hurrah for the fourth! L. Gould

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
                                                                                                                        Jul. 4, 1899
Miss Alice Anderson,
Moose, Minn.

Dear Madam;- Hurrah for the fourth!, if it is rainy. Vick and Myron’s boys went up to Major’s to see the Fourth; he heard they had one up there. My host brought me home last Thursday. No opportunity offer to take the accordion down to your how so it accompanied the Prof.

    Winnie caught a piece of vension so we have some jerked vension with which to tickle our palates. One of our neighbors, Bert Paul, was drowned in Lake Bemidji last Thursday morning. His body was taken to Iowa for burial. Freem likes his place better than he did, say he wouldn’t trade it for all of ours.

     He has been talking to me, and giving all sorts of advice about Mary Jane T. Says she wants to come up here pretty bad. He thinks there is an opportunity for me, and I don’t know but it would be a good investment. As the prospects are that I can’t marry for love, why it doesn’t make a particular difference, as I know of.

The boys expect to start home about the twentieth inst.
I hope you GIRLS didn’t feel any worse for that tramp. I should think you would feel tired yet.

                                                                                                                    Your truly
                                                                                                                     L. Gould
(transcribed by Samii S. Gould)