Letters - Dear Alice - Goodnight, Yours Truly, Leon.

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!


Office of L.A.Gould: Work neatly done
Stenography & Typewriting, Penshading: At all hours.
Music & Art: Send in your orders.
(Wife wanted): Charges reasonable.


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                                                                                                 Henning,Minn. Oct. 29, 1898
Dear Alice:-
    I received your welcome letter to-day. To say I was glad to get it would be putting it mildly. I did not know whether you would get my letter or not as I guess at the address. I sent a letter to Lute to-day. It will probably be about a month or two before he gets it.

     I am teach about two miles northeast of the place where the old Latter Day Saints church used to be. I am boarding with J.S.Edwards. Perhaps you have heard of them before. The number of the district is 205. Have 16 scholars enrolled. The majority of them are in the First Reader.

     Well I will give up, again that you are right about that bit of grammer. But when it comes to points of law I think you will have to concede that I am a little ahead. What do you think of it? If you are not satisfied about the matter, perhaps some evidence could be gotten to prove my position.
     If you get lonesome so quick what do you expect will become of you when you take your homestead and have to live on it for five years? By the way, how would you like to teach in a school where there were two teachers in the same room, providing it was about a nine months term?

You see this letter is being written with italic type. How do you like the style,( of the type, I mean?) How do you like my letter head? Oct. 31st.:- I was unable to finish this letter Saturday on account there being so many around that wanted to see how my typewriter worked.
It made me nervous. So I put in another piece of paper and showed them how the writing looked. 

     Do you intend to teach up there next Spring?

You must be careful not to let another bear get after you. I expect there will not be much danger from bears though, because you know when the weather turns cold they will den up and go to sucking their thumbs. Like some of the monkeys of South America. There is one specie about as large as a gray squirrel that stand around and suck their thumbs like a bashful child.

    So your boarding place is Near, is it? It seems to me that it is “so near and yet so far”.

I went to Sunday School yesterday and of course got into a talk with the Superintendant afterwards,- just like a Mormon anyway.

Well if you can’t read all day Sunday, write letters. If you can’t find anyone better to write to, write to me. You might write every Sunday (week-day too if you want to).

     I guess I will have to tell how I went to Conference. After school on Friday night, I went to Grandma Whitings, staid there that night, started for Clitherall about five o’clock the next morning, and rode with Alonzo to Barnhards getting there just as the business meeting began. Conference Adjourned about 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon and I rode home with our folks and had supper, after supper I went to Battle lake afoot; took the train to Clitherall; walked from Clitherall to Grandma’s where I stated until after breakfast the next morning then walked to my school in an hour and twenty minutes. About seven miles, I guess.

     I am glad you explained what you meant by saying you were writing on your knees, because I might have thought you were on your knees while writing. I know how it seems to WRITE ON YOUR KNEES because have held the writing material that way several times. My school was only a two months term. No I am not lonesome because J.W. is married. In fact I have not been lonesome since I heard of it to speak of. Walter Crane has gone to Iowa. He may be back by this time though, do not know.

    You say it would not be right to say that 4 and 5 is figures. Of course not, but you see that figures is plural in form while nine is singular in form. You might say 4’s and 5’s are 9’s if you want to but 4 and 5 is nine. See!

    One of those girls that asked me to write to them was Coral Albertson, and the other was your cousin Net.

I don’t know about being in the depths of despair; more like the slough of Despond. No I don’t know what is before me, but I can judge by what is past, they say that is always a safe standard to judge by. As for Cheering up, I guess I had better wait until I have something to cheer me up.

     There is a 19 year old girl here where I board. Yesterday I was amused at a break she made. She had her fellows knife and wanted to trade knives with me. I showed her the knife you used to have and told her I would not trade it for all her bright prospects. She says “I bet you would trade it for me.” I politely assured her that she was mistaken, that I would not begin to trade it for her.
Well I guess I had better not write any more this time of you will not be so kind as to ask me to write again.
                                                        Good night, Yours Truly, Leon.

(transcribed by Samii S. Gould)