Letters - Dear Cousin, do not think that I do not want you to answer this, Yours truly, Alice E. Anderson

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!



A Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year to you.                                                                 Moose, Beltrami Co.
                                                                                                      Minnesota, Dec 15, 1898
Mr. Leon Gould,
Battle Lake Minn.

Dear Cousin;- It is getting about time that I answered your letter I guess. Well school will soon be out and I’m not sorry, a bit, I do not believe. Would not feel very sorry if I thought I could be at home Christmas. Vick says for me not to go home at all between the time my school is out and the time the spring term commences, that is if I intend to teach up here in the spring, but I have not decided yet what I shall do.

     I feel today just like I would if I had have been up to a dance last night until about four o’clock this morning. Mrs. Near had a bee yesterday to get up some wood and of course she must give a dance or nobody would come, so she had the dance last night and it was four o’clock this morning before I got to bed. I slept until seven.
That makes two dances I have been to this winter and probably I shall be to another one before I leave for they are thinking of having another one in the neighborhood and if all of my folks here go I shall not want to stay at home alone, shall I?

     Well my school has increased to twelve. Three American scholars. I have heard it said that Scandinavian scholars will learn easier and are not so hard to get along with as American children and I believe it now for I never had the least bit of trouble when only the Norskeys were going.
I have not tried to get up anything for the last day as my school was so small.

     Well I started your letter yesterday but it is now Friday. About two o’clock this afternoon I got so sleepy that for about half an hour I could hardly keep my eyes open.

Where are you thinking of going, pray tell?

     No I did not come any where near freezing those cold mornings or nights during the cold spell or spells. I believe there has not been a cold morning since cold weather set in that I have not been sweating by the time I would get to school.

     I should not like to have the blues for years right along I am sure. It is bad enough for a little while at a time.

     I really do not know which would be better to say, a better man than he or a better man than him. If than is used as a conjunction there, then it would be better to say he.
If all schools is like---, would be correct at all, I do not know about the word “Kilo’, it would sound so odd.

     The best of people make mistakes but I wouldn’t make one on purpose I do not believe.

                                                                                       Yours truly
                                                                                    Alice E. Anderson

Do not think that I do not want you to answer this just because I forgot to say so. My address will be Bemidji, Minn c/o Ern A. until further notice.