Family History Letter Number 2

This is story number two of my family letters. I write it as it was written in their words. 

State of Alabama, Talladega County

This September the 27th, 1860

Dear brothers and sisters. I now take the opportunity of writing you a few lines to let you know that we are all up but not well. The children has been sick with bad colds and foul complaint but they are nearly well of them. Fathers folks is not well, but all about. We have had the bigs fresh here that I ever saw in my life. There wasn't a mill in here in (unknown word) what was broke some part of it. The mill I was tending away, hit on the dam, but we have got it to grinding and we liked to went too, with it. It run in the house that I live in, shoe mouth deep and would have run deeper if they logged a sort of drift at the chimney end of the house that turned it of the house and then it undermined the two pillars that was at the back end of the house and it would have gone down if the back end hadn't been under find it washed a rock from the door that you couldn't tote. I haven't seen my little Dick Stear in 10 weeks. Him and Charly went off together and ain't heard from them, only one time they was 10 miles from home. I will commence another subject. There is strong talk of the negroes rising. They had their time set to make their start on Talladega town and they folks got hold of it and they took up some negroes and one white man and they slash some of the negroes and turned them out. There was a company went in the night and took the man out of jail and hung him. They have hung one negro since in Talladega town last week. The one that got killed went where the other one was at work and drew his pistol on him and told him to come out of the house and the man didn't go and he started towards him and the man threw his hand axe at him and cut his head half off. There was a negro killed another one since that he killed him with a bottle. There was two negroes a quarreling about the bottle and the one that got killed stepped up and claimed the bottle and the one that had it in his hand threw it at him and knocked him down and cut him with the bottle very bad. He lived several days after it some 5 or 6. Big talk of the election. Bad split (unknown word) some for Bell, some Breckinridge, some Douglas...(the rest of the letter is unreadable). 

Family History Letters

William H. Burnett's Grave at Rock Island Prison Camp

       My publisher has been on my case to blog more than last year. She says I have not accomplished what I was supposed to according to the contract I signed. She is correct of course. Every woman I have ever had any dealing with, including two ex-wives have always been right. Right?

       The president of my fan club that doesn't exist is Shirley Cartwright McKenzie of Memphis, Tennessee. I have yet to meet Shirley but that is also on my bucket list. I had a chance to meet her at a book signing, but was too sick to attend and messed that up. I have to meet her soon. She was recently talking to me about family Civil War history. I realized that I was sitting on a gold mine. My publisher wants me to blog and Shirley loves her family history. This made me decide to publish what I have in family letters. 

   

Joseph Lawrence Kent

       My Uncle Lawrence Kent got me interested in the Civil War when I was about six years old. He died of a heart attack in 1998. We spent those years searching our family history and you must realize that this was pre-internet days. We didn't have a clue if we had an ancestor or not in the war. You don't know how much I wish I could share with him all that I have found. We actually went to Huntsville Public Library in Huntsville, Alabama. I found Private Jeremiah Burnett, a private in Company A, 13th Alabama Partisan Rangers. (A partisan ranger was the same thing as a guerrilla.) They carried sawed-off shotguns and were basically cavalry. 

       Back to the subject at hand, Shirley made me realize that I can kill two birds with one stone. I can publish some old family letters and appease my publisher by blogging even more. The following is a copy of the many letters that got passed down to me. They are currently owned by Northwest Shoals Community College and I'm very lucky that they are preserved today. 

       "Letter Number 1. July 26, 1856.

       State of Alabama, Walker County.

       Dear sister I seat myself this morning to let you know that we are all well at the present time, hoping these few lines may come safe to your hand and find you and the children well and doing well. I haven't nothing strange to write to you at the present time. I can tell you it is tight times here this summer (Indistinguishable word) but I live in hopes that they will be (indistinguishable word) for another year, thought the prospect is very gloomy. At this time our crop only looks tolerable. Well our cotton the most it looks nice. Our potato patch looks very well and we had the nicest garden of cabbage before the dry weather set I that they was in the country. They don't look so well now, thought they were right nice. Yet Catherine I am glad to hear that you have got to where you can get provisions. Now I have got your things here, yet I reckon they are a doing as well as the things that was left with Johnson. I have got your chairs a sticking up in the house. I will try to take care of them till you let me know what to do with them. I was at Johnson's this spring and I saw they was making use of their things that was left with them. They was using the chairs and mothers chair and Susannah (my great-great-great grandmother) and Mary (word indistinguishable) both fell to staves and I believe mothers (indistinguishable word) and sis was on mothers saddle and gone to the singing. Write to me every chance you have. I will have to close. I am a looking for Blackwell every minute. Catherine I want to know what color that pig is that you said I might have. I have never saw it and whether it was a sow or not. This from Sarah Whisenhurst to Catherine Burnett. A few lines to Susannah (my great-great-great grandmother). I am glad to hear that you and the children was all well and doing as well as what you are. Susan I can tell you that your sow had pigs and lost them every one before we ever found them. She has been coming up pretty regular with ours now for some time till the last two were. There haven't been none of them up now as to your (word indistinguishable) it ain't much Catherine is no count at all it won't the grains ain't more than half grown. Write to me what to do with it. I shall have to quit. Blackwell has come. This from Sarah Whisenhurst to Susannah.