Wednesday, June 17, 2009

J P Bambrick 1847

Handwritten letter to parents, Sept. 23, 1847, from J P Bambrick. The dateline notes Harrisonburg. Based on the letter content [proximity to New Orleans; river] this Harrisonburg most likely is in Louisiana (vs. Virginia.). Bambrick writes in part:

"The season has been "midling sickly and a good many deaths have arrived in our town...The yellow fever is raging in the city and no prospect of it decreasing untill there is a killing frost. The mortality has been very heavy from 5 to 600 hundred pr day."

"Cotton opens very lively here this season. It brings from 10 to 12 1/2 cents..it has been dry an[d] very favorable for picking cotton..."

"I traded my mild filly...for a race horse or rather pony and made a race on him for 25$ and won it and then sold him for 75$ in cash."

This great old letter is up for sale on Ebay Item number: 230348680956.

Letters & Postcards on E-Bay