Monday, December 06, 2010

Florence, Kansas 1886

Letter handwritten by JOHN M. ARCHER of Florence, Kansas - KS and dated January 7, 1886. The letter was written to Reverend John W. Hancher. Archer must have replaced Hancher as the town preacher as he mentions the town is struggling to pay him. He also states that Florence is a queer city in church matters. He tells Hancher that he has many friends but he's concerned about the chuch wanting to run to all the things of a Godless character. Details of the letter below:

Florence, Kansas
Jan. 7th, 1886
Bro. Hancher:
Pardon my long delay in replying to your last. I am truly sorry to hear from you as being so nearly incapacitated for duty. May God sustain you in your affliction. I hope you are better ? this. I am succeeding after a moderate rate. Florence is struggling to pay the preacher as usual! She is a queer city in church matters. Did you get all your pay here. How did Martin stand by you? Bro Hartenan gives a rather blue acct of him. He has been true as steel to me. How did you like F. anyhow? I have many friends here but somehow the church wants to run to all the things of a Godless character. I never had such a charge.

All send you greeting and sympathy. That was all right concerning that business point. I hope you will succeed grandly. Our conference convenes March 11th at McPhersons. Bro Walden, Pres,. We have four districts. I am one of the examiners for 2 year. I have “Logie” and “Harman’s Introduction” to examine in. 30 acres, 15 ? book, Cliue? Is ?. Dr. M. is going into the traveling co? this Spring. His enemies are chuckling over it considerably. Moore, Owens, Van Laudwig ? and some others have guilt their work on account of sickness and money making. Will write again soon. Give our love and ? to Mrs. H. May God bless you,
Your Bro in Christ
John M. Archer

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Saturday, December 04, 2010

Sarah Ann Eddy of Eagle Harbor New York

“May 21st, 1870?

Mother,

I am sorry to hear of Emily’s feeling badly. If I could see her a little while I could tell her how bad I had felt……Since my treatment by the lady Dr. I feel so different in every way and my back is much stronger and I used to feel a bad feeling in the lower part of my bowels as though something was loose or pulling down. Can not express it in any other way. I feel many times that I am not half thankful enough for the relief I have had though I try to be and I feel that it was the hand of providence that sent me to Mrs. Gould and I have often wondered how I had confidence to go to a perfect stranger and let her treat me. I assure you I have never regretted it and my advice to Emily is if she has any feelings that leads her to think there is any disease of the womb or there about, I would go immediately or have a Dr. come and examine into the case for there are many things much worse than an examination. She may not have any of the falling I had as all are not handled alike. The treatment I had was first she took a little cotton and placed it up my body with her hand to see if there were ulcerations. She said there were none but that there were calloused places that would lead to them in time if not cured that was what she used the cotton with glycerin and carbolic acid to cleanse and heal after she had placed the womb up in it’s place and put the cotton in to hold it up and I stood on my feet and felt so different and could walk or go up and down stairs with such a different feeling. I lay on my left side, back toward her during the operation, that is all there was to it………For mother or only ladies to read, Samantha.”

(more on her operation and general family news)

“Poplar Ridge

April 12th, 1870

Dear Mother,

………Uncle B. wrote business was very dull at Cedar Falls so Edwin thought he would go and see how it was and if he likes it at Homer will stop there but if not will go to Cedar Falls. He is going to write immediately on his arrival there and as soon as I hear from him I shall make calculations to go to Orleans Co. and as soon as he gets settled we shall go to him. Our folks wished us to stay here till he got settled somewhere but I feel anxious now to spend my time in Barre. Edwin went to Auburn in the stage, is going the Lake Shore road and thinks he must go right along. Wanted I should do the visiting. Thought he would go from Rochester to Buffalo by Batavia…….Your affectionate daughter, Samantha W. Eddy.”

“May 1st, 1871

Dear mother and all,

……Last weeks Enterprise says there are to be Summer Excursions on this road to Put-In-Bay, Niagara Falls &c. There was last summer and that there will be due notice give of them in the paper so I guess I will make me a gingham dress and each of us an umbrella and then if the fare should be very cheap perhaps we might take a trip (but I am cautious not to build air castles)……Yours lovingly, Mollie.”

“June 7th, 1871

Dear ones and all,

…….You remember our speaking of the dances they had this past winter. The first day of May the club had a phantom or sheet and pillow case masquerade. There were sixteen ladies masked and twelve gentlemen. Papa, mama and I masked. We had sheets draped around us and a face of white paper muslin and then a pillow case on our heads. When they were dancing a quadrille they unmasked. When we unmasked, papa was dancing with Mrs. Bryant, mama with Jim and me own self with Bruce Conkey. I wish I could go to another masquerade. I had so much fun that night…….Love to all, your cousin Mame.”

“Poplar Ridge

November 25th, 1872

To Cousin S. A. Eddy and the relatives in Orleans,

…..Mother is living with Andrew yet but will be with Lydia soon. Her health is poor and she is failing gradually. May not live a month and may live through the winter. Has been a long time in the habit of taking Laudanum in small doses which no seems to make her dull and stupid but cannot do without it so shall let her continue it……Your cousin, E. C. Culver”

http://drugs.uta.edu/laudanum.html

“Disco,

February 22nd, 1874

Dear friends in Homer,

I have the pleasure of saying to you, your welcome favor was received in due time and red with much interest and was to me a real Christmas gift. It found us all well at the time but soon after Orrin was kicked by one of the horses and frightened us terribly. The horse was shod and struck him in the face and cut a hole through the bone on the side of the nose and bled so we could not stop it. Albert went for our Disco Dr., he came in a hurry, but could not dress the wound that night, it bled so much. Next morning he came again and sewed it up. He wears a plaster on it yet but it is almost well. We are all glad it was no worse. The old lady lived alone in log house when you were here, was run away with. Her shoulder and wrist broken and is now with Mr. James Paynes, the one south of here. Has nothing to help herself with but must be cared for just the same. Several other accidents happened in our vicinity. It seems to have been a winter of accidents…..Sally Goff.”

“Covert Osborne Co. Kas

September 1st, 1874

To A. E. Eddy, Cedar Falls Iowa,

Dear Nephew &c,

Your letter reached us this morning and as Will has gone to the shop to get mended I will answer your kind and welcome letter. You ask how we like our western home. We all like it here but have got to scrub and cough it awhile longer as hot winds and grasshoppers have cleaned out the country for a hundred miles west and two hundred east of us. We had 10 acres of oats and 10 of wheat and 23 of corn, 14 of millet and ½ acre of potatoes…..yes we have seen this country just as the Indians left it. There has been a great many buffalo killed about us during the last two months and it is a pleasure to go and kill or help skin a fat one and have meat again. We are seldom out long. I have shot at them from the door several times. Did not bring them down. Arthur killed one a year ago near the house. We have not tanned any hides but use them for lariats. There is plenty of chances to buy but when hides are so good for robes, the buffalo are so far out one would have to buy off hunters and have them put in by rail as teams get so thin they do not wish to haul them in. They are worth…….(He goes on to talk about their worth)….there are several families near us that came from Blackhawk. Several families of Ayers……J. L. Culver”

(More as this letter is 4 pages long)

“Cedar Falls Iowa

November 24th, 1881

Sister Sarah Ann,

Yours of the 14th instant enclosed with Homer’s was duly received. The first intelligence of Samantha’s death we received was from May Culver. The telegram was not forwarded from here. I got it since I came home. The shock must have been sudden to you as you had no previous warning. Samantha was kindly remembered here by her acquaintances. She will ever be wherein she was known. Thus one after another is dropping away…….yours truly, Byron Culver.”

“Hotel Statler Buffalo (Letterhead and envelope)

September 1st, 1910

My dear Mrs. Brown,

Sue, John and I have had a good rest on shore today and it has worked wonders with me. I was nervous and very fatigued from loss of sleep at Albion and the one good night at your home simply served to show me what we all required. Yesterday we spent the day at Niagara and last night Mr. Van Horne left for New York. We expect him back tomorrow morning when if the day is fine, we will go across the lake to the canal. This afternoon we enjoyed a fine rest near the club. An old row boat being filled with gasoline and set on fire and all sort of fire extinguishers did their best. Each having a new fire to start with to put it out that not one succeeded. Early in the morning we took the sight seeing automobile and had a lovely ride but not as beautiful or restful as one was at Albion…….Sincerely yours, S. R. Van Horne.”

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Thursday, December 02, 2010

KIA Private Julius J. Bardoni WW2 Letters

KIA Private Julius J. Bardoni WW2 Letters
Find A Grave Memorial# 56371053
World War II correspondence from Private Julius J. Bardoni, Wyandotte, Michigan, 1941 - 1944.

Some excerpts:

"This place they call 'sunny Italy' brrr, it's cold as ---- in the mountains and when you do get down it's always raining.... I've been overseas for fourteen months, seen action in Africa, Sicily, and now Italy while those slackers are still in the states. They'll probably use those guys in the Pacific but after it's over with over here I'll try to go along with those recruits.... Things have changed since I last wrote you. I've been on this beachhead since 'D' Day and it's been pretty hot at times but maybe not as bad as you might read about in the papers....

Say, are they still rationing gasoline around home, I'd be in a heck of a fix if I'd be lucky enough to get there.... Here's a little tip, get out of communication work because in the artillery it's no picnic, you'd be with the infantry as much as with your outfit if you picked the short straw.... Do your best and try to get in as a paragraph trooper of the chairborne command (ink to you). Cannoneer is your next best bet because you don't have to go on observation posts and be shot at all the time.... Since I've ben on this God-forsaken beachhead I don't much give a damn anymore. You're like a duck on a pond and everybody's shootin' at you. When you're up on the line you die about a thousand times a day. If your outfit isn't attacking you're being attacked and so it goes. I figure a guy lucky if he gets hit and goes to the hospital...."

Handwritten letter to his sweetheart, Phyllis Mlotkowski, of Wyandotte Michigan, from Africa, June 12, 1943. In part: "I have received only seven letters since I arrived November 8.... After we landed in Casablanca we fought for four days and it was all over and they asked for volunteers to go north to the front and I was one of them and I went throught just about all of the Tunisian Campaign. I was in five battles with this outfit, the 168th Infantry, perhaps that's the reason I wasn't getting my mail regularly.... My old outfit is asking for volunteers to come back and I did it again. I'll be back with them before this letter is delivered to you. It will mean more artillery fire and more bombs but I want this war over as soon as possible so we can be together again.... I've been in Tunis four time already and picked up a few souvenirs.... Honey, I love you more than ever but it's like I told you in my last letter, if you think you found someone you like better, well, hon, then you may do what you know is right. I couldn't hardly blame you because Christ knows how long this is going to go on...."

Handwritten letter to Phyllis Mlotkowski, from southern France, September 2, 1944. In part: "Ever since I've been here I haven't had much time for anything. Writing paper is as scarce as furloughs.... France is really beautiful and so are the women. The WACs wouldn't stand a chance with these girls. In my estimation France is better and will continue to be better than all of Italy before the war...."

Group of four picture postcards, 1941 - 1942, each including a message sent by Bardoni from various military posts in the U.S. The return addresses Bardoni use variously place him with the 7th and 168th Infantries.

Sadly, Pvt. Bardoni was killed in France. Here is his burial record which I found online

Name: Pvt Julius J Bardoni
Death Date: 21 Nov 1944
Burial Place: Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France



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