A Helping Hand for a Neighbor in Need

“I have tryed every way to be as easey on the boys as I could and have waited over three years for them to pay off their account, & I cannot wait any longer,”

Come sit a spell and look at this treasure I found in the stacks. It is a letter from February 25th, 1886, written in Blockston, Raleigh County. The paper is yellowed and lined, showing the gentle wear of time with horizontal fold lines from when it was sent through the mail. The handwriting is a beautiful, legible cursive in dark ink, penned by a man named James T. McCreery. It feels like holding a direct line to the past in your hands.

In this letter, James is reaching out to his friend Laban Gwinn with a bit of a heavy heart. He is asking for a hundred dollars toward an account owed by Laban’s sons. James explains that he has been patient for over three years, trying his best to be easy on the boys. But now, James is in a hard place himself. He is facing a lawsuit and has only ten days to raise the money, or he will be forced to sue others to get what he is owed. It is a stressful situation we can all sympathize with, even today.

This letter gives us a window into the tight-knit but fragile economy of the 1880s. In a small community like Raleigh County, everyone’s financial well-being was connected. One person’s delay could cause a ripple of trouble for everyone else. James did not want to cause any more trouble than necessary, but the threat of legal action was looming over him, making this a very urgent and personal request between neighbors.

What I love about this piece of history is how it captures the timeless nature of friendship and debt. It reminds us that no matter how much time passes, the values of helping a friend in need and keeping your word are just as important now as they were over a century ago. It is a humble, human story written on a simple piece of paper that still speaks to us today.

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