A Little Piece of Home from 1873: J.H. Gwinup’s Snowy News

“Winter has Commenced too Soon for the Farmers as there is but little Corn Cribed Yet”

Gather ’round, friends, because I’ve found something truly special tucked away in our archives. It’s a letter written way back on November 16, 1873, by a fellow named J.H. Gwinup. Holding it in your hands, you can almost feel the chill of that long-ago Indiana autumn. The paper is old and lined, showing its age with a few stains and those familiar fold lines from being tucked into a pocket or a drawer for decades. Up in the corner, there’s a little embossed stamp—a tiny crown or shield—that makes you think of the care folks took with their stationery back then. Even though the brownish ink has faded a bit, J.H.’s handwriting still tells a vivid story.

In the letter, J.H. is writing to Mr. Laban Gwinup to let him know he made it back to Burlington safe and sound. But it wasn’t all good news. He mentions that his father had been quite ill. In a fascinating bit of old-time medical theory, J.H. blames the sickness on drinking too much sulphur water and—believe it or not—wearing a colored undershirt! He tells Laban that his father was “completely poisoned” but was luckily starting to feel a bit better. It’s a wonderful reminder of how different our understanding of health was just a few generations ago.

The weather was also heavy on J.H.’s mind. A big snowstorm had blown in, and he was worried about the local farmers. The snow started falling fast on the 15th and hadn’t let up, which was a real problem because most of the corn hadn’t been gathered into the cribs yet. Between the cold and the “lonesome” feeling he had while waiting for his friends the Kings to return from a visit, you can really sense the quiet, isolated life of a 19th-century winter. He ends the note with a warm send-off to a long list of family members, including “Baby Baby &c &c,” showing just how much love was packed into those few pages.

Looking at this letter today reminds us that while technology changes, the things that matter most—our health, our livelihoods, and our connection to family—remain exactly the same. J.H. was just a man checking in on his loved ones, worried about the harvest and the well-being of his kin, just like any of us might be today. It’s a small, beautiful thread that connects our busy modern lives to the snowy Indiana fields of 1873.

Original Transcription

Burlington Ind Nov 16th
/ 73
Mr Laban Gwinup
Kind Sir
We arrived Home Safe found
The folks all well & doing
well. Father has been Sick
ever Since we Come home I think
he drank to much Sulphur
water. & haveing a colored
undershirt on he has become
Completely poisoned he is now
getting Some better We have
had Some verry Rough weather
here, Snow Commenced falling
yesterday & is falling verry fast
Yet this morning Winter has
Commenced too Soon for the
Farmers as there is but little Corn
Cribed Yet

Mr & Mrs King have not
returned from their visit yet
if they dont come pretty Soon
I will go & See them for
I am getting verry lonesome
I was at uncle Johns
Yesterday the folks afflicted one
are recovering.
Excus Haste
Will give you a more de tailed
Epistol Next time
My Love to
Aunt & Sallie Johny Lomas
Jimmie Baby Baby &c &c &c &c
And So on
J H Gwinup