A Brotherly Plea from the Hills: The Gwinn Letter of 1880

“i will just say to yo that i am hard up for money at this time”

Pull up a chair and let me share a little treasure from the archives with you. This is a personal letter written by Samuel Gwinn to his brother Laban on a summer day in July 1880. Samuel was writing from his home in Summers County, West Virginia, and you can almost feel the heat of that July afternoon through his words. The document itself is a single sheet of lined paper, now a warm yellow with distinct brown spotting known as foxing, which happens as paper ages over many decades. You can still see the crisp fold marks where Samuel tucked his worries inside to be sent off to his kin.

In the letter, Samuel admits he’s been feeling a bit under the weather and, more pressingly, that he is ‘hard up’ for cash. He had been settling some heavy tax bills for the Spiles land from the years 1878 and 1879. It seems he was dealing with some frustrations involving a man named George Z Henry, who had apparently caused the land’s value to be recorded at double its worth. Samuel was hoping his brother might have some money set aside—specifically a hundred dollars—to help him get by until he could sell his cattle in the autumn. He even suggested sending the money back with another relative, T.L. Gwinn, if Laban couldn’t make the trip himself.

Back in the 1880s, the Gwinns and their neighbors in West Virginia didn’t have the safety nets we take for granted today. Your family was your bank, your insurance, and your support system all rolled into one. A hundred dollars was a significant amount of money at the time, representing months of hard labor and the value of a whole herd. It’s a powerful glimpse into a time when a person’s survival depended on the health of their livestock and the generosity of their siblings.

Reading Samuel’s plea today, we’re reminded that while the world has changed more than he could have ever imagined, the basics of human life haven’t shifted all that much. We still face those seasons where we’re ‘hard up’ or feeling ‘un well,’ and we still look to our families to help us find our footing again. It’s a touching story of brotherly trust that bridges the gap between 1880 and right now, proving that a helping hand is a timeless necessity.

Original Transcription

Summers Cty W Va
July 17 day 1880 at home
Dear brother Laban
i am un well at this time the rest are well i hope theas few lines may find yo and yours well
i will just say to yo that i am hard up for money at this time i have bin to Pay Mveil [McVeigh?] and pade the taxe 79 on Spiles land wich 17 dollars & 60 the 78 tiket is 9 dollars & 47 cts of T L Gwinn & Jacob act 2 dollars and 50 cts Gorge Z henry put the land up dubel to what it was
[Margin Calculations:]
bond 7 65
78 tiket 9 47
79 do 17 60
T L Gwin 2 50
[End Margin]
due me on theas things $22.14
i want yo to come up and se me i under stand you have some money by you if you have i want to borrer one hundred dollars from you til i can sel my cattle this fal and if you can’t let me have that amount pleas bring the amount that is due me com up if you can if not pleas send that amount by T L Gwinn
Remain yours truley
Samuel Gwinn

[Address Panel on reverse:] To Laban Gwinn