A Christmas Eve Note from Blue Sulphur Springs

Mr Labin Gwin Sir you will pleas meet Me at fayett Cort Hous on the 28th of the Preasent Month

Well now, pull up a chair and let me tell you about a little piece of our history that just came across my desk. It is a humble letter written on Christmas Eve back in 1874 by a gentleman named B. Caraway. Even though it was the night before Christmas, business was clearly on his mind. He was writing from Blue Sulphur Springs over in Greenbrier County to Mr. Labin Gwin, asking him for a bit of a favor and a meeting.

When you look at this letter today, you can really feel the weight of the years. It is written in a warm, brownish ink on simple lined paper that has taken on a lovely, tea-colored tint over the last century and a half. You can still see the crisp creases where it was folded up tight, perhaps tucked away in a pocket. There is even a tiny, elegant embossed stamp in the top corner, a little mark of quality from a time when sending a letter was a significant act.

The content of the letter is a wonderful mix of official business and everyday chores. B. Caraway was calling Labin to the Fayette Court House on the 28th to settle an estate with the commissioner. He even gave Labin a friendly heads-up to bring along any claims he might have against his own father’s estate. But life back then was not all courtrooms; the postscript asks Labin to bring some saddle pockets and see if he cannot collect the rent money from a neighbor named John Hert. It is a vivid reminder that even during the holidays, the practicalities of life never stopped.

Seeing names like John Hert or places like Blue Sulphur Springs reminds us that our ancestors were busy people, navigating the same kinds of legal and financial hurdles we do today, just with more ink and less speed. It is a beautiful, tangible connection to the folks who walked these hills before us. It shows us that whether it is 1874 or 2024, we are all just neighbors helping neighbors get their business settled and their affairs in order.

Original Transcription

Blew Sulpher Springs
Greenbrier County
December 24 74

Mr Labin Gwin Sir you
will pleas meet Me at fayett
Cort Hous on the 28th of the Preasent
Month as the Commishener is going
To bettele the estate on that day
and if you have any claims
aginst your father you had
better put them in
P.S. bring my saddel pockett
an I give you your
Get the money out of John Hert
for the Rent if you can
yours Respectfully
B. Caraway