A Christmas Eve Tussle in Fayette County

“He has imployed Caperton & Patton and we must be ready to give him the best we have gat in the Shop.”

Well now, come on in and sit a spell. I’ve found something special for us to look at today—a little slice of life from just two days before Christmas back in 1873. It’s a letter from H. W. Brazie, written right there at the Fayette Court House, and sent over to Laban Gwinn. Even though it was the holiday season, these folks had more on their minds than just hanging stockings. They were right in the middle of a legal dust-up with a man named Fisher, and Brazie was making sure they were ready for the fight.

Looking at this old paper today, it’s like shaking hands with the past. The paper has that lovely, aged look with visible fold lines from when it was tucked away in a pocket or a desk for decades. There are some of those little brown spots we call foxing, and the ink—a soft, faded blue-purple—tells us it’s seen a lot of years. The handwriting is a beautiful, legible cursive, and there is even a tiny embossed stamp in the corner, a little mark of official business that’s managed to stay crisp for over a century.

In the letter, Brazie was a man who wanted his ducks in a row. He told Laban to find the right folks to speak as witnesses and to make sure a man named Kales brought every scrap of paper he had about leasing the land. He wanted every bit of evidence, whether it came from Laban’s father or a fellow named Adkins. It seems Fisher wasn’t going to make things easy; he had gone and hired some high-powered help in lawyers named Caperton and Patton, so Brazie knew they had to be ready to give it everything they had in the shop.

It’s funny how a simple letter about a court case can tell us so much about where we come from. It reminds us that no matter how much time passes, folks are always going to look out for their families and stand up for what’s right. This little scrap of history shows the grit and the care our ancestors put into their daily lives, proving that the roots of our community run deep. It’s a gentle reminder that every document we save is a piece of the story of who we are today.

Original Transcription

Fayette C. H. W. Va
Dec 23d 1873
Laban Gwinn
Dear Sir
I send enclosed
Spas. in our Case against Fisher
You will please see that they
are executed, If you know of
any one who would be a good
Witness for us put his name
in the Spa, and serve it upon
him. I want Kales to bring
all the writings he has, about
his leasing the land, not only
from your father, but the
papers, if any, when he gat the
lease from Adkins.
Be sure and get everything
right, for Fisher is going to

us as hard as he can.
He has imployed Caperton
& Patton and we must be
ready to give him the best
we have gat in the Shop.
Be sure and attend to this
at once.
Respectfully
H. W. Brazie