A Friendly Nudge from the General Store

“I will not be in a condition to make any further extension on it”

Pull up a chair and sit a spell while I share a little treasure I found from way back in 1884. It is a single sheet of cream-colored paper from the desk of John Cooper, who ran a general store right over in Hinton. You can still see the soft fold lines where it was tucked away for decades, and that black ink cursive is just as elegant as you would expect from a gentleman of that era. It is the kind of letter that makes the past feel like something you could reach out and touch.

In the letter, Mr. Cooper is reaching out to Lelan Quinn in Quinnimont to settle a bit of business. It seems Mr. Quinn and a partner named Wm Prince owed a debt on a note, and John was checking in to see when the money might arrive. Now, John was a fair man—he had already agreed to wait until April 11th—but he was also running a business. He wrote to ask if the money could be sent along a few days early, maybe between the 5th and the 10th. He was being as polite as could be, but he made it clear that he just could not wait any longer than that.

Looking at this letter today, it is a lovely reminder that history is built on these small, human moments. Back then, West Virginia was a place where a man’s word and a handwritten note were what kept the wheels of the community turning. It shows us that even though our tools have changed, the heart of our daily lives—the need to be honest, to pay our debts, and to look out for one another—remains exactly the same. It is a small window into the quiet, steady lives of the folks who called these mountains home long before us.

Original Transcription