A Handshake and a Lined Page from 1885

“Be sure to meet me as I can not be there after Tuesday,”

Pull up a chair, friends, and take a look at this little piece of West Virginia history from the spring of 1885. It is a simple letter written by J.C. Peters to Laban Gwinn, penned on April 30th. The paper itself is a beautiful, cream-colored legal sheet from the law office of J. D. Logan in Union. It has yellowed quite a bit over the last century and a half, and there is a bit of staining near the signature, but the black ink still stands out clearly against those old lines. You can even see the deep fold marks where it was tucked away for safekeeping.

In the letter, Mr. Peters is making arrangements to meet Laban in Hinton on the following Monday to discuss some business regarding the R.H. Manroe land. There is a real sense of earnestness in his handwriting. He mentions that he cannot stay in Hinton past Tuesday, highlighting a time when travel was a deliberate act and every hour counted. It is a small window into the life of a man trying to balance his legal affairs with the constraints of the 19th-century clock.

Looking at this document today, we are reminded that history is built on these small, personal interactions. This letter is not a grand proclamation or a famous treaty, but a simple promise between two neighbors to meet and settle a matter of land. It shows us that even in 1885, the value of a person’s time and their word was the glue that held a community together. It is a lovely reminder that our own daily connections and commitments are the threads that will eventually weave the history of tomorrow.

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