A Heartfelt Greeting from 1864: The Birdill Family Letter

“I must bring my leter to a close no more but remain your brother until death”

Pull up a chair, friends, and let me share a special treasure with you. This is a letter written by a man named Gorge J. Birdill on a warm June evening in 1864. When you hold it today, you can feel the weight of the years in the yellowed, fragile paper and see the deep fold marks from its long journey through the mail. The ink has bled through from the reverse side over the decades, creating a bit of a shadow-dance on the page that makes Gorge’s phonetic cursive a little tricky to read, but his voice comes through clear as a bell.

In this letter to his unnamed brother and sister, Gorge paints a vivid picture of life in Jackson County during a very difficult time. He chats about the rhythms of the farm, noting that while the corn is looking good, the weevils have been busy eating up the wheat. He mentions that times are hard and grain is selling for a dollar a bushel, but he also shares the simple, grounding news of home. He tells of the passing of Giben Riddit, who died of the measles while in service, but he quickly follows it with the joyful news of a new baby girl in the family named Martha Jane. There is even a bit of local drama, as he describes the capture of the notorious bushwhacker Bill Thurman, who was caught on top of Big Suel Mountain and taken to Charleston in a ball and chain.

Writing from the heart of the Civil War, Gorge doesn’t focus on grand politics or battle maps; he focuses on the survival and the spirit of his kin. This letter reminds us that even when the world feels like it is turning upside down, the things that matter most remain the same: the health of our loved ones, the hope for a good harvest, and the bonds of family that stretch across the miles. It is a humble, honest piece of our past that connects us to the quiet resilience of those who walked these hills long before us.

Original Transcription

Jackson county 1864
June the 23 day
Dear brother and sister I sit
down this eavning to rite
you a few lines to let you
now that we ar all well
and I hope when thes few
lines comes to hand tha
may find you injoying the
same blesing we hav hear
ed from you and I thought
I would wright you a leter
and let you know that we
was all well I would have
wrat to you soner but i cold
not we are aliving in Ja
ckson we have got very
good corn this year and
some wheat if it dus no
t git et up with the
weavil agood eal of the

wheat is eat up with the
weavil times is very har
d hear wheat is a seling
at one doler per bushel an
d corn is a seling at the
same prise you wanted
to now whether giben Rid
dit was dead or not he
is dead he died in the
servis in march 1863
at hospital with the
measeles mary has five
children we have got
five children we call our
baby martha Jane
we have got that notori
ous bill thurman in
charleston with aball
chaind to his leag the catch
him on top of big suel
mountain a bush whacker
as well

I want you to answer
this leter as soon as you
can direct your leter to
Jackson county fishers
point I must bring
my leter to a close
no more but remain your
brother until death

Gorge J Birdill