A Helping Hand from the Summer of 1873

“I am hard up for money By so doing you will Much oblige Your Friend”

Well hello there! I was just rooting through some old papers in the back of the archive and I found something special I wanted to show you. It’s a tiny little note from July 28th, 1873, written by a fellow named J. T. Carwile. It looks like Mr. Carwile was in a bit of a pinch and wrote to his friend, Mr. L. Guinn, asking him to settle a twenty-dollar bond for John Daners by paying George W. Demsy. It’s just a simple request for money, but it feels like such a personal window into a life from over a century ago.

The paper itself has seen better days, let me tell you. It’s written on that old-fashioned blue-lined paper, and there’s a great big dark stain right across the middle—maybe from a spilled inkwell or a splash of tea while it sat on a desk long ago. The edges are a bit worn and there’s a deep fold right through the center, showing how it might have been tucked away in someone’s coat pocket for safe keeping. The ink is still nice and dark though, standing strong against the years.

Back then, in the 1870s, life was built on your word and your connections with your neighbors. Cash wasn’t always easy to come by, and people relied on these handwritten notes to settle their debts and keep things moving. When J. T. Carwile says he’s ‘hard up for money,’ you can really feel the weight on his shoulders. He wasn’t just asking for a transaction; he was leaning on a friend during a tight spot, trusting that his word was enough to settle the score.

Looking at this today, it reminds me that we’ve always been a community that looks out for one another. This little stained scrap of paper is more than just a receipt; it’s a piece of the invisible thread that ties us all together through time. It shows that even in the middle of a hard day, people were reaching out, keeping their promises, and relying on their friends to get by. That’s a pretty powerful thing to find in a dusty old box, don’t you think?

Original Transcription

July 28th 1873
Mr L Guinn You will
Please pay to Geo W Demsy $20.00 the
amt of John Daners Bond I am hard
up for money By so doing you will
Much oblige Your Friend
J T Carwile