A Helping Hand in Hard Times: A 1864 Tale from Fayette County

“as soon as you receive these few lines please destroy them as we dont know who our friends is these days”

Well, hello there, neighbors! Come on in and sit a spell. Today, I’ve got something truly special to show you, pulled straight from the dusty corners of our local history. It’s a letter written by a man named John Hickman back in the winter of 1864. When you hold it—or even just look at it—you can see the years it has carried. The paper is that deep, warm yellow of a well-loved book, speckled with little brown spots we call foxing, and there are some ink blots where John’s pen must have lingered a bit too long. It feels fragile, with little tears along the edges where it’s been folded and unfolded by hands long gone, but the dark ink still stands out clear as day.

In this letter, John is writing to his dear old friend, Mr. John Guinn. He’s trying to settle a debt with a man named James Jarrett using a hundred-dollar note that Guinn had kindly provided. But as things often went back then, it wasn’t as simple as handing over the cash. Jarrett and his lawyer turned the money away! John’s a bit worried that this might affect the interest on the debt, but he’s more concerned about doing right by his friend. He’s sending that hundred dollars back to Guinn through his wife, just as soon as she’s able to travel safely.

Life wasn’t easy for John that winter. He mentions that his wife is so poorly she can’t even help herself, and his own mother is about as common, which was just their way of saying she was doing alright, but nothing to brag about. You can feel the weight on his shoulders—juggling family sickness and financial troubles all while the world outside was in a state of upheaval.

Being 1864 in Virginia, the shadow of the Civil War was hanging heavy over everyone. You can hear the caution in John’s voice when he asks his friend to burn the letter once he’s read it. He tells Guinn that they don’t know who their friends are these days. It’s a stark reminder that back then, a simple letter could be a dangerous thing if it fell into the wrong hands. Trust was the most valuable thing a person could own.

Looking back at John’s words today reminds us that even in the middle of a war, people were still just people. They worried about their sick spouses, they tried to pay their bills, and they looked out for their neighbors. This little scrap of stained paper isn’t just a record of a debt; it’s a heartbeat from the past, showing us that kindness and friendship are what truly get us through the hard years.

Original Transcription

Fayette County Va
January 31st 1864, at halme
Mr John Guinn Esqr
dear old friend I take this oppertunity
of writing you a few lines to let you know
That I am well Except a bad cold hoping
That these few lines when comes to your
hand will find you and the old lady
well I am sorry to say to you that
I had the oppertunity of coming halme
and finding my wife not able to help
her self and it is vary uncertain when she
will be able, Mother is a bout as common
The hundred dollar note that my wife
gat from you to pay James Jarrett
he would not receive the money I tendered
him the full amt of his debt and also the
same to J. W. Davis his Lawyer that
is in pasisson of his papers and he would
not receive the money from the fact that
Jarrett would not receive the money from
him I have been told by different persons

That the tender of money will stop the inter
est on the debt if it dont kill the debt
for ever for he agreed to take the money
from me I will leave the money that
My wife got from you with her and
if you have the oppertunity of getting it
from her I would be glad but you hant
She will send it to you the first appertu
nity that she has that will be safe as
I cant receive the money from you on the
account that Jarrett wont receive it
from me I want you to write to me the
first appertunity that you have as I would
like to hear from you as soon as you
receive these few lines please destroy them
as we dont know who our friends is these
days
yours respectfully
John Hickman

January 31st 1864