Rainy Days and Family Ties: A Warm Message from 1864

“but we must plant if raise any corn to sell or eat to sustain life”

Pull up a chair, friends, and let me share a real treasure I found in the archives. It is a personal letter written over three days in May of 1864 by a fellow named A. G. Gum to his Uncle L. Gwinn. Holding it today, you can feel the history in the paper; it is aged and lined, with the cursive handwriting still clear in its original brown ink. You can see the creases where it was folded and kept safe in a pocket, and even though there are a few stains from years of handling, every word remains a testament to a life lived long ago at a place they called ‘the grove.’

The letter is a wonderful window into a farmer’s world during a very different time. Mr. Gum writes about the heavy rains that kept them from their corn planting, a struggle many of us can still relate to when spring doesn’t quite cooperate. He shares news of the family’s health—noting that while most are ‘tolerable well,’ others like Elmore and John were battling the measles. He even takes a moment to list a full inventory of their livestock, from their horses and cattle down to their thirty ‘sheet geese.’ He talks about the simple hope of getting a letter in the mail and the excitement that Grandfather and other kinfolk might be visiting from out of town soon.

Even though 1864 was a time of great conflict in our nation’s history, this letter reminds us that the rhythms of home life—planting crops, tending animals, and caring for sick family—remained the most important things of all. It is a heartfelt reminder that we are all part of a larger story, connected by the same needs and loves that moved Mr. Gum’s pen all those years ago. It teaches us that no matter the weather or the hardships, there is a deep, quiet strength in simply continuing on, looking after our neighbors, and keeping those family bonds strong.

Original Transcription

May 11th 1864 Mrs l gwinn Dear uncle
I take my pen in hand to let you know
That i am well at pressent and family
is tolerable well The weather is very bad
and wet at pressent so that we can not
plant corn at all but we will plant
tomorrow We was to the grove to day
and hoped to receive a letter from you
but dident We got a letter from E J gwinn
an they were all well but uncle Andrew
May
12th was sick well I have been over to uncle R
we are a planting corn to day and it
is very wet but we must plant
if raise any corn to sell or eat to sustain
life wee have some oats and wheat sowed
and some hungarian seed sode 4 weeks ago
the letter wee got from grand father said
wee need not be surprised if wee saw
some of them out here before long
Richmans & gum & Surbaugh folks are all well
at pressent wee we have 5 head of horses
14 head of cattle 12 head of sheep 24 head hogs
30 head of sheet geese friday 13 May 1864
all tolerablee well Elmore and John Richman
have the Measles wel i will finish we are all
well at present the weather is
fine and nice so no more
A G gum to l gwinn