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Beleiving that every congressman in the United States ought to know the feelings of the California emigrants realtive to their neglect of making provisions for a government I have taken the liberty of publishing an extract from your letter which in my opinion will be calculated to open thier eyes If you will number 100000 this year I think Congress had better allow California to form a state at once making a provision for its division into two or more states ar some future period when the population shall have increased sufficently to justify it In your letter you have said nothing of the soil and climate. This is a subject I would thank you to give me some correct information on in your next letter. I have formed the idea that it is a good soil and a fine climate. if not when the gold shall have become exhausted which it undoubtibly will then the agriculture must form the basis of prosperity. For which provision can not be raised neither commerce nor the mechanick arts can flourish to any quot extent nor will it be possible to sustain a dense population. Agriculture then must form the basis of all permanently prosperous states and without it a state however prosperous for a time on account of its commerce it will eventually dwindle down to insignifixence as most of the South American States have These views will show you why I am desirous of knowing what the soil and climate of Californai are. If you were a Geologist and could tell me what are the underlaying rocks of California I could tell you from here what is its soil and from its latitude could form a tolerable idea of its climate But you can after a residence of four or five years tell better what influence on the climate the prevailing winds from the great pacific and from those lofty mountains compasing the Siera neveda actually have than any general opinion I may form here. Give my love to Elizabeth and with my best wishes for your prosperity and happiness I reamin your Affectionate brother Thomas Townsend Wheeling Va 10th of the 7th Mo 1849 Dear Brother Your letter of the 28th of April last together with the Bose of specimens of California Gold came safely to hand yesterday through the medium of the post office from W. Fields of New Orleans. Accept my thanks for so valuable a present. I shall make the disposition of the pieces which you desire as near as I can. But as to giving Elizabeth her choice of the two pieces, The Bird and the Old Man's head is unhappily out of the question. had you received any one of the three letters I have written to you since the receipt of yours in July '47 you would have learned that Elizabeth became deranged and was placed in the Insane Hospital at Staunton in this state where she is not yet recovered nor do I know wether she ever will. She mended rapidly until about a year ago when she became stationary and still remains so I shall select the Bird for her and give Sarah the Old Man's head The Knight I will have riged as a watch key Elizabeth's Bird I will have riged as a Brest pin and should a suitable opportunity offer I will send it to her at the Asylum. As you have not received any but my first letters I will repeat in substance what I have heretofore written concerning our relations Of Elizabeth I have already told you. sarah has been considerably troubled with rhumatism this summer. She lost her second child, a fine boy 14 months old Her first, a girl, was born shortly after you saw her last and is now a fine girl the 3rd a boy and the 4 a girl now nearly a year old all tolerably healthy. She and her husband are living on a small piece of land of their own about a mile from where they lived when you were at the house. N. W. Robert lately bought 40 acres of land adjoining to mine on Sunfish about 50 miles from this place James and Mary Kirby are going on in pre- cisely the old way and no appearance of either of them marrying. I can tell but little of Uncle Aaron's family. They are all doing well but Madison whose wife was and is an opium eater and they have lived very unhappily. I do not know whether they have separated or not.
Object Description
Description
File Name | csj-TownsendCorr-025a.jpg |
Title | Townsend |
Creator | Thomas Townsend |
Date | 1849-07-10 |
Description | A letter from Thomas Townsend to his brother John thanking him for a gift of gold pieces and re-itterating family and local events that were in previous letters never received by John. He expresses an interest in mining opportunities and identifies talc as a potential gold bearing rock that his brother should keep an eye out for. |
Object Type | Correspondence |
Format | jpeg |
Rights | We have determined this work to be in the public domain, meaning that it is not subject to copyright. Users are free to copy, use, and redistribute the work in part or in whole. It is possible that current copyright holders, heirs or the estate of the authors of individual portions of the work, such as illustrations or photographs, assert copyrights over these portions. Depending on the nature of subsequent use that is made, additional rights may need to be obtained independently of anything we can address. |
Collection | Townsend Family Papers 1826-1914 |
Language | english |
Repository | California Room, San Jose Public Library |
Transcript | Beleiving that every congressman in the United States ought to know the feelings of the California emigrants realtive to their neglect of making provisions for a government I have taken the liberty of publishing an extract from your letter which in my opinion will be calculated to open thier eyes If you will number 100000 this year I think Congress had better allow California to form a state at once making a provision for its division into two or more states ar some future period when the population shall have increased sufficently to justify it In your letter you have said nothing of the soil and climate. This is a subject I would thank you to give me some correct information on in your next letter. I have formed the idea that it is a good soil and a fine climate. if not when the gold shall have become exhausted which it undoubtibly will then the agriculture must form the basis of prosperity. For which provision can not be raised neither commerce nor the mechanick arts can flourish to any quot extent nor will it be possible to sustain a dense population. Agriculture then must form the basis of all permanently prosperous states and without it a state however prosperous for a time on account of its commerce it will eventually dwindle down to insignifixence as most of the South American States have These views will show you why I am desirous of knowing what the soil and climate of Californai are. If you were a Geologist and could tell me what are the underlaying rocks of California I could tell you from here what is its soil and from its latitude could form a tolerable idea of its climate But you can after a residence of four or five years tell better what influence on the climate the prevailing winds from the great pacific and from those lofty mountains compasing the Siera neveda actually have than any general opinion I may form here. Give my love to Elizabeth and with my best wishes for your prosperity and happiness I reamin your Affectionate brother Thomas Townsend Wheeling Va 10th of the 7th Mo 1849 Dear Brother Your letter of the 28th of April last together with the Bose of specimens of California Gold came safely to hand yesterday through the medium of the post office from W. Fields of New Orleans. Accept my thanks for so valuable a present. I shall make the disposition of the pieces which you desire as near as I can. But as to giving Elizabeth her choice of the two pieces, The Bird and the Old Man's head is unhappily out of the question. had you received any one of the three letters I have written to you since the receipt of yours in July '47 you would have learned that Elizabeth became deranged and was placed in the Insane Hospital at Staunton in this state where she is not yet recovered nor do I know wether she ever will. She mended rapidly until about a year ago when she became stationary and still remains so I shall select the Bird for her and give Sarah the Old Man's head The Knight I will have riged as a watch key Elizabeth's Bird I will have riged as a Brest pin and should a suitable opportunity offer I will send it to her at the Asylum. As you have not received any but my first letters I will repeat in substance what I have heretofore written concerning our relations Of Elizabeth I have already told you. sarah has been considerably troubled with rhumatism this summer. She lost her second child, a fine boy 14 months old Her first, a girl, was born shortly after you saw her last and is now a fine girl the 3rd a boy and the 4 a girl now nearly a year old all tolerably healthy. She and her husband are living on a small piece of land of their own about a mile from where they lived when you were at the house. N. W. Robert lately bought 40 acres of land adjoining to mine on Sunfish about 50 miles from this place James and Mary Kirby are going on in pre- cisely the old way and no appearance of either of them marrying. I can tell but little of Uncle Aaron's family. They are all doing well but Madison whose wife was and is an opium eater and they have lived very unhappily. I do not know whether they have separated or not. |
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