Grand-pa's old trunk

[Riggs]

A while back I was given an old trunk that had been in my Great-Grandpa's house. It had several old letters, from family that was in the military during WWII, but also held several from the 1800's including this one from 1858. It's very hard to read, but seems to be about purchasing land. Think I'll make a special frame for it and put it back.

 

[ed in idaho]

its worth saving, neat letter.

Ed

[Delawhere Jack]

Cool. You might want to do some research about framing old documents. Using the wrong type of backing material could damage the paper.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Very artistic hand writing. I love it. Good post Riggs!

[WmFritz]

I have a deep appreciation for carefully written penmanship like that document. Its like an art form. No short cuts or abbreviations; even the dates are written in longhand. I imagine someone using a fountain pen and inkwell and taking hours to draft that letter.

I think my own penmanship peaked in the 4th grade with Sister Mary Joseph. 

The other thing I admire from letters from that era is the language that is used and how much better the grammar was compared to modern times.

[martyinmi]

I think my own penmanship peaked in the 4th grade with Sister Mary Joseph. 

Your Sister Mary Joseph was apparently related to the two grade school nuns that I had- Sister Blanche and Sister Theresa.
With those two ladies, one either wrote properly or got cuffed on the back of the noggin!
Needless to say, I got my bell rung many, many times by both of them.....and the majority of the time it was not because of my penmanship! 

[r.man]

I realize that you have already taken at least one picture of that letter but maybe scanning it into a computer would make it easy to share with family and others. Historical societies and museums generally like to have all the period info they can get.

[thecfarm]

Interesting. It has probably lasted this long because it has been out of the sunlight. Hands are bad to be touching something like that. Treat it real gentle.

[Ron Scott]

A very vintage find.

[cinnabar]

Riggs,
        Yes, like r.man says, definitely scan it to a computer if you can for ease of transcribing and keeping the original intact.  I am in the process of saving old letters and documents from my grandparents and this is the best thing going. Great for photographs too.

If something is too large or cannot be handled, then photograph it. Even scanning can be rough on the old papers. I had one break into several pieces when I opened the scanner lid to remove it after scanning.  That's the chance you take.   When you are done you can store them in acid free folders or boxes or have them framed with like materials.

Many of the items in the trunks I scanned had not seen the light of day in well over 60 years and were mousy, moldy, wet, and just gone. 

The language style and penmanship is really a lost art.  Learning to read the persons script can give you and insight into their lives. I found I can easily read Grandpas and Grandmothers writing now that I have transcribed over 100 pages of manuscript and letters.
 The oldest one I found so far was a love letter from my great grandfather to his fiancé in 1885, a month before their wedding.  Totally priceless.
cinnabar

[Riggs]

Thanks for the feedback, I am going to scan it tomorrow, it is printed on the front and back.
I was given 2 trunks, a desk, and box, all are literally packed with letters, tax returns, receipts, bank statements ect.  They were all damp and moldy when I got them, I have had them drying out for the last year or so. I haven't even made a dent in what's there. I have found three so far from pre-1900. One from 1876 talking about president Ulysses Grant and predicting the downfall of the Republican party....I guess the political debates have been going on forever...

[Billbob]

Wow!  Very cool!  Beautiful penmanship.

[dgdrls]

Nice old document.  Its a land deed,  do your best to transcribe it also.

Thanks for sharing

DGDrls

[reswire]

I think my own penmanship peaked in the 4th grade with Sister Mary Joseph. 

Your Sister Mary Joseph was apparently related to the two grade school nuns that I had- Sister Blanche and Sister Theresa.
With those two ladies, one either wrote properly or got cuffed on the back of the noggin!
Needless to say, I got my bell rung many, many times by both of them.....and the majority of the time it was not because of my penmanship! 

We could probably start a new thread about "Nun Whoopings".  Had my share!!  Then it was on to high school and real butt whoopings from Xavarian Brothers.  Yupp, I deserved dern near all of them too!!

[WmFritz]

We could probably start a new thread about "Nun Whoopings".  Had my share!!  Then it was on to high school and real butt whoopings from Xavarian Brothers.  Yupp, I deserved dern near all of them too!!

I deserved everything the Nun's dished out on me, too. No denying! The Sister's had a way of putting the fear in with just a glance. They could also sprinkle some love in. I remember  our Sister wheeling a black/white TV into the classroom and letting us watch the '68 Tiger's in the World Series.

I have two 8 year old grandboys whose penmanship is horrendous.
Even worse then mine now.
No way I could I get away with that at their age, though.

[sawguy21]

Those old letters are a wonderful glimpse into the past. Unfortunately they and the penmanship are pretty much lost art. A cousin showed me a letter from 1874 he found in the family farm house while renovating, probably dropped into a recess in the wall from someone's pocket. It was addressed to the man my great grandparents purchased the farm from, a fascinating read.
I remember my grade one teacher scolding me about my printing. I am a south paw and have a congenital tremor so printing and writing legibly were and still are a struggle. I cannot use a fountain pen, I push the point through the paper and drag my hand in the wet ink. Never did learn to write back hand.

[timberlinetree]

That's a really cool find! As for experience with nuns I've had nun ! Like your stories and we need some of these nuns in public schools!