Read the Letters
1870-00-00
To Mariam from Brooking. This was written in either February, March, or November as the 16th fell on Wednesday in all three of those months. He has been getting up to some mischief as he writes:
“I went out last Saturday “bombing” with several of the boys. (This word bombing is the technical name for hunting). We found some eggs chickens and went for them that night. Of course, we never stole them.”
1870-00-00
To Mariam from Henrietta. This undated letter was probably written to Mariam by her mother Henrietta in 1870. Mariam is in school and her mother has heard that there is a measles outbreak in the school. She is worried about Mariam’s health.
1870-00-00
To Mariam from Henrietta. In this undated letter, Mariam is in school but is about to come home for a visit.
1870-01-06
Brooking from his mother, Henrietta. He has returned to the Kentucky Military Institute after being home for Christmas and she misses him. She tells Brooking to remember his little sister Louly in his prayers.
1870-01-09
To Brooking from Mariam and Henrietta. This consists of two letters. Brooking has been home for Christmas and has just returned to the Kentucky Military Institute.
1870-01-09
To John Anthony from Brooking. He has just been home for Christmas and there are almost daily letters being sent between him and his parents. Apparently, his father disapproved of some of Brooking’s behavior and he is writing to apologize.
1870-01-12
To Brooking from his father, John Anthony, and mother, Henrietta. John Anthony writes:
“You must remember that every man must be the architect of his own fortune. I can advise you, but I cannot act for you: you must act for yourself.” He continues: “I have been pressing hay for a few days. I filled the ice house with ice Monday, got very nice ice.”
1870-01-13
To Mariam from her brother, Brooking. He has gone back to school after being home for Christmas. Apparently, there was a derailment of the train on his return.
1870-01-29
To Brooking from his sister, Mariam. She wasn’t with the family for Christmas, she apparently was still at school.
1870-03-12
To Brooking from his mother, Henrietta. She is giving him family news and is preparing a cake and a turkey to send to him at the Kentucky Military Institute.
1870-03-31
To Mariam from her mother, Henrietta. Apparently, Mariam has changed boarding schools. She is now attending Daughters College, located in the suburbs of Harrodsburg. Henrietta accompanied Mariam as far as Brooking’s school, the Kentucky Military Institute, and Mariam then continued to her school via the stagecoach. Henrietta was very ill after Mariam left and told her all about that and her return trip home. Although the letter isn’t dated, I believe that it was written in late March, and because it says “Thursday evening” that would most likely be the 31st of 1870.
1870-04-01
To Mariam from Brooking. The siblings are both in boarding school and are sharing their news of friends and family.
1870-04-04
To Brooking from Mariam. She is writing to her brother in response to a letter that he had written to her. He is planning on visiting her but wants for it to be a surprise. She would instead, prefer to know when he is coming.
1870-04-09
To Mariam from her mother, Henrietta. Henrietta hasn’t written to her daughter as often as Mariam wants, and Henrietta is apologizing to her for her negligence. She wrote:
“I ought to have written to you oftener and thought every day I would answer some of your good affectionate letters but my daughter, you must pardon your poor old lazy Mother for you know how I hate to write sometimes and I thought if I did not write – your Pa would, so I waited for him to write and I have told him every night when he would be sitting around the fire looking into it as if he were thinking of nothing.”
1870-04-11
To Mariam from Brooking: They are both in boarding school and hope to meet with each other soon.
1870-04-13
To Mariam from her friend, Sue, and her mother, Henrietta. Apparently, Sue is staying at Mariam’s house and is writing about what she and her mother are doing.
1870-04-17
To John Anthony from William Harrison Spencer. William is graduating from school and wants to know if his uncle knows of any available teaching positions in his area. He is Rebecca’s son, Henrietta’s nephew.
1870-04-23
To Mariam from her father, John Anthony. He has been to visit her at school and also visited Brooking. It appears that Mariam has been sent to school because her father didn’t approve of her behavior. He reprimands her in this letter and lets her know that he feels that she has been disrespectful. He writes:
“Well Mariam you must be a good girl and recollect one thing, your Father is one of your best friends and knows more of this world than you, and has advised you for your own good in certain matters; and you have treated his advice with disrespect! I have advised you against clandestine writing to young men but you concluded you knew best, you will find out after a while who knows best.”
1870-04-28
To Brooking from his father, John Anthony. He is writing about his crops and how he is counting on Brooking to help harvest them when he finishes school. He also asks about his health since it seems that Brooking has been ill.
1870-04-28
To Mariam from her friend, Sue. Sue is visiting Mariam’s mother and is staying at her house. She writes news about the family and some clothes that they are sending her. Henrietta also writes a short letter at the end.
1870-05-04
To Mariam from her mother, Henrietta. Although this letter was undated, the date is known because Henrietta refers to Bud Louis’ 10th birthday, which was May 1st. Mariam is at school and her mother has sent her a box of clothes.
1870-05-14
To Mariam from her mother, Henrietta. She mentions that the “darkies” have gone on a picnic:
“I am all alone today only Pick with me. Georgie, Catherine and all the Darkies have gone to Florence to a celebration or picnic.”
1870-05-14
To Mariam from her father, John Anthony. He is anxious to get news from the headmaster about how she is doing in school. He has received Brooking’s monthly report and is very happy with it. He is anxious for both Mariam and Brooking to come home.
1870-05-14
To Mariam from her aunt, Rebecca. Rebecca wants Mariam and Brooking to visit her after school is out, on their way home. She also tells Mariam about her children, Mariam’s cousins, and what they are doing.
1870-05-22
To Mariam from Henrietta. Henrietta is giving her all of the family news. Again, in this letter, she refers to “the darkies,”meaning the servants. She mentions “the cousins” who are the children of her sister Virginia and “Abb” is Virginia’s husband, Albert.
1870-05-26
To Mariam from Brooking. They are both still at school and he is writing urging her to come and visit him. He is taking his final exams and has done well in Latin. They will soon be going home for the summer.
1870-06-05
To Mariam from her mother, Henrietta, and one from her cousin, Lou [I am not sure who this is, nor am I sure about the name]. They are both telling her about the local news and her mother mentions that this is the birth date of Mariam’s deceased sister, Louise [Louly].
1870-06-09
To Mariam from her father, John Anthony. He is writing that she needs to make her own arrangements to get home as he will be too busy harvesting to go get her. She can choose to either come home via Covington or Louisville.
1870-06-12
To Mariam from her mother, Henrietta. Mariam is in school but about to come home for a visit. There is no date on the letter but I expect that it was written in the spring as Brooking is already home and Mariam will be there soon. They are either on a school break or out for the summer.
1870-06-12
To Mariam from Brooking. He is writing that he is already home and giving her news of his trip and of the family.
1870-09-25
To Mariam from her mother, Henrietta. Both Mariam and Brooking have returned to their schools and Henrietta is giving them news from home and is also urging Mariam to write to her brother since they seemed to have had disagreements while they were home for the summer. She mentions that Uncle Lucian and Aunt Mary have visited, Lucian is the brother of John Anthony and he had just married Mary Perry in August.
1870-09-25
To Brooking from Henrietta. Brooking has gone back to the Kentucky Military Institute. Mariam has also gone back to her school and she urges Brooking to write to his sister. She hopes that they will learn to get along more agreeably in the future as it seems that they had many disagreements over the summer.
1870-10-30
To Mariam from her friend, Kate Mosher. It appears that Mariam is ill and is back home and no longer in school.
1870-10-31
To Mariam from Brooking. He has started to keep a journal that he says he might share with her if she continues to write to him. He also wants them to send him a food box.
1870-11-01
To John Anthony from Brooking. Brooking is at school in the Kentucky Military Institute and he writes about the death of Robert E. Lee and how there were no classes that day. He also says that he is willing to stay there through Christmas if some of the family come to visit him. He asks about the health of his sister Mariam. She has been ill and is back home and no longer in school. He hopes that they will allow her to come visit him.
1870-11-20
November 20: To Brooking from his cousin, Nannie. She is at Hocker College in Lexington and he is at the Kentucky Military Institute. She writes:
“Brooking I am going to entrust a little note in your keeping and want you to enclose it in one of your letters to Dot (his cousin, Joshua Craig). I received a number of large apples from him in a box from Mariam and as I am not permitted to write to very young gentlemen, this note of thanks must be delivered by you.”
Hocker Female College was a women’s school founded in 1869 by James M. Hocker. (…)
“this school was started because it was felt there was a need for a school of higher education with Christian values and scientific principles for the young women of our country.”
1870-12-16
To Mariam from Brooking. He is not going home for Christmas and wants them to send him a “box” and he also wants her and their cousin Dot “Joshua” to come visit him. He tells her what he has been studying and shares with her some of the escapades he has been on.
1870-12-29
To Mariam from Sena [I can’t read her last name]. She is one of Mariam’s former classmates at Daughters College. She too has left the college and has gone home. She misses Mariam and wants her to send her a picture.
1871-01-16
To Henrietta from Brooking. He stayed at school and did not go home for Christmas. Apparently, he said something in a previous letter that was not respectful and he is apologizing in this one for what he said.
1871-01-17
To Brooking from his father, John Anthony. Brooking has asked his father’s permission to drop Geometry and take instead Political Economy. His dad doesn’t give him an answer, instead, he says he should do what Col Allen, the superintendent, tells him to do.
1871-01-23
To John Anthony from Brooking. Brooking is asking for his father’s permission to change classes that he is taking. The headmaster won’t allow him to change unless he gets written permission from his father.
1871-02-08
To Mariam from Brooking. He did not come home for Christmas and is commenting on the things that Mariam did during the holiday.
1871-02-10
To Mariam from a “male” friend, R. W. Huston. This letter was too difficult to decipher. The text is so faded, that I could not manage to figure out more than just a few sentences. In the three pages, I only managed to decipher the following:
“Dear Friend
Since I have just been informed that you are at home I will take the privilege to write to you so I don’t know whether it will be welcomed or not. Hope so anyway. I was at Lexington about three weeks since and I looked and looked for you at church but couldn’t find you. We are having lots of fun up here we have a party nearly every night. I wish you could be here to enjoy it much better whether you would or not.”
1871-02-18
To Brooking from his sister, Mariam. She writes about a new lodge of the Good Templars that has opened in Ghent. The Good Templars is a fraternal organization that is part of the temperance movement that promotes abstinence from alcohol and other drugs. Their friend, Horace Means, does not want to join.
1871-02-22
To Mariam from Brooking. He tells her about his activities at the school and writes about the drills that they have to do. They have received some new breechloader guns from Washington.
1871-03-14
To Mariam from someone named Dick. I have no idea who he is or what his connection is with her. He seems to be smitten by her and wants her picture.
1871-03-26
To Brooking from his mother, Henrietta. She writes to him about a trip to Warsaw and how she supplied food for a church dinner. She scolds him for not writing more often but apparently, there have been some disruptions with the post.
1871-04-19
To Brooking from Henrietta. She is writing, in detail about the death of his friend, Horace Mean’s mother. She died suddenly from a stroke and Henrietta was there with the family. Mrs. Mean was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Ghent near the burial site of his sister Louise [Louly].
1871-04-24
To Henrietta from Brooking. He is responding to her letter relating the death of his friend, Horace Means’ mother who died suddenly from a stroke at home.
1872-00-00
To Brooking from his first cousin, Nannie Hamilton. This letter is undated but Brooking is in Missouri, therefore its date is 1872.
1872-05-05
To Brooking from Henrietta. He has gone to Missouri and has written to her from St. Joseph. He is there with his cousin Anderson and she is giving him the family news plus tells him how much she misses him.
1872-05-12
To Brooking from his mother, Henrietta. Brooking is in Missouri and getting his new farm land laid out. Possibly May 12, 1872.
1872-05-29
To Brooking from Mariam. She apologizes for not writing to him and proceeds to tell him the family and neighborhood news. The Good Templar Lodge is getting new members weekly and his friend, Horace Means, is one of the latest. There were more pages to this letter but they have been lost.
1872-06-11
To John Anthony from Brooking. Brooking has moved to Missouri and has bought a section of land and is beginning his farming. He is writing to his dad and explaining what he has done so far and what he intends to do in the future.
1872-06-15
To Brooking from his mother, Henrietta. He is farming in Missouri and she misses him very much. She wants him to work hard so that he can come and spend the winter with her in Kentucky.
1872-08-25
To John Anthony from Brooking. Brooking is fencing in the new farm in Missouri and is asking his father to send him money ($300) to pay for the posts, the workers, and the nails. He asked in a previous letter, but his father had yet to send him the money.
1873-03-23
To Misers Chalmers, Reid, and Mathews from John Anthony. He is writing to these attorneys regarding his “orphan” niece, Nannie Hamilton. It appears that she has inherited some land in Tennessee but finds it mentions that a “negro” man is living on the land. I don’t know what the backstory is concerning this matter.
1873-06-02
To Henrietta from Brooking. He writes about attending the dedication of the First Baptist Church in Maryville. The year that the letter was written is undated but I have corresponded with the First Baptist Church in Maryville and they confirmed that the church was dedicated in June 1873.
1873-06-03
To John Anthony from Brooking. He is reporting to his father about the work that he has done on his farm in Missouri. He writes:
“I will do my best to do things done as you would have them done.”
1873-06-13
To Henrietta from Brooking. He thanks his mother for the package that she sent to him and tells her that he is plowing. He writes:
“Everything was very nice. My linen suit fits very well, looks so cool and nice. The handkerchief, socks and collars were very nice. Paper envelopes, stamps are plenty. I will try them. The cake of soap smelled very sweet I will keep that for extra occasions. Your picture is splendid, I had to shed tears when I saw it to think I could see an image of you then not get to see the original. I found the note with the other things.”
1873-07-14
To Henrietta from Brooking. He writes that he has been waiting to hear from his father because he needs money to pay his bills. He then lists them and they total $600.
1873-07-25
To John Anthony from Brooking. He writes that he had received the money that his father sent him and that his cousin, Si [Silas Craig], had been to visit him. He says:
“Si stayed all night with us, I took around and showed him my corn, watermelon patch and etc. so you can ask him if my corn was clean or not.”
1873-08-00
To Mariam from Brooking. Although it is undated, I believe that it was written in August 1873. There is a mention of a handkerchief in a previous letter to his mother thanking her and Mariam for the box that they had sent and for the handkerchief.
1873-08-22
To Henrietta from Brooking. He writes to her about his cousin Dot’s visit [Joshua Craig] and how much he likes Silas’ new wife, Annie. Henrietta has sent a package to Brooking and he is happy with the things that she and his sister Mariam have sent to him. Anderson, Si [Silas], and Dot [Joshua] are brothers, the sons of Virginia and Albert Craig, and the first cousins to Brooking.
1873-08-25
To John Anthony from Brooking. He writes to his father about the recent visit of his cousin, Dot [Joshua Craig], and how he took him to see some land that his father had bought in Missouri. He also mentions visiting Si [Silas Craig, his cousin Joshua’s brother] and says he likes his wife Annie whom Silas married in 1873. He also complains about how much the farming is costing and he dislikes having to ask his father for money all of the time.
1873-08-31
To Brooking from his sister, Mariam. She is giving him news from home and lets him know that Uncle Lucien’s baby recently died. Lucien was married twice and there are four children from his second wife, Mary. I cannot find any record of a birth before Antoine Louis, born in 1874. This letter then shows a baby had been born before him, but probably died at birth.
1873-09-24
To Henrietta from Rebecca. She has moved to Kansas and because the letterhead is “Law Office Harris & Spencer”, it appears that her husband [or son] has opened a law office. She is disappointed that Henrietta and Mariam did not go to visit her and also disappointed that John Anthony didn’t visit them when he went to Missouri.
1873-10-15
To Nannie Hamilton from her uncle, John Anthony. Nannie is his orphaned niece, the daughter of his sister, Mary Charlotte. He and his brothers have been taking care of her and her affairs since her parents died. She inherited land in Mississippi that John Anthony is trying to sort out. Nannie seems to be staying with her first cousin, Cyrene Pegg [daughter of John’s eldest sister, Sarah Louise], and her husband, John Freeman.
1873-10-29
To Aunt Princy [Henrietta] from Anderson Craig. He writes to reassure his aunt that Brooking is getting better. He writes:
“He has been staying with me since Sunday. He had a slight attack of bilious, or remittent fever but is nearly well now. I think he will be able to go out tomorrow or next day. The doctor was by here today and pronounced him nearly well.” Brooking then writes: “Anderson is writing me a letter to you. I have been very sick or I should have answered your letter. I think I am on the mend fast.”
1873-12-10
To Henrietta from Brooking. It appears that Henrietta went to Missouri to nurse him back to health as he had been ill. He is writing to her that he is feeling much better although he really misses her. He is finishing his house and is about to plaster it, at the same time as his cousin Anderson is finishing his house.
1874-03-08
To Henrietta from Brooking. His cousins have come to visit, and he is telling his mother about their visit and about his health.
1874-08-06
To John Anthony from Brooking. He is writing to his father about the crops and how he is doing. His father is planning on visiting him either in the Fall or the Spring. Brooking wants him to bring his sister Mariam with him when he comes.
1874-09-10
To Mariam from an admirer of hers, George Yost.
1874-10-00
To Henrietta from Mary Peak. Mary is writing in response to a baby gift that Mary received from Henrietta.
1874-10-13
To Henrietta from Brooking. He is replying to her last letter and giving her his news. His cousin Anderson who has gone to visit his fiancé in Kansas is going to decide whether he will be married this winter or wait till next year.
1874-11-04
To Henrietta from Brooking. He is very upset that Mariam got married [to Dudley Peak Craig] and didn’t let him know, nor invite him to the wedding. He asks his mother about the wedding and also tells her about his activities.
1874-11-09
To Henrietta from her daughter, Mariam. She is on her honeymoon after marrying Dudley Craig and they have gone to Niagara Falls, New York, and are on their way to Washington DC. She is very happy and says that she is glad that she chose to marry him instead of waiting for someone else.
1874-12-01
To John Anthony from Brooking. He is writing his father that he intends to get married this month. He does not say who he is marrying or anything about her. He alludes to having consulted with his father in the past about marrying and his father didn’t object, so he hopes that he won’t object now.
1875-00-00 various years
To Henrietta from Mariam: These are a collection of notes from one Gex household to another. They are very hard to date but had to be between 1875 and 1880. Mariam is married to Dudley Craig and they are living close to her parents, therefore, they are sending penciled notes back and forth to each other.
1875-02-06
To Henrietta from her niece, Laura, the daughter of Mary Throckmorton Brooking Craig whom Henrietta’s parents raised after her mother died. Laura is living in St. Louis and is a teacher. She writes to her aunt and gives her news about mutual acquaintances.
1875-04-06
To Henrietta from Mariam. This is a short pencil-written letter/note. Mariam lives close to her mother and they often send notes back and forth. This letter is written on Tuesday and Henrietta is planning on visiting on Friday.
1875-05-09
To Henrietta from her son, [Bud] Louis. This letter was full of misspellings and no punctuation. Louis has started attending the Kentucky Military Institute as his brother did. From appearances of grammar and handwriting, he has just begun his studies.
1875-10-08
To Henrietta from her niece, Sarah [Sally] Chiles Tutt. Sally is the daughter of Henrietta’s half-sister, Mary Throckmorton Brooking Chiles. Henrietta has invited Sally to visit her this summer and Sally is replying to the invitation. She mentions in her letter news about her sister, Judith.
1876-02-27
To John Anthony from W. H. Keene. I have tried to find out who he is and how he is related to the Gexs but I was unable to find any information about him. Keene had moved to Texas from Kentucky and John Anthony is a good friend, as are John’s brothers Silas and Lucien, and he also mentions Virginia’s husband, “the Judge.”
1876-05-07
To John Anthony from his niece Judith Gex, the daughter of his brother Louis. For some unknown reason, some of John’s siblings settled in Paris, Missouri, while Brooking, his son, Brooking, settled in Graham, located in the northwest section of Missouri. It is unknown why family members went to Missouri but didn’t settle in the same area.
1876-06-25
To John Anthony from Brooking. Although the letter doesn’t specify a month, it reads, “Home Sunday 25th, 1876.” As Sundays only align with the 25th of a month in June, it can be concluded that the letter was indeed written in June. He is writing to his father about his crops and his farming prospects. He thanked him for sending the $23.00 which was much appreciated and needed.
1877-04-01
To Rebecca from her niece, Laura Virginia Chiles Alvord, the daughter of Mary Throckmorton Brooking Chiles. Laura is living in St. Louis and is a teacher. She writes to her aunt and gives her news about mutual acquaintances.
1878-12-01
To Henrietta from Bettie [Brooking’s wife]. This letter to her mother-in-law is very poorly written with many grammar and spelling mistakes and is difficult to read. At this point, she has two children, Louise [Loulie] and John Anthony, and is pregnant with her third. She apologizes for not writing and explains all of the things that she has been doing, from cleaning the house to knitting and sewing. Due to her writing, she doesn’t appear to have the same level of education as the Gex family.
1878-12-08
To [Bud] Louis from his brother, Brooking, and there is an addition to it for his mother, Henrietta. He is telling Louis about his farm, particularly about his hogs, and teases him about “girls.” He also tells him that he has stopped smoking and chewing tobacco. In the note to his mother, Brooking asks her to send him a box and requests some things. He wants his brother-in-law, Dud [Dudley], to get him a new overcoat if he can get things at wholesale prices at the store, Seasongood’s. Perhaps there was a store in the area with that name, but I couldn’t find it in my research.
KAREN GEX ASFOUR 