Life in the 1890's was quite different, especially when you traveled by wagon from North Carolina to Southern Arkansas to homestead and raise a family. Read about the adventures of my maternal grandparents as they fought to carve a home out of the wilderness of Union County, Arkansas. They lived in a log cabin on land where cougars roamed. Four years after they homesteaded, my pioneer grandmother finally received an old yellowed letter from Laura, her friend on the wagon train who had settled in Missouri. The letter is included on this blog. To order a signed copy of The Journey, send a check or money order in the amount of $23.00 to:
Frances Bennett
1359 Hwy. 3121
Spearsville, La 71277
Or buy online at: http://www.bookstandpublishing.com/m/francesbennett
francesbennett7@gmail.com
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
The rest of a letter from Laura to Lona in "The Journey"
Jeff travels for miles to haul lumber for our cabin that he has underway. I try to let the baby get as much fresh air as possible. It's continually damp in the soddy. Jeff works from daylight to dark. If anything happened to him, I don't know if I could make it out of here.
A traveling doctor delivered our baby. When he heard about my first pregnancy, he came two weeks before my due date and stayed. It was warm weather, so he slept outside. He told Jeff of a surveyor's job that was open. Jeff applied and got it. That was a blessing from God. As Jeff works, sometimes he's close enough to the station where freight wagons unload to pick up supplies.
We have a good well of water, and I'm grateful to Jeff's half brothers for their help. The digging went on for months, with Jeff hauling water for our use from a creek that was miles away. That's one reason we're this late getting a cabin started.
Lona, I've wished so many times that we had settled Arkansas. I guess we're here to stay. I realize it will be years before this country is settled. Everybody's not as crazy as we were, but every now and then, wanderlust gets in a man's blood, and here comes someone else.
Write and tell me all about your life in Arkansas. Somehow, some way, I know we'll see each other again.
Lots of love from your friend,
Laura Spalding
A traveling doctor delivered our baby. When he heard about my first pregnancy, he came two weeks before my due date and stayed. It was warm weather, so he slept outside. He told Jeff of a surveyor's job that was open. Jeff applied and got it. That was a blessing from God. As Jeff works, sometimes he's close enough to the station where freight wagons unload to pick up supplies.
We have a good well of water, and I'm grateful to Jeff's half brothers for their help. The digging went on for months, with Jeff hauling water for our use from a creek that was miles away. That's one reason we're this late getting a cabin started.
Lona, I've wished so many times that we had settled Arkansas. I guess we're here to stay. I realize it will be years before this country is settled. Everybody's not as crazy as we were, but every now and then, wanderlust gets in a man's blood, and here comes someone else.
Write and tell me all about your life in Arkansas. Somehow, some way, I know we'll see each other again.
Lots of love from your friend,
Laura Spalding
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