Letter from Wayne Co.--Raney Ward 1859

  I already posted the first page of this letter as an example in a previous entry.  But I thought that the entire text is worth viewing, simply because it mentions so many names associated with the family.

   Names and things to look for:
   Page 1:-- Raney refers to his brother Quinton who remained in NC.
               --He discusses the disposition of the children of Andrew and Nancy White Ward's children.  Both were deceased by the time.  Andrew was Raney's brother.  Nancy was the sister of Raney's wife, Ruth.  Two of the children are with Hampton White--Nancy and Ruth's brother.  A good link to his picture and gravestone is here.
              --A reference to the 'old man' and the White family, obviously refers to Luke and Nancy White, parents of the above Whites.
              --Raney notes that Meshach Ward and family are well, and then mentions Meshach's recent election as County Judge.
              --Last is an interesting mention of all the people who have gone off to Pike's Peak and California (and how many have returned broke).

     Page 2: --Begins with the usual farming discussion you see in most of his letters.  Note the rust outbreak the previous year which wiped out the entire crop.
                --Mentions he taught Public School for 3 months, receiving $16.6667
                --Notes that the Huggins are well, but 'the Old Folks' still live quite distant from him, a good ten miles.  (Raney seems to call everyone older than him "the Old Folks")
                --A reference to Brown and Quinton, his brothers back in NC.  He wants Quinton to come and visit, saying the journey could be made alone in 6-8 days.
                   A side note here: Raney will die in a hospital while in Union uniform.  Meanwhile, Brown died in a hospital about the same time in Confederate Uniform. 

    Page 3: --"Ruth wants to be remembered to you..."  It takes almost the full paragraph before one realizes that from that point, it's Ruth's words as she signs her name at the end of it.  She discusses the horrid reaction of Andrew and Nancy's son, James Murphy, to becoming an orphan.  Ruth also makes a plea for Shad to come see them.
               --Raney concludes with a plea for his brother, Brown, to write.

  All in all a very important letter because it helps nail down all the parties in this particular family cluster that have moved from Orange Co NC to Wayne Co MO.
                                                                         (Kevin)