American Civil War Letters - May 19, 1865 - (Im)patiently Waiting, Dental Care
Sarah has had a hard time with her teeth. I told her I should go to Dr Bowers and have them fixed, so she went and he has pulled one and killed another, and filled 14 cavities. It cost her 23 dollars.
You can feel Marcia's patience wearing thin as she waits for more certain news of her husband's return. When she says Abel may have "another word to speak for Christ, or something," it almost borders on sarcasm!
A couple things I'm grateful for: decent teeth, and modern dental science.
Springfield May 19 1865
My dear husband
I received a letter the 11th saying you should be on your way home before you could get an answer to that letter, so I did not send one out the 12th as was my intention, but I sent one the tuesday before which was the 9th.
Now you say it is uncertain when you shall come home.
It is a pity that you cannot be here to see to the garden. I cannot do what wants to be done, and I do not know how you would do if you were here. I have put off doing some things, thinking you would be here to tell, if not to do them, but I suppose it is all for the best.
There is a little more work for you to do, another word to speak for Christ, or something.
Mr Kirk and Cass are home on furlough. Mr Spring is expected next week. I will try to wait with patience.
Since last [I] wrote you, Anna and aunt Betsey have been quite sick, but are better. It is a great time for colds. Marion and Sarah have a cold.
I do not know whether I have told you of the death of Mr James Bates. His funeral was [a] week ago Sabbath day.
Sam Aldrich and wife were here. She is here now. Mrs Bates.
Mrs M. is very feeble. It is feared she will run down.
He has fixed everything nice about the premises. It makes ours look bad enough. Sometimes I want to crawl into some hole out of sight and stay burrough'd for a while, at least.
We have a great deal of rainy weather lately. It rains two days out of three.
My tomatoes are small, not near as large as I wish they were. If it was not for keeping the trade, I should be sorry I tried to fuss with them.
You will think I am complaining. I do get discouraged and tired, and wish I was more capable and had more strength so that I might be more useful. Or perhaps pride has a good deal to do with it. I have no right to be proud, for I have nothing to be proud of, and I am not required to do any more than I can. I must occupy the position God has placed me, and be content.
I have many things to be thankful for. One is that my husband is satisfied with me. My greatest desire next to pleasing God is to please my husband.
I have ever tried to do my duty to the children. As far as I know, I have been conscientious in the discharge of that duty, following the Savior's rule, "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."
I thank you for your expressions of confidence and satisfaction. They are ever gratifying.
In one letter you spoke of the food not being well prepared. I shall be glad to minister to your wants, personally.
Your experience is some like Abram's so far as toast is concerned.
Sarah has had a hard time with her teeth. I told her I should go to Dr Bowers and have them fixed, so she went and he has pulled one and killed another, and filled 14 cavities. It cost her 23 dollars.
Your wife,
M S Grennell
This is a transcription of a letter that my great-great-great grandmother sent to her husband during his service in the American Civil War. It was written with minimal punctuation, so I have made regular edits for readability while keeping the content of the letter as close to the source as possible.
You can click on the original letters to see a high resolution scan for comparison.
I have dozens of letters from Marcia Spencer Grinnell to her husband Abel from this period, and will continue to share them as time and interest permit. The letters make for fascinating reading, and provide an intimate look into domestic life at the time of this conflict.
CLICK HERE to read more letters from Marcia Spencer Grinnell and her family during the civil war.
Or CLICK HERE for a complete catalog of my work on Steemit, so far.
Wow, what a painful dentist trip. Marcia is definitely irritated with her husband, there is an increasing feeling of it throughout the last few letters.
This is the coolest thing ever! I will go through all the letters.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I'm coming near the end of the letters now but I am considering turning them into a book.
Awesome idea! You already have a huge fan 😊
Wow, what a treasure that you have these!
I've been out of touch for a bit and it's been fun catching up. It sounds from this letter as if Marie has gotten a very patient letter from her husband despite all the things she is embarassed about concerning the state of the property and her desires that he was doing the things that she's had to do that week. It sounds like she's in a much better mood when she wrote this.
I have to admit that there are times when Doug is away that I get extremely frustrated and my emails must sound perhaps a bit accusatory. maybe. I might say that this week has been a challenge and Doug heard about it... (this last post 😠)
Aw, that didn't sound too bad. An occasional trip to Paris can't be too bad if he can work from home the rest of the time, can it?
Do you ever get to go along?
It isn't really bad and though people are often very surprised and a little concerned when he goes for 3 months during the spring, I usually don't have any serious problems while he's gone and I have immediate internet texting and Skype in the few times I have had problems. Your average military deployment is worse. Doug's incredibly careful to check almost everything that could go wrong before he leaves.
I appreciate when he's home though. It's really nice when he works overtime that he's still home and that when he's off he can pursue his favorite things. He also gets really cranky about a commute. I'm not sorry that neither of us have to deal with his commute moods!
I used to go and have seen a few European countries that I wouldn't otherwise have a chance to visit. Now he mostly goes to Paris or New York and stays right around the city. I've been to each several times and it's more productive for me to stay home and mind the power and weather. (It would be painful if the pipes froze. They stay warm when the wood fire is stoked each day.
How did you guys take to you becoming a home-body? Big change or just different?