The Carrie and Allie Barbee Letters
Take a step back in time!
These letters were written somewhere between 1865 and 1878.
Some letters are dated, some simply have the day of the week.
Most of the letters were written to Allie (eight) and Carrie has two letters written two her.
The letters are written by at least two young men, T. Lloyd (to Carrie), and Wm. Kelly,(to Allie) some are not signed.
The young boys appear to be suitors for the young ladies, but neither boys
apparently totally won the girls' love, as they both married someone else.
Allie and Carrie were the daughters of Solomon and Sarah (McFall) Barbee of Mahaska Co., Iowa.
The Solomon and Sarah Barbee family settled in Mahaska Co. sometime between 1843 and 1848, based on their children's
birth records, spending some time in Illinois before that.
These letters were found in the 1990's in the farm house that originally was home to the Solomon and Sarah Barbee
family. They were discovered during a renovation project, protected in a heavy denim bag, which had been lowered
between two walls, apparently for safe keeping, then forgotten. The letters are in fragile condition, sometimes
hard to read. The affects of time, moisture, and an occasional mouse have taken their toll on the letters, but thanks
to Becky, they have been preserved for future generations.
Becky, the homeowner who discovered the letters hidden inside the walls, wishes to contact a descendant of Carrie and
Allie, but so far, we have had no luck. Becky found my website and database at Rootsweb in 2001, and asked for my help.
I have slowly uncovered bits and pieces of information, coming forward in time with their families, but their
descendants still remain a mystery, if any exist today.
Many thanks to Becky who made photo copies of the originals,
transcribed the hard to read letters, and then was willing to share them. After four years of trying to find descendants,
I have decided to share them as well.
Sarah McFall Barbee, mother of Carrie and Allie, was a sister to my fourth great-grandfather, John McFall,
who also settled in Mahaska Co.
Caroline "Carrie" Barbee was the fifth child of Solomon and Sarah Barbee, born January 24, 1848 in Mahaska Co., Iowa.
On May 27, 1868, Caroline married John E. Hill. They had three known daughters, Maggie, Minnie and Grace. No further
information is known about Carrie at this time. Carrie's letters were written to her about 2 1/2 years before her
marriage.
Alice "Allie" Barbee was born February 17, 1860, in Mahaska Co., Iowa, the tenth child of the family. She married
Frank McKenzie. No other information is known at this time.
If you are researching these families, please
contact me!
The letters are separated for Carrie's letters, then Allie's letters, then presented by date.
Yellow highlights in the transcripts are letter page breaks. Some of the transcripts provided by
Becky are beginning to fade. I will eventually re-transcribe them.< Small "page numbers" that may be
seen circled are from me, to put the pages in order. They were not on the original letters.
Carrie's Letters
From T.(H.) Lloyd Nov 186x
From T. Lloyd, 12/7/1865
Allie's Letters
From Wm. Kelly 3/7/1871
From Wm Kelly, March 19th
Thursday, "At Home"
April 29
Summer
Wednesday
March 3, 1874 from ?
Originally I thought this letter was from Allie, but it looks like it is to her instead! Several letters have the
recipients name at the bottom of the page.
May 20, 1878
Misc. Letters
These letters are incomplete, believed to be Allie's
Transcripts coming soon!
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