Mis102-TNX
TENNESSEE, MISC
May 7, 1843 State
of Louisiana
Written to Parish
of Clayborn
PERLEAMON
PATE, SR
Dear
Brother.
I now take my pen in hand to inform you that we
are all well at this time, hoping these lines will find you
enjoying the same state of health. I have nothing
of importance to write you. I received
your letter dated
Feb. 25, 1843 which gave me great satisfaction to
hear from you once more. I have left
the place that
I first settled on. I am living at JAMES DYER at this time. I am making a crop there.
He finds everything
and gives me a share with the hands which is one
7th and I get the same that is made by the gin.
We have sixty acres in cotton and 50 acres in
corn. My family lives about 1/4 mile
from Dyers on a very
pretty peice of land and a first rate
spring. The place that I first settled
on has no spring and I dug seven
wells and failed to get good water and I got
tired and left the place. I have bad
news to tell you and I don't
hardly know how to commence to tell you for it
goes like a knife to my heart even to think about it.
On the 24th of Oct last we lost our
youngest child, little baby PATON. He
fell in a large tub of water and
was dead before we found him. You can better concieve my feelings than I
can describe them to you as
you are a father and a man of feeling but I hope
for the better. I hope the child is at
rest with God.
You said you wanted to know what had become of
JAMES DAVIS. I feel a dellicacy in
writing of that
subject as he acted so badly that he had to run
away from here and is gone back to Tenn. where I expect
he had better stay or if he ever sets Out in the
world again try to act better than he did here.
ABRAHAM DYER has moved to this country this
spring, he got here in March after a trip of 6 weeks.
He has settled in 5 miles of JAMES DYER, north
east on a very pretty piece of land.
JAMES MC CARTHY
and HENRY DYER has been here on a visit this
spring. They left my house on the 7th of
May for home
again. I
expect by their chat when they left here that they will both move to this
country next fall and winter.
We want to know if your wife is as well
satisified in that country as Tenn. So
I will brin my scribling to a close.
My wife sends her best love and compliments to
you and wife and children and says that she wants to meet
you all in heaven as she has a hope of
glory. Dear Bro remember us in your
prayers to God who is all powerful
to save.
May the saving grace of our Lord and master Jesus be with you all
Amen.
I have the honor of subscribing myself your
unworthy Bro until death.
ANTHONY
PATE and wife NANCY PATE
Children:
ALFRED J, POLLY R,
BLAKE
T - PATON baby died,
Oct.
24, 1842