Interspersed with letters from his mother, I found this letter from Edward’s “old” friend Perry Hadsall. Perry has recently taken up a homestead near Wray, Colorado. Perry seems to be bragging a bit and is trying to entice Edward to move west.
Perry appears to be a Nebraska friend, not a Wisconsin or Iowa friend, so I would presume that Edward met Perry sometime between 1880 and 1885.
Spelling isn’t Perry’s strong point. I kept some of the misspellings, just to capture the charm; others I corrected to make it more readable.
Colorado
Dec 12 1886Dear Old Friend as I was writing this evening I thought that I would drop you a line as you said you would come & get some land if the country was good & now I have put in the [w]hole summer hunting a good plaice to lokate. I have 300&20 acres of choice land & you could get the same & live neighbor to me if you wish. There is to be a railroad built within 3 or 4 miles of hear next spring & then times will be lively hear. I am now 45 miles from the railroad & 25 miles from the nearest town.
I tell you Edd the west is the plaice to make money. If you can’t come out hear to make it your home come & make us a visit & take a timber cliam as you do not hafto live on them & there is big money in land out hear. Come & see for yourself. You can get land hear just as good as that you have been working for nothing. I say for 300 Dollars you can get 100&60 acres. That is as near nothing as you could get it but maby you have something better there. If so stick to it. You can make money enny where. I have maid more money this summer & worked less than every year since I have been married.
How is crops there this summer & how do you like married life by this time & how much of a family have you by this time. Murnie has a fine boy 2 months old. She is awful big fealing now. He is about as big as his dad now he wouldn’t hafto bee verry large would he. But you know the knight we had to change sides don’t you. I was large enough that knight wasn’t I. We had some good times. I often think of them.
Murnie says to bring your wife with you when you come as she would bee pleased to see her. How is Richard Clark making it this summer. Did he have a good crop on my place? I think of coming back there this spring. I would like to sell my farm there & some town lots I have in Ashland. I would make more with the money out hear.
I see by Wahoo paper that you have a railroad from Ashland to Wahoo now. I tmust look nice to see the cars running up the Wahoo valley. Does it make times enny better or not. Well I do not know of enny thing more to wright that would bee of enny intrest to you. I wish you were here to help us eat apples this evening. I suppose apples are plenty there this fall. Well I must stop for this time. Hoping to hear from you soon. Give my regards to all the boys. I remain your true Friend
Perry Hadsall
direct to Wray Colorado, Weld Co.
