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From: "Mary Jo C. Martin" <>
Subject: [NJHUNTER] Strimple-Bray bible
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 16:44:11 +1100


o 1851 STRIMPLE-BRAY Family Letter; Item 2161451926
Auction ends; Mar-02-03 10:40:45 PST; Seller: smile4me
Stampless letter has a manuscript "postmark" for Ripleyville, O.
[Ohio] Dec 20th, a handwritten Paid 3 rate, and is addressed to
Elizabeth STRIMPLE, Hunterdon County, Kingwood Post Office, New
Jersey. It is a three+ page letter written by two different
people: "Dear mother" from Christopher STRIMPLE, and "Dear
Grandmother" from William BRAY. The headline is December 16th
1851. The writing by both of them is a bit phonetic. Examples:
"Dear Mother, as it has bin long sens I have wrote to you I
now take my pen in hand to in fourm you how we are getting
along."
"Mother is getting old I ex speck she is getting febel."
"I want him [Aaron] to write to me soon agane. He wanted me
to writ wat the children names was, Stacy O. age 19, Mary
Elisabeth 15, Martha Jane 13, Emma Ann 11, Leticia 8."
"It is verry hard times here at present money is scarse and
grane verry lo."
[BRAY writing]"The cuntry is improveing fast, land prety
well clered up frame houses and barns being put up and the old
log cabbins being torn down machenery being made for doing
almost enything and every thing, rail roads for travling instid
of other slow and laborious modes, stock of all cinds improveing
and all other branchs of science . . ."
"I was at Columbus at the great State fair and seen the best
horses and stock of all kinds that the state can aford and
machenry almost without end, it was a grand sight or should? we
have a rail road close along by our place and a Ware house and
good market right in sight. I have a hymn called a railroad hymn
which perhaps you have not seen I Will write it is it a good one
[he writes it out]."
He says to direct letters to Richland county, and also
mentions George STRIMPLE.
Condition of the letter rates a bit below average due to old
tape mends and staining; there is a word loss of about three or
four words, but it looks 99 percent readable. There are some
separations along the folds. As usual with stampless letters,
after writing on one or more sides of a sheet of paper, the
letter was folded several times and mailed.
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Mary Jo C. Martin
Melbourne, Australia



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