Transcription of 1811 Letter from James Ware II
to his Son James Ware III
Transcribed by Judy C. Ware
April 2009
©
Judy C. Ware
Original
letter on file at the Rutherford B. Hayes Library
On outside of folded letter
Mr. James Ware
Frederick County
Battletown
Virginia
Postmark – Lexington June
25
Kentucky
Below is a more readable
transcription – with some words added (in blue) for clarification. I have also included details & background
information for clarification. Judy
Ware
David’s Fork
Fayette County
June 16th 1811
Dear James,
We got safe home to this place in sixteen days; all are well. The horses held out well &
the colt performed well. I have them now in Charles Wares
stables; up to their eyes in the best of feed etc. We
had a very good time, the roads were good and fine weather.
I should have written sooner but I got George Ware to go down to Shelby to see the sheriff
so as I
write, I can give you some account of the business you know about. He
returned 2 or 3 days ago and says the sheriff has collected between 3 & 4 thousand
dollars which he has now in his hands & is ready to pay it when called for, but he says you
ought to get from Mr. Joseph Tidball the name of who it is that he is to pay this money to as the execution is
in his name. You can get from under his hand
and have it certified from the clerk of the county and send it out; then you can draw that
money. He says that he expects to receive
seven or eight thousand dollars (including what he has already got)
in the course
of this next month. Then he says he will try
at the Mansion House and large track. He says
he is afraid to try that until he has collected this sum now due. He thinks the --- of Lynchburg will pay the
balance rather
than risk that land to be executed, but he says he will cash it in all events as soon as
he makes this collection.
We have the finest prospect just now for a crop that I most ever have seen. All is fine but flax. It
was dry a month or two ago - which damaged flax. Your
buzzard colt here is fine & very large – upwards of fifteen hands high & I
think the longest ____that I have ever seen; young or old. She is not halter broke yet. I intend to do it soon when the weather is not too hot. Charles was sick, he says, last fall or he would
have had it done.
The sheriff from Shelby told George that he would write you the next day; it’s very
likely you have gotten his letter before this one. Charles
Ware has written you. Isaac Webb has got no
money of Charles Webb’s estate in cash in his hand.
He
takes bond for the hire of Negroes and never asks them for the money; just lets the
notes go on interest. Thompson Scott was
married to Winny Webb the 12th of the month.
I have got a large young horse here, 2 years old this spring. He’s nearly 15 hands high now and will make a
fine wagon horse in a year or two more. You
may have him if you want. Charles Ware has got
one that is
3 years past that age
and nearly 16 hands high. He will fit a wagon to a tea. He intends to send him to you if he has an
opportunity. Charles Ware made almost 3 tons
of hemp last year and has sold it to John Belcherson for $7. - - and weight 12 months he owes him a hundred - - 10
pounds.
Hemp now is $6. Charles has got the greatest
prospect this year. He will make,
I suppose, 4 or 5 tons of it, if it comes in well. His
corn is also very fine. He will make, I
think, 5 ht. barrels of it off of 40 acres. Wheat
is very
good though he has
not more than 12 acres.
I want to hear who purchased the mill. We
stopped at Washington H & stayed two nights & a day.
We got
there late in the evening. I sent the
letter directly to Mr. Taylor & word that we would breakfast with him the next
morning. We intended going on, but it was very
hot & Mrs. Taylor persuaded us to stay. We
all went up to Thomas Marshal’s & dined with him & was very agreeably
entertained. Mrs. Taylor talked of going in
next spring but she will let me know this summer. It
cost us 5 dollars there & we neither ate nor drank at the Public House; but the first
night we had
supper. Betsy Scott was with us. This trip has cost me sixty- two dollars.
Remember me to (your wife)
Harriet & the children.
I am
Your friend etc.
James
Ware
When Cornelia Ware Anker first
transcribed these letters in 1945, she was using a very old typewriter. It’s hard to tell if some of the misspelled
words & grammar errors are due to faulty typing or merely an effort on her part to be
true to the original writing. She admitted freely that “I have copied these letters as well as I could;
most of them are very hard to read. The
penmanship is beautiful, but it is small and, of course, dim with age.”
I have noticed in some of her later
correspondence, however, that these same kinds of errors occurred even when she was
writing about current times. Even so, in an
effort to keep as much authenticity as possible, I have also transcribed her work verbatim
– all errors included. See Below
Davids Fork Fayette
Co’ty
June 16th 1811
Dear James,
We got safe
home to this place in Sixteen days all well, Horses held out well, the colt performed
well. I have got them now in C. Ware’s
stabels up to their eyes in the best of feed etc. We
had a veary good time the roads good & fine weather.
I should have wrote sooner but got Geo. Ware to goe down to Shelby to see
the sheriff as I write give you some acct. of the Business you know what. He returned 2 or 3 days a goe and sayd the Sheriff
has collected between 3 & 4 th’d doll. which he has now in his hands & ready
to pay it when call’d for but says you aught to get from Mr. Joseph Tidball who to
pay this money two as the Execution is now in his name.
You can get from under his hand & have it certifyd from the Clark of the
County & send it out then you can draw that money he says that he expects to receive
seven or eight th. doll. including what he has got in course of this next month. Then he says he will try at the Manchain House
& large track, he says he is afraid to try that til he has collected this sum now due. He thinks the _____of Lynch will pay the Ballance
then risk that land to be executed, but says he will cash it at all events as soon as he
makes this collection. We have got the finest
prospect just now for a crop that i most ever see all fine but flax it was dry a month or
tow ago which damaged Flax. Your Buzzard Colt
here is fine & veary large upperds of fifteen hand high & I think the longest
_____that i ever see young or old, she is not halter broak yet intend it soon when the
weather are not two hot, Charles was sick he says last fall or would have had it done. The Sheriff from Shelby told Geo. that he would
write you the next day veary like you have got his letter before this. Charles Ware has wrote you. Issac webb has got no money of C. Webb’s
Estate in cash in his hand takes Bond for the Hire of Negroes, & never asks them for
the Money, let the notes goe on interest. Thompson
Scott was Married to Winny Webb the 12th of the month. I have got a large young Horse here 2 years old
this Spring nearly 15 hands high now & will make a fine waggon horse in a year or two
more you may have him if you want. C. Ware has
got one 3 years past that nearly 16 hands & will fitt a waggon to a bea he intends to
send him to you if he had an oppertunity. Charles
Ware made allmost 3 Ton of Hemp last year & has sold it to John Belcherson for $7 - -
- and weight 12 Months he owes him
a hundred - - - 10 pound Hemp now is $6. Charles has got the greatest prospect this year
will make I sepose 4 or 5 ton if it comes in well his corn is also veary fine will make I
think 5 ht. Barrels of off 40 acres, Wheat very good - - has not more than 12 acres. I want to here who purchased the Mill - - - we
stopped at Washington H staid two nights & a day, got there late in the evening, I sent the letter direct to Mr. Taylor & word
that we would breakfast with next morning & intending going on but it was veary hot
& Mrs. Taylor advised us to stay we all went up to Thos. Marshal’s & dined
with him & was veary agreeable entertained. Mrs.
Taylor talked of going in nest Spring, but she would let me know this summer, it cost us 5
doll. their & we neither eat nor drank at
the public House but the first night had supper. Betsy
Scott was with us. This trip has cost me sixty
two doll.
Remember me to Harriet
& the children I am
Your Friend etc. James Ware
James III was the only child of his father who
did not settle permanently in Kentucky. His
first wife, Elizabeth Alexander, passed away in 1806 and two years later, James married
Harriet Taylor. They also stayed in Virginia.
“I
have them now in Charles
Wares stables; up to their eyes in the best of feed etc.”
When James II & Caty Ware moved
from Virginia to Kentucky with their family in 1791, Charles was only 16 years old. He obviously stayed with his parents for about two
years and then went back to Virginia to live with his older brother, James III, for a
while. He mentioned in a letter to his niece
that “I did not go to live with him
(James) until the fall of 1793. We then
continued together almost until I married in 1803.”
By the
time of this letter, Charles was 36 years old and had been married for 8 years. He, obviously, was doing well with his land and
crops.
“I got George Ware to go down to Shelby to see
the sheriff so
as I write, I can give you some account of the business you know.”
There are several times that “Shelby”
is mentioned in some family letters. It refers
to a section of land that rests between Lexington and Louisville; considered the heart of
Bluegrass country. When James lived in Kentucky
before returning to Virginia, he “engaged with a Mr. Johnston, the
clerk of Jefferson County, and wrote in his office until he became fully acquainted with
the business.” Then “through the friendship of General Daniel Morgan,
he obtained an introduction to General S. Smith of Baltimore, whence he commenced
merchandizing in Louisville and continued this business until 1795. . . in which he made
the beginning of his fortune.” It
would seem that he may have still had some dealings with people in Shelby after moving
back to Virginia, and his family (including brothers George and Charles) were helping him
handle things on that end since he no longer lived there.
“Thompson
Scott was married to Winny Webb the 12th of the month.”
Winny Webb was one of James
III’s cousins by his Aunt Lucy and Uncle Isaac Webb.
The man she married was known as Thompson, but his full name was Matthew Thompson
Scott. They went on to have 14 children together before Winny died during the cholera
epidemic of 1833.
“I want
to hear who purchased the mill.”
Possibly refers to Ware’s Mill in
Frederick County, Virginia. The mill was the
property of James III.
“Betsy
Scott was with us.”
It is possible this Betsy Scott was
the 21 year old granddaughter of James II and
the niece of James III by his sister, Caty Ware Scott.
Brief
explanation of the crop Hemp
Hemp
is the tough, coarse fiber of the cannabis plant, often used to make rope. It is the oldest cult ivated
fiber plant in the world. It contains no toxins as it does not require pesticides.
The first
Gutenberg bible was printed on hemp paper. Christopher
Columbus' sails and ropes were made from hemp, and the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence
were printed on hemp paper.
Hemp demands
a rich, well-drained soil such as is found in the Blue Grass region of Kentucky or in
central Wisconsin. It must be loose and rich in organic matter. Soil that will grow good
corn will usually grow hemp. There is
much history about spinning American hemp into rope, yarn or twine in the old Kentucky
River mill at Frankfort, Kentucky. During the first third of the nineteenth century
most of the rope made in Kentucky was spun and twisted by hand and by the use of horse
power at one end of the walk.
The following
was written in THE LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER
by Dick Burdette (written on March 20, 2000)
VERSAILLES,
Ky. - Near the east edge of town, along U.S. 60 at Payne’s Mill Road, there's a
bronze marker commemorating the important role hemp once played in Kentucky agriculture.
It isn't unique. There are similar signs in Boyle, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison,
Mason, Scott, Shelby and Clark counties.
 Because
of its rich soil and mild, ideal climate, "Woodford County was the hemp seedbed of Kentucky,"
Gifford said. "Hemp seed from here was shipped all over the country."
In
another article written in the THE
WOODFORD SUN (Versailles,
Kentucky) June 10, 1999
by
Stephen
Peterson, it is stated that “at one time, Woodford County produced more hemp seed
than any other single location in the United States.” In the past, hemp was the
source of a vast array of products from oil to textiles to foodstuffs.
“Our flak and oats
will, I fear, not be worth saving.”
Brief
explanation of the crop Flax
Although
the writer of this letter (or the first transcriber) spelled it “flak,” it is
usually known as flax. This plant, from which
linen is derived, never rivaled tobacco as a cash crop in the Chesapeake area,  but most farmers and plantation owners grew small amounts well into the 1800's
for their own use. Flax is an annual which
grows two to three feet high on a slim, little-branching stem. It is this woody stalk,
hollow when dried, which is harvested and ultimately manufactured into linen. Additional properties of flax make it a desirable
finished product, and even the seeds can be harvested and made into linseed oil (used in
wood treatments.)
References:
Letter from
Charles Ware to his niece Sarah (Sally)Elizabeth Taliaferro Ware Stribling written in 1831. Transcribed and researched by Judy C. Ware April 2009
The Proceedings of the Clarke County Historical Association Volume
XXIII 1983-1984 copyright 1985 by the Clarke County Historical Association –
printed by Commercial Press, Stephens City, Virginia 22655
Transcription of Letter from James Ware to his son, James (written
from David’s Fork) – Nov. 4, 1812 Transcribed
letter and background information supplied by Judy C. Ware
March 2009 Original letter
provided by Cornelia Ware Anker in 1945.
Transcription of 1810 Letter to James Ware from unknown author –
courtesy of Cornelia Ware Anker.
Information on all of James Ware’s family that settled in Kentucky
– provided by the Hayes Presidential Center.
The World Book Encyclopedias by: Field Enterprises, Inc.
Copyright 1954
The Ware Family Bible – This
is kept in my home and has dates and names recorded in it that date back to the
1700’s.
VIRGINIA GENEALOGIES: A
Genealogy of the Glassell Family of Scotland
and Virginia by: Rev. Horace Edwin Hayden, M. A. Printed
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1891 – copyrighted 1885. |
