2 November 1889 Letter from Lee Emmitt Thomas to Florence Smith Submitted for the Union Parish Louisiana USGenWeb Archives by Robert S. Hendrick, 10/2006 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Materials from the Personal Collection of Dr. Robert S. Hendrick, Jr. Transcribed and submitted by Robert S. Hendrick, Jr. ================================================================================= ================================================================================== 2 November 1889 Letter from Lee Emmitt Thomas to Florence Smith Explanation: Florence Eleanor Smith (9 Nov 1870 – 11 Apr 1957) was the daughter of long-time Union Parish Recorder William Callaway Smith (6 Nov 1828 – 23 Dec 1880) and Elizabeth Amy Manning (4 Nov 1837 – 15 Nov 1879). William C. Smith had moved with his father John Smith from Dallas County Alabama to Linville about 1840. Smith was elected as the Union Parish Recorder in the early 1850s and served until his health declined in the latter 1870s. Florence's brother James M. Smith served as the Clerk of Court for Union Parish from 1879 through 1900, and later held statewide office himself. Lee Emitt Thomas was a prominent politician with Union Parish roots. He was born in Marion to Benson B. Thomas & Susan S. George, both of whom were born in Perry County Alabama near the Town of Marion. B. B. Thomas owned a store in Marion (Union Parish) and seemed to have done well. L. E. Thomas (or Mimi as my family called him) received his law degree from Washington & Lee and returned to Farmerville to practice. Before 1900 he moved to Shreveport where he quickly became active in politics. His offices included: Louisiana St Representative from Caddo Parish Speaker of the House State Bank Examiner Mayor of Shreveport L. E. Thomas also ran for the United States Senate as an anti-Long candidate, but was defeated. Mimi is mentioned more than once in T. Harry Williams' book. Huey Long referred to him as "Old Wet Jug". Family lore says that Huey visited his house one night before he ran for his third term as Mayor and told him he would defeat him if he didn't support his programs. Mimi refused and lost all his savings running an unsuccessful campaign. Florence Smith, known as "Yayee" by the family, had a domineering personality. It can be summed up by my grandfather. When she was widowed he told my grandmother (her niece) "If Yayee moves in. I'm moving out!". Also, she insisted that my Aunt be named after her. From the tone of the letters, you can tell that she played very hard to get with Mr. Thomas. ================================================================================== ================================================================================== Transcription of Letter ================================================================================== ================================================================================== Farmerville, LA November 2, 1889 My Darling Florence, I though once I would wait a week to answer your letter of the 29th, but I could not find it in my heart to treat you as mean as you did me. I think you treated me very wrongfully & I don’t think it right to aggravate me that way, when I love you so well. I did not think for once that your enjoyments would be such as to keep you from writing him whom you have said you loved & who loves you as his own soul. I felt deeply hurt, how much you don’t know, & was much more so when I knew that your only reason for not writing was the skating rink & complying with a pressing invitation to go buggy riding with some other fellow. Of course as to the buggy ride I cared nothing, but it appears to me that Sunday evening or night might have afforded a suitable time for writing. What would you think of me if I had delayed till to Tuesday to reply & then my only excuse had been that on Saturday night I played billiards on Sunday I didn’t feel like writing & on Sunday eve went walking with a young lady & on Monday morning I played billiards again & on Monday evening I took a young lady buggy riding & on Monday night I called on some young lady. Now would you not think I had done wrong & had neglected you? Another thing, I did not know that there existed any thing between you & Robbie for him to concern himself as to jealousy, for I always understood that for a person to be jealous there must be some claim in his favor, else it is no concern of his what another may do, at least so I always considered it. If such is the case, now don’t think that I say there is, but if such is the case it appears that there must have been double dealing somewhere, which I sincerely trust & hope there is not! I wanted o ask you to do something for my sake & if not for mine, then for your own & that is to please not take part in the skating rink. I don’t think that I make this little request unreasonably for first it is not healthful as the exercise is too violent, second it is dangerous as you are liable to fall & break your arm & third I don’t think the moral tone is the most elevating. I stayed in the north & I know how they were considered there & also the kind of people that took part but of course the Catholic sentiment of that country may cast a veil of charity over it. I don’t see anything wrong in going as an onlooker but I do in taking an active part. I think it much worse than dancing. I ask you to please do this for my sake & it is the only request I ever did make of you & you might grant it. But I am afraid you will not as I think you have the rink fever as I can see the symptoms largely predomin-ating, since you commence your letter with “on my return from the rink” & that was late Saturday night & on the first thing Monday morning is I took my first lesson on skates. If you continue remember I most heartily disapprove of it & I think Jim would do the same. I hope you won’t get offended at what I have said for they are my honest sentiments. From your letter I would judge that you were very anxious to be at home during the Winter yet we are told that “actions speak louder than words” & Jim told me that he written you that as there were only 71 students down there he thought it advisable for you to resign & come home & your letter expresses no intention of doing so. I told Mrs. G the other day that I would wager a (??) that you didn’t come home till June. I don’t see how the school supports itself with that small number of students & so many teachers. I was shaping my arrangements to pay you a visit about Christmas, but I expect I had better not go as I might inter-fere with your pleasure on Sunday & Monday (holidays). Jim & Mrs. Smith left yesterday morning for Ruston Jim will go to Livingston wells in Alabama for his health. He has had a hard siege with dyspepsia & has just been able to be out for the last week & looks quite badly. I hope the trip will do him a world of good & I think it will as he intends staying about three weeks. Mrs. S may go with him. I suppose you saw in the Gazette that Miss Mary Manning died on Thursday a week ago. Mr. M & Mrs. Callaway took her death very hard. There is not much social enjoyment around here & I wish I was in VA where I could have a good time. There was a social at Mr. Selig’s last week in honor of Miss Bertha’s departure as she left for school again, this time she goes to Nashville. There were only five or six couples out & it was quite a dull affair. I am getting tired of Farmerville as it is work, work, work all the time & no rest. I am going home on next Wednesday to attend a case in the Justice’s Court for Jno. & Jim. It will be quite a relief from work & I desire to go to the Lodge if I have the time. Rosa Lee has not gone home yet, but will return after the 2nd Sunday in November as there is a protracted meeting at Concord at that time & she will stay to that. Tom Andrews is getting along all right with her I think. Oh yes I hear from May occasionally, she has a large music class in Monticello, Ark & is considered the finest performer in the southern part of the state. She will spend next summer at Marion with mother. I am very anxious to get through work & get located in S’port & get me a nice home so that mother can stay with me. I have not made any inquiry over there yet as I can’t go to New Orleans before February when I hope to be able to in Mardi Gras & also hope to be able to go to Crowley if you have the time to receive me if it is agreeable. Miss Mary (Sissy) Smith from El Dorado, Ark is in town & is stopping with Mr. Davis. She told me that she was anxious to meet me & I also heard the same at the Association at Shiloh but I am not desirous be being entangled in such a way as I knew of her at Blanchard though I never had the exquisite (?) pleasure of meeting the fair damsel. She caught Mini (?) on the fly & did him up brown & I was heartily glad of it. She is a good one I tell you. We had a show in town on Thursday & there were lots of people in town but the show did not amount too much, in fact was quite shoddy. I have taken two degrees In Masonry & will take the third & last on the 16th. I am well pleased with the order & think it the best I ever saw. I want to take a Policy in the Knights of Pythias as soon as ever I get some one in favor of whom to make it. Father (Benson B. Thomas) already has one for $300 in favor of mother (Susan S. George Thomas). Now my darling Florence I don’t want you to get angry at anything I have said for I have worried no little to know how to write this letter in fact I never slept a particle last night. I felt deeply wounded to be treated as I was & it consumes too much of your time to write I’ll not write so soon so that the letters may be further apart & you may have time to reply. I have known people to put letters further & further apart at each time in order to break a correspondence & if such be your desire, which I hope is not & in fact which I believe is not, let me say I had much rather be guillotined than gibbeted. In all my previous letters I have not delayed an instant but have answered instantly so I could see no cause for delay in answer. Now I hope you won’t get angry & if I have said that which wounds I most humbly implore forgiveness & if I have spoken amiss show me wherein in consists & I’ll acknowledge the fault & ask pardon. And remember that all I have said is in love & not in anger. I will close hoping for a reply as early as you can find the time. I am Yours in the bonds of love, Emmett ##############################################################################