Duplin County, NC - Jesse Grimes Letters ----¤¤¤---- (Nov. 14, l84'7) Jesse. I have been waiting and expecting to receive a latter from you for some six or twelve months past but am thus far disappointed and have concluded to break silence myself. Being left to conjecture the long delay, I have supposed your time & mind was engaged politacally. I have understood privately that you were a candidate for Governor of Texas & had two opponanfcs. One of which was very popular in the eastern part of the State. But lately I have seen his death published in a N. Orleans paper,leaving the way more passable & possible to this high station. A friend of mine who spent the summer with Lister's,told me Van Zandt would get the vote of eastern Texas and it was there thought that he would be elected. Since his demise, I have had much stronger hope of your own success. I don't know when your state elections are held but presume they have already passed and that the result will soon be made known. If you should be the successful candidate I shall consider you amply rewarded for former privations which are always encountered by pioneers of a new country. Some time since, I rec'd a letter from Frank dated July. It contained but little of anything. Since then & for a long time before, we had not seen a letter from Texas. I often see newspaper account of things generally. This is not altogether satisfactory for I want to know something about friends & family matters. From the 25th of May to the middle of September there was but few days without rain at this place. Never have I seen such heavy rains in summer nor so much damage done by rain before. page 2 Myself & neighbours had our crops in fine order at the com- mencement of the rains but soon the grass & weeds got ahead of the cotton and continued so. My land was too wet to work. No chance ?or destroying the grass. The cotton drawn on high land and did not look like making 200 Ib per acre till about the end of August. It then took a start and might have made over half a crop with the fine late fall we have had if the catterplllar had let is alone but before the close of the rainy season they made their appear- ance in several crops in the neighborhood, amongst them mine. In a short time they destroyed the little prospect (which was indeed small) for making anything by cotton. But after all this sort of misfortune my corn crop is the best I ever had. Now after hearing all this you will think d--d it what a bad chance for money. Well that is true enough but I shall bear in mind that this is my misfortune and that it must not turn on you. I now have my cotton ready to gin. There will be eight bales, I believe, which at prices given in Sep't would bring upwards of four hundred dollars, being just about enough to pay you after paying expenses on the cotton. The article is now at $7. per cwt. and dull. No one looks for any better price soon. One hundred dollars beside what I owe you would about clear me of my own debts $135. I have to pay immediately as the co-security of I. D. Lister. This I expect to be refunded in the course of the winter, yet it is uncertain. The conduct of the Lister family has been severly censured here of late, particularly Dr. George Lister. page 3 I make no other calculation but that of paying you this winter and had determined to be the bearer thereof myself, not doubting my having sufficient means from the farm to pay my way. The visit must be postponed, perhaps abandoned forever. I presume you will see some safe & certain chance of conveying the money to you and unless you should, I know not how to act. It is reasonable to suppose that you have laid out your plans for useing this money and must have it. And I can assure you that unless Lister & others which owes me and that I expect to receive money from does fall, you shall not be disappointed. The health of my family has been tolerable good. Asha had an attack of rheumatism last winter, the severest I ever saw. Lasted six to eight weeks. Since that she feels the effects & ever will,This gives me doctors bill of no small sum. In April I was effected the same way but not so severe but I could walk about the house but suffered extremely about the same length of time. Used the cold bath every morning until the inflamation subsided. Done nothing else. Am now in fine health yet feel the effects. William & Joe have each had fevers a few days. Are well again. The rest are well & growing very fast. Whether you be governor or private citizen, let me hear from you soon. Give a bushel of compliments in my name to all my old acquaintance about you. Wm Grimes Nov'r. l4th, 1847 (No frost yet. Potatoe vines growing finely) Envelope shows:- Old Washington C. H., Ala. Nov. 15/4-7 10 Hon. Jesse Grimes Grimes County, Texas. __________________________________________________________________ Copyright. 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