Lenoir County, NC - Harvey Letters These letters were sent by Gloria Thomas - gloriagthomas@hotmail.com - who transcribed them. We appreciate her generosity. This is the Thomas Harvey family of Lenoir County and Thomas' Will can be found on the Lenoir Co. Archives. He had another son, Spencer, who was not known but he appears to have left Lenoir County prior to his father's death and even prior to the 1850 census. After a little research we hope to include an introduction to this family. Martha Mewborn Marble May the 1st 1840 Dear Brother and Sister. I take the opportunity of writing you a few lines of information to inform you that we are all well hoping that these few lines may find you and your family enjoying the same blessing also. Dear Brother I received your letter a few days ago for the first one since you left this country though my father received one a little while back and I was very glad to hear from you. I should have wrote you a note before this if I had known where to direct it to but I did not know whether you was at the same place or not and so I failed to write. I have nothing very particular to write about at this time more than hard times and money scarce. I have changed my place of residence since you left here. I have sold my land in the neck for the same I gave for it after getting about 40 thousand feet of square timber off of it which I sold it from $21 dollars to 30 dollars per thousand. I have bought a tract on Falling Creek containing about 500 acres the plantation formerly belonging to ------Byrd now deceased which he left to his son and he died and it was sold to satisfy his creditors. I gave $2630.00 for it but there is an encumbrance on it which if it was off I could get $5000.00 Dollars for it. Father has sold his land for $15.00 per acre and if he don't buy again in this country I expect he will go to the South he don't give --------until January next and if he goes I shall sell and go with him. I am farming on a tolerable large scale this year. I have planted about 75 acres in cotton besides my corn crop you note that you expected to come out next winter. I should be glad to see you and your lady both come, you must write to me if I can't see you I should be glad to hear from you. I rejoice whenever I can hear from you even so when I hear from any of my long absent friends or relations who have gone to another country and perhaps may go to another world before I should see them again but I hope we shall be spared to meet in Old Carolina again. I confess my bad writing and ilcomposed lines and I hope you will excuse them. Mrs. Hill and family is well and Mrs. Jonston is still alive and Father is well. Nothing more at present but remain your affectionate Brother until Death. I have one daughter named Elenir (not sure) she was born November 18, (?) Amos Harvey Kinston, N.C. December 5, 1860 Spencer Harvey Georgia Dear Brother As your letter has been received after waiting some time ago, I have taken this opportunity after waiting some time to write you something in regard to my affairs. Since you left I have been hard at work in courting the Young Lady I was telling you about, and have succeeded in gaining her affection and the promise of her hand in marriage. She is the perfect Jewel of a woman and I prize her higher than anything in this world. Our wedding day is not yet appointed but it will be sometime in January. When I get her home I want you to come see her as I think I can show you just the nicest woman you ever saw. Father and Aunt Nancy has recovered and are now in the enjoyment of good health, old Hannah died since you left, John Tull lost his wife and Mother also since you left and has been sick himself. We have had one big fire in town Mr. Patterson lost his entire building but saved most of his goods. We have considerable excitement here about secession and disunion. I am afraid our great and once happy country is coming to a bad state of affairs. I can think of nothing more to write you except that we are all well and getting along about like we were when you was here. I hope you will write to me soon and when I get my lady home I will write again. I hope this will find you all well and doing finely. Yours very respectfully, M. Harvey Kinston, N. C. Dec. 13th 1859 Miss Georgia Dear Niece, I hope in the first place you will excuse me for not writing before now, although yours of the 11th of November is the last one I got from you since I wrote. I have been very busy since I read yours and this is the only convenient opportunity I have had since I received it. I have thought good many times that I would write to you but other matters would come up and I would put it off. I don't think I have written to you since the death of Levi Hill and his wife. Mr. Hill has been dead about 12 months and his wife died this fall leaving seven children 4 boys and 3 girls the oldest boy and daughter is now about grown. Tell your Father that Elder John P. Dunn died about 3 or 4 weeks ago, probably he has not forgotten him. A very old and worthy citizen. I believe all your connections here are well and getting along pretty smoothly. I hope this will find you all well and will be pleased to hear from you on the receipt of mine, and hope you will write immediately. Tell your Pa I would like to have a few lines from him also my brother Amos would be pleased to have a letter from him and hope he will write to one or the other of us. I would think he would write to our old father who is now 72 years old and almost in the grave, who would be very much pleased to hear from him whom he has not seen nor heard of in several years. I must now come to a close hoping you will excuse mistakes as I have written in a hurry. When I receive your next I will not be so long before I reply. Yours very affectionately, M. Harvey Kinston Miss Georgia Harvey Dear Cousin I received your letter and was very glad to hear you arrived safe home and found all well. I am very sorry I have not been able to write sooner, but I will redeem my promise even at a late hour. I hope you will not think hard of me for this seeming but not real neglect. I know the excuses I have to offer will plead for pardon. My health has been declining and I have not been able to get home since you left. Oh, Cousin Sue you can't imagine how much I missed you, I never felt so lonely in all of my life as when you were gone. I do believe I have had the blues ever since, but I will say no more about them for fear I shall give them to you. Cousin Sue I am very sorry you got so wet going to the cars the day you left but you must attribute that to Uncle and Lonny for staying so late up town. I can laugh now to think how you talk; nevertheless I sympathize with you for I have often experienced the same and found it very unpleasant. Dear Cousin I wish you had received Aunts letter before you left us if it would have prolonged your visit. I am very sure we all would have been delighted to have you with us. Lonny has promised me if I am able to travel next spring to go South with me, and if I should be so fortunate I am coming for you, and you must let me find you the same Cousin Sue and no one to object. John is here now I asked him what I must say for him. He says I must give his love to you and say he is going to be married Christmas. Father, Mother, and Mr. Desmond all send their love to you. Cousin tell Uncle there is nothing of importance to communicate only there is considerable excitement about insurrection, there is a committee-appointed today for the purpose of examining a man they suppose will be found guilty and punished accordingly. There are also more sickness in the vicinity of Kinston than I have know for a long time and is more fatal. Mr. John Toll has lost his wife and Mother within two weeks and himself is very sick. Typhoid fever seems to be the disease raging. Grandfather's health is much better than when you left, there has been no sickness in our family except myself and one of my cousins (Dr. Byrd) he fell victim to its prey. Oh Cousin Sue you can't think the pain it gave me last Saturday night to know he was no more it is too painful to dwell on long. I will console myself with the hope that he is in a better world. Cousin I have a great many things to tell you but I am too feeble to write longer today. So I will close. I received the letter and was very much pleased with it. I am going to send you some books soon. Write to me as soon as you get this I am very anxious to hear from you. Your own dear friend and affectionate cousin, Ellie E. Desmond. Please excuse all imperfections Note: The date of the letter was cut off in the copying. I have tried to acquire another copy but have been told that the owner of the letters is deceased and family members say that they don't know the location of the letters. Kinston North Carolina Jan. 10th 1857 (?) Miss S. G. Harvey Dear Niece Your letter of the 1st _____ has arrived. I will take my own time now and write about everything. My Father is yet alive and looks and feels as young as any of his sons. He has 4 sons and one own daughter living. Amos is the oldest. My sister is the next. Myself the next. Franklin and Thomas is the baby. He is now near 19 years old. I give you the names of the living children. Amos has six children. 4 sons and 2 daughters. His oldest daughter is married and one child. My sister Eliza has 6 children. She married F. H. Aldridge a very smart man and is doing well. Alexander died several years ago. He left a widow and one child. You wanted to know something about my family if I had one. I never was so fortunate as to get married. I am now 28 years old and has never had a wife but I keep thinking everyday that I will have one. I have been engaged for the last three years in steam mill business. I have made some money at that. I sold out this fall and am now winding up my business. I shall go to merchandising next spring in Kinston. Kinston is improving rapidly. Tell your Pa he would not know it he would be surprised if he could just behold Kinston now. The railroad will soon be completed from Goldsboro to Beaufort it runs directly through Kinston it would be but a few hours ride and I hope you and your Pa will come out this spring and see us all. I would be happy indeed to see you. My brother Frank has been married just 12 months. Thomas is living with his old lady. My Mother has been dead several years. Father lives at the same old place he did when your Pa left here. There has been great improvements in old North Carolina in everything since your Pa left here. Tell your Pa his Mother is still living. She has become afflicted and her life is no satisfaction to her. She was rejoiced to hear from you and hopes to see her son once more before she dies. Washington Johnson has been dead two years he left a widow and several children. Levi Hill and family are all well. They send their best respects to you and family. He is getting on tolerably well. He has 7 children. He told me to write to you and request your Pa to write him. I want to know if your Pa is a preacher yet and what church he belongs to tell him Father is a member of the Free Will Baptist Church and a Deacon. All his children are professors except Thomas. I shall be imposing upon your patience with my letter and will bring it to a close hoping I shall hear from you and tell your Pa to write as soon as he gets this. We are all glad to hear from you and your relations all send their best respects. They had given out the idea of ever hearing from you before you wrote to me. They all thank you for writing. I shall look for a letter from your Father and hope he will write soon and you also, please to write your full name. I remain yours affectionately, M. Harvey Kinston January 8th 1860 Miss Georgia Harvey, Dear Cousin I received your letter and was very happy to hear from you. I am pleased to know you have recovered from the dreadful cold you were suffering from. Kinston is very dull indeed nothing of any interest going on except a great many parties, which the young people seem to enjoy very much. Christmas ____has passed without any thing worth relating. Intense excitement prevailed during the holidays so there could be but little enjoyment yet. I know if you had been here with us it would have passed more pleasantly. Cousin Sue do come back I have missed you so much. You say you have several applications to back to school and you want to come back to N.C. I fear you are incapable of choosing the wisest plan so please let me decide for you, come back and repair the wrong you did when you were here, you visited all but me and I am sure there was not one that appreciated your visit more than I. Tell Uncle I have not got in a good humor with him yet for slighting me. Cousin you wrote me your brother was going to get married and was coming to see us tell him we will be very happy to see him, you must be sure to come with him, you say you intend to study music. I have three instruments and Father is going to get me a guitar. Come and we will have a fine time practicing. Well Cousin I am home at last and I do wish you were here today to hear me scold. Lony is just the poorest housekeeper you ever saw. I don't believe he has had the floors washed since I left. I have been under the treatment of Dr. Brown ever since you were here my health is improving gradually. He says I must return to town that the cares of housekeeping are too much for me, but as soon as I can get a housekeeper I am going to stay home, for I feel like a caged bird in town. Oh Cousin I had like to forget to tell you Uncle Matthias is going to be married ___29th to Miss Lizzy Chapman. I do wish you were here to go. I have an invitation to go but Dr. Brown says I shall not attend but if you were here to go with me I would any how. Well Cousin it is time to close this uninteresting letter. Johny says give all his love to you and kiss you for him. Mother often speaks of you and expresses a wish to see you. Father and Mother and Lony all send their love to you and say you must come. Tell Uncle Grandfathers health is very delicate indeed all the rest are very well at present. Oh Cousin, I have commenced my ______cover when you write again tell me how I must make it. Please don't think hard of me for not writing sooner you don't know how ill I have been, and if you accuse me of forgetfulness again I will not forgive you. Brother wrote you and has been expecting to hear from you, he says if you received his letter you have not kept your promise, he has been censuring you for your neglect. Write to me as soon as you receive this I am anxious to hear from you. Please pardon all imperfections I am writing in haste for Dr. Brown is at the door now, my love to all I am your devoted friend and affectionate Cousin, Ellie E. Desmond write soon Cousin here is a little piece of work for you must excuse its being so dirty for I did it in bed I will send the other piece in my next letter. Ellie Kinston May 3rd 1862 Mrs. Ga. Brassell Dear Niece, Your kind letter of the 6th of May has been received and was somewhat surprised to find that Mrs. Brassell had become my correspondent until I had looked a little further, or at the P.S. and found that the Mrs. Brassell was no less a personage than your own self. I am in the hope that you have done well in marrying. Got a man worthy of you and when the war closes bring him to see me. Your relations are all well. My Father had quite a hard spell of sickness while back but is now up. We all thought that his time had come, but he got over it. I can't write to you without saying something about my baby. I wish you could see it, it is now seven months old named Mary it is not very large but peart and lively always laughing. Since the war commenced I have quit merchandising and gone to farming. I live three miles from Kinston. I think I shall make head for next year if the Yankees lets me alone. We have a small army here at Kinston now one brigade. We have had from 10 to 15000 soldiers here but the most of them has been ordered to Virginia. I learn there is a heavy fight going on near Richmond, but you will hear of it before you get my letter. The Yankees are committing a great many depredations about Newbern taking up private citizens and putting them in jail, stealing what they can lay their hands on. A great many Negroes has run away and gone to them. They have broke good many people up. They have not got as far as Kinston yet and I hope never will. I and my brother Amos had to abandon our farms below Kinston in Jones County, we have not lost any Negroes very few as high up as here has gone yet. Frank and Tom is stationed at Wilmington. They left here a few days ago. They are getting on very well. I hope the war will soon close for we have seen a little of its realities here. Give my best respects to your Father and family and tell him to write me. I have not written near all the news but this will do for this time. The war has upset my calculations so much that I almost have forgot how to write. Write soon. Very Respectfully, M. Harvey ______________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Gloria Thomas - gloriagthomas@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________________________