YANCEY COUNTY, NC - LETTERS - Wilson Hensley to his Brothers --------------¤¤¤¤¤¤-------------- Bald Creek Yancey County North Carolina January 18th 1875 Dear Brothers I seat myself this night to let you no that you are all still fresh in my memory though I have written 2 letters to you and has got no answer from you this last summer nor fall Christmas has come and gone and still no news, the Grasshoppers has disappeared since yet you do not let me no whether they have left you anything to subsist up on. I have been looking and waiting till the old year has gon and the new one has come in but still it brings me no news of my dear Brothers. So I concluded to write one more letter hopeing then some of you would write to me. I have some verry sad news to write you in the first place. Hattie had a fine Boy on the 18th of Sept 1874 and came very near dyeing. She has not ben out of the house since though I think she is improving slowly. In the second place Mr D. Proffitt fell off of a waggon load of hay and broke his hip and thigh all to smash and has been in bed for 3 months. I think it doubtful whether he ever walks any more or not. But which pains my heart (heart underlined) the worst is to have to write you the Death (Death underlined) of our Dear little Zebs. he died the 19th day of November 1874 with Dipthera. he was 6 years 5 months and 21 days old when he died. He was one of the sweetest little boys you ever saw but God giveth and God can take away of us at his will. It is the 1st child we have ever lost and ave take it very hard. But I recon it is all the better for us. In the Parible of the good Sheppherd when he could not tole his lambs into the sheep fold he caught one of his lambs and carried it in to the fold and then all the rest of the lambs followed. So God has taken our dear little Child into the fold of the Lord and I hope all the rest of us will follow when it is his will to call us from this troublesom world. All the rest of our children had the Dipthera but has got well it has killed a great many little children in this State and in New York there has been more Sickness and more deaths in this county than I ever new before. Bob Piercy died on the 14th of this month with pneumonia fever 2 more of Ervin's Boys are down with the same fever So is William Houston and nearly all of the Hortons is down and been down with it John Halcomb(?) lost one of his daughters with it Alfred Hamptons wife died yesterday very suddenly no boddy did not no that any thing aileled her till she fell over speechless All of Mr Charley Byrds folks are in common health have you ever heard from Brother James Since he went to Texas or not Silas got a letter from him last summer I did not get to see the letter I am uneasy about him I want you to write and give me his post office if you no where he is What has become of Paul Wilson I never have heard from him no Jane (?) since they left hear Tell Jane to write one line to me Send this letter to James tell him I would have wrote to him long go if I had of nown where to have written to I am allways glad to hear from you it looks like there you Boys mought take it time about and keep me well posted as to what you are doing. I will now give you the General news of the Country. Money is about one hundred per ct harder to raise than I ever saw in life Taxes is as high again as they was last year my Tax this year was ($135.14) and will be about the same next year they are ($402) and the ($100.00) worth of Property there isnt one half of the people that can pay their tax next years. corn crops was good but Season corn is worth from 40 to 50 per Bushel wheat (1.00) pork 8 to 10 cts cattle have al been (hole in paper) off Bacon I think will be wroth 20 ct per lb next Summer horses and mules are worth nothing hardly. I have got some hogs 17 months old that will net 400 lbs. I maid about 1600 bushels of corn last Summer and 238 bushels of wheat Oats was nearly a failure. I am still in the Cheese business write me whether you have bott land or not Thomas Singletary Said you was doing very well. I would lik to see you all I think I will come to see you Some time I allways have had a desire to see the land We have had the mildest winter so far ever saw in life the Creeks has never been frozen over this winter I remain you brother W. Hensly (Note: In different hand writing/or scrawled by same on margin) - Our Babys name is Augustus Frazier. Tell your little Wilson Alexander that I will send him money to buy him a pair of Boots as soon as he gets big enough to no who sent them Ellen can read as fast as I can in her reading book (Letter written by Wilson Hensley to his brothers who came West with parents John Hensley and Margaret McMahan) ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Brenda Normandin ___________________________________________________________________