Letter from Milton Taggart to his daughter Gertrude
Gertrude was married to Lawrence Jacobs.
Primer: This letter mentions a number of Milton and Rachel's children: May (Ela May), Lee and Ben.
Of interest to the Hindman family is a reference to "Mama Hindman". I'm not sure who this is, but is most likely the wife of one of Joseph Warren Hindman's sons.
I've added some clarifications in ( ) as necessary. At times it was difficult to figure out what he was trying to spell.
Also, the Wilson referred to towards the end is President Wilson.
Gertrude was Milton's youngest child. At the time this letter was written, Milton was ~74 and Gertrude was just 26.
February 26th 1915
Dear Gertie
Received your leter and it was most welcomb. we ar ol wel hoping these lines wil find you ol the same. Thresa is coming over home tomorrow so she sed today. She was over to Mays today Lee went down to Mr Carter's last Monday and has not showed up yet. there is lots of snow here but is not cold The roads is terable. tel Ben and Lawrence that the horses look good some of the Colts is gitting a little fancy but we ar feeding them. Old Sally looks hard i think they wil come through ol rite. Bobby Whiteheads old gray horse looks hard and one of her colts looks hard.
wel Gertie I just heard over the fone just now that Peter Albrite was dead and was brot to town from Sulfur Springs. Come in on the 7 oclock train tonight he died with cancer in his head and suffered terable. A nice old man and good one but such is life. must go when time comes.
wel we have lots of fogy weather here now. Today was fogy and misty but not cold. the snow don't go very fast but the tops of the ridges ar bare so horses can git some grass and can live fine. wel Anderson Jacobs is hauling logs over to Petes sawmill to make stable for Mama Hindman the grate world Runer. he wil clean up something les than a million Dollars next year and then they wil retire to work to pay the bills. how is Ben and Lawrence to gitting.
Got any work to do. my hogs ar eating 75 cent corn now and they ar worth $5.20 a hundred lots of money in hogs. good Dem times. Cattle and hogs ar going down each every day wheat took tumble yesterday 17¢ bushel. I bought some oats for seed from John Schmidt I'm going to farm next year was up to John Smith's Wednesday had good visit. i bought 22 head of hogs at Ed Colapas Sale and they want git fat I told him maby they were Wilson hogs and he lafed and sed they must be. i sed wait till we git in war with ingland and Germany and we wil git good prices and we wil git fat. that is Wilson i mean and he sed i won't fight for him i sed you voted for him he did not say any more. i told him that we had 150,000 men and women New York City was feeding that could git work and we was prospering. so we could send over to Urup (Europe) lots of food and clothes so the women and children could live. they was beter than the poor of his one country he is no Christian for they believe charity commences at home.
Oh yes Gertie we got the Valentines. they was very nice. we were very glad to git them. wel mother and Billie is writing and I wil have to close.
Love to you ol rite soon very soon. Father to his daughter Gertie