1835 December - Letter from John Hankins to Susan Hankins

 On December 3, 1835, John Hankins wrote to his wife Susan in Damascus, Wayne County, Pennsylvania from Trenton, New Jersey. [1] He had taken at least two rafts from Sullivan County down the Delaware River. He sold the lumber from a raft from the Basket Mill for 5 1/4 cents per thousand feet and sold the second raft at Columbia. John had encountered snow, rain, hail and high winds during his trip. He opened his letter saying “I am Not frose Quite to Death yet.” [2] John planned to visit his Uncle Lukes the following day. [3]  After he finished his business in Trenton, he planned to travel to New York, where among other things, he would buy goods for the family and send them back to Newburgh. 



Trenton  Dec 3 1835
Dear Wife I take my pen in
hand to Inform You that I am Not
frose Quite to Death yet and am in
Good Health at present and have
Sold the Raft the Came from
the Basket Mill for $ 5.25 cts per Thousand
and the Raft that Was Run from the pa??
mill is at Shomakers Eddy and the
Log Raft I solde at Columbia below
the mountain the man has began
to through oute the Rafte here
and thinks he will git it oute by
friday Nite so that I Can go to
New York on Saturday Nexte
the River is Closed across here Last
Nite and I Shall go to Uncle Lukes to
Day and Back tomorrow And S Lakin
is Going with me. I Shall Buy Goods
in Yorke and have them Sent to
Newburgh we have underwent
Storms of Snow hail Rain and high
winds and other fatieges to Tigr??
to mention and am glade to State
that we are so well as we be and
Shoulde be willing to over Looke
All the fatiegues we have Underwent
if that only Carry and prohibit
any further Dificulties to Incounter
No more at present but Remain
Your Affectionate Husbande
John Hankins 
Susan Hankins
12 1/2
Mrs Susan Hankins
Damascus Pennsylvania
Wayne County 
By the way of New Yorke 
Round postmark stamp
Trenton
Dec 3
N.J.


[1] John Hankins to Susan Hankins, letter, 3 December 1835; Hankins Family Papers, privately held by Patty Hankins, Bethesda, Maryland.

[2] In December 1835, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania experienced a significant cold spell. Major rivers, including the Delaware River, froze. The frigid conditions contributed to the damage done during the December 16, Great Fire in New York City, when not only did firefighters have to break the ice to get water for the hoses, but the water also froze in the hoses and pipes. 

[3] Lucas Weart (abt 1775 - abt 1848) married Sarah Hankins (bef 1787 - 1859) probably in December 1802. Sarah Hankins and John's father Ralph Hankins (1776-1863) were the children of Richard Hankins (after 1747-1798) and Elizabeth Pinkerton (?? - bef 1800). John named his first son, Lucas Wurtz Hankins, presumably after his Uncle Luke. 



Location: Trenton, NJ, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1875 Maps of Sullivan County

Image
 In 1875, Frederick W. Beers published an atlas of Sullivan County, New York that shows many of the landowners. These cadastral maps are an incredible tool for helping to figure out where people lived at the time. The Atlas is available at the Library of Congress at  https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3803sm.gla00190/. The Table of Contents on page 1 shows what is in the volume. [1] Page 17-18 show a map of Sullivan County. [2] The Town of Fremont is located on the west side of the county bordering Delaware County, New York and the Delaware River. Across the river is Wayne County, Pennsylvania.  Page 33 shows a map of the Town of Fremont. [3] Hankins is located in District 1 at the bottom of the map in the center.  By cropping in and enlarging District 1 on the map of Fremont makes it easier to see the names of people who lived in that area. [4] I believe District 1 refers to the School District - since School no. 1 was at Hankins.  Page 35 shows the area that I thin...
Read more

Deaths in the 1875 Census in the First Election District of Fremont, Sullivan County, New York

Image
1875 Death Schedule  Another one of the wonderful schedules in the 1875 New York State Census is the list of deaths between 2 June 1874 and 1 June 1875. Since New York didn't have vital record registration at the time, these schedules may be the closest thing you can find to a death record. According to the census, there were fifteen deaths in the first Election District of Fremont, Sullivan County, New York where Hankins is located. [1] Catherine Kuock, a 60 year-old German born married woman, died of Typhoid Fever on 1 May 1875 in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York. [2] Andrew Kleingartner, a 60 year old German born married farmer, died of Consumption  on 18 May 1875 in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York. [3] Harrison Norton, a 9 month old boy born in Sullivan County, died in Fremont of Scarlet Fever in April 1875.[4]  Joseph A Schick, a 78 year old German born married farmer, died of Heart Disease on 18 December 1874 in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York.[5]  Fra...
Read more

Frederick Albert Timeline

Image
I'm starting to create timelines for residents of Hankins, New York. These aren't going to be great prose - more summaries of the information I find as I'm finding it.  First up in Frederick Albert.  From the 1872 Gazetteer  In 1872, Frederick W. Albert had a postal address in Hankins. He was a lumberman and farmer, who farmed 130 acres. [1] From the 1875 New York State Census, both the population schedule and the agricultural schedule.  In 1875, Frederick W. Albert lived with his wife Mary A., and his widowed father-in-law, William Kettle, in Fremont, Sullivan County, New York. They lived in a frame house valued at $ 600. Frederick, a 51 year old farmer was born in Pennsylvania. His wife Mary, age 40, and his father-in-law, William, age 60, were both born in Schoharie County. Both Frederick and William were native born citizens who were entitled to vote. Frederick owned the land where his house stood.[2]  Frederick owned 40 acres of land, half of which was impr...
Read more