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Jennie McQuivey to Theodore Drake
Warren, Illinois to Iowa Falls, Hardin Co., Iowa
dated: June 27, 1870
Dearest Friend,
with pleasure I take this opportunity to write you a few lines & of letting you know we are
all well. that is as well as we can expect to be in this warm weather. I received ---- of your
letters last week, was very glad to hear from you. I received a letter from Lina & one from
Tammie the day I did your first. they were all well but your father. they had heard from you
twice did not tell what you wrote. said they presumed you kept me well posted & that was the
first time I had heard from you. this season will be a hard one for the farmers, worse for your
father & my father, than most any other. Pa has the blues & I do almost. I went to a -----
saturday. had a good time. it rained a little coming home. Sunday school met on the banks of
cedar lake, a very pleasant place for a picnic. I wish you could have been there. Laborers are
plenty and work scarce here. one man was sick & 3 applied for his place, but he is back now.
our cows are failing ----fully. Pa is about discouraged. says there will be no crops. so you are
not going to Kansas. Will - did not stay long did he. what are you going to do in Kansas.
what this summer. so you will be back to Carrie’s wedding. I think her dress very pretty,
quite costly I should judge, but I heard that her intended was rich, so she can afford to spend
all her money for finery. I don’t know what you mean by saying Pa would rather have a rich
son-in-law. He would prefer a poor honorable one than a ----- scoundrel and Dora I would
rather commence at the bottom of the hill & go up than the reverse but did you ever see a
father that did not think money a great object.
Well Dear, I don’t know as you can read this, but it is as good as I can do under the
circumstances. If I do not write now, perhaps I will not have an opportunity soon. You did
not say anything about Jim. How does he look. He must be quite a man by this time. how is
Mr. Northrop does he seem contented. I suppose Alicia will soon --- off too won’t she, does
Mary say much about her future prospects. perhaps she ---- to think who shall I take now,
who’ll take me. but I should not talk so, it may be said about me, but I find an absent lover
and look forward with joy to the time that we shall again be united. my dearest wish is that we
may grow stronger in our mutual love.
June 28th
I did not go home last night, stayed to Mr. Chamberlain’s. it is very warm to day. think I shall
have a vacation next week. where are you going the 4th July. guess II shall stay at home. The
Disciples have been holding a quarterly meeting in Waukegan. nine more were baptized. I
think the church is prospering we have a splendid Sunday School. Mr. Dowling is called the
best -- teacher in the U.S. in 3 weeks the bible class will be through with Mathew, Mark, Luke
& John, then those that can pass an examination will go on to ---- of the Apostles. Mr.
Hurford said nothing against your folks. told me you had gone to Kansas. I didn’t tell him I
knew it. H. of course said his share. I suppose you knew Mr. [G]allop is dead. but I must
draw this letter to a close as I have no more paper. you must excuse this poor writing
-------------------------------. please write often and all of the news you think will interest me
your own Jennie
I wrote to Hattie that you had gone to Kansas. she writes to know if you intend taking me
there. What shall I tell her. Ma don’t want me to go so far away.
Theo to Jennie
Iowa Falls, Iowa to Waukegan, Ill
dated: July 3, 1870
Trusted Jennie,
At last I have recd. your long looked for letter. Last evening Mr. Mosley brought it from
the office of course he thought it was from home. I recd. a letter from home the night before
from Martha. Said Lina had recd. a letter from you & you was anxious to hear from me. Well
Jennie I wrote you two letters you have not recd. one just before I left home and one since.
after we arrived ---------------[entire line illegible]
which I learn you have received. why you did not receive the first ones I can’t tell.* it must be
the fault of Uncle Sam or someone interested between us. I wrote you all about my intended
trip before I left home. It seems strange you did not hear of it until Hank told you. but ever
anxious to hear from you. your letter affords me great pleasure coming from one so near and
dear to me. If I could only be with you how happy I should feel. I can assure you that you can
trust your absent lover & feel as you do that our love will be strengthened and lasting..
George has just come upstairs & says when I write to her (you, of course he don’t know who I
am writing to) give you his love, respects, &c*. well Jennie we returned to this place a week
ago yesterday. I am going to stay with the Mosleys while here & -- with B. Atwater are to
work every day. Carrie was married Wednesday and left for her new home on the 7 o’clock
train the same day. I did not see her but slept with Jim the same night he brought them down
from Otisville. Jim says he is rich. worth 35,000 he said Carrie had but slight acquaintance
with him. never had spoken with him but 2 or 3 times in her life before their marriage. he told
me confidentially that [Sada] was engaged but does not want me to tell it so the folks here will
know it. you will please keep his secret for me. he is an engineer -ad been pretty rough but
was getting over it. is heir to 35,000 also. Mary’s intended is poor but good they say. Jim is a
big fellow, I believe Mr. - likes it here. He is a disagreeable man to be with. Jim says Nora
was engaged to a young man in Carlenville. He is in Kansas at present. I see she wears a plain
gold engagement ring on her forefinger. Ella M. is also engaged. her intended is in Kansas. I
think Nora is a real lady & good girl. Jennie you said you did not understand what I meant
about the poor son in law. well in your last you said that your father had said that you would
know what --- was if you married a poor man. I thought that he meant it for me, that is all.
but I am glad you think & feel as you do. you want me to tell you what to tell Hattie. well my
Dearest, tell her that I never did have no idea of taking my intended wife (if you will allow me
to call you such) to Kansas to live. but when we are married will come & visit her. do they
still talk of going to California. I will come down & see you this fall if nothing happens you
come up & I will go home with you. I don’t know when I will be home exactly but will keep
you well posted if I can. if you fail to receive them, write to me at this place. I will number my
letters, call this one 1 so if there is one missing you will know it. I don’t know what my Father
& your Father will do this year. mine is in debt, I suppose yours is also. Jennie won’t you
please write often to me. I think you ----- if you would. I am ever anxious to hear from you.
write soon. tomorrow is the 4th. I will stay home, maybe I will go fishing.
from a
Faithful Friend
Theodore Drake
Jennie McQuivey to Theodore Drake
Warren Illinois to
dated: July 18, 1870
Dearest Friend,
At the earliest opportunity, I take my pen to answer your welcome, welcome letter. we
are all pretty and well ----out. received a letter from Lina the 10th, they were well & expecting
company from St. Louis. Charley had ------ a fine ---- of mustache & colored it. Dora, I want
you to let yours grow & your hair too, then ---------- fashionable & send me your picture. I
must tell you, I have an album. it holds 48 [gems] it is a Philippine present. I hope I shall get
pictures enough to fill it. well I have had vacation but not much rest. I have two months more
school. I really wish I could go north this fall. but you know I shall have to keep busy to get
ready for my birthday & Dora I should like to know something about the future. if you are like
me you don’t care to get far from home. I would like to go to [jarres]ville or some place near.
that is about halfway between your folks & mine. I think you have considerable mechanical
ingenuity & if you could get into some such establishment as “Leher [Wood] & Co.” your
labor would commence considerable. Mr. Wood said he paid his men all the way from $30 to
$80 a month according to their abilities & as I shall not have many to do for, I can take
boarders, enough to cover all expenses. then all you earn will be towards a home. after a
while you might become one of the firm. then my mathematical knowledge will be of some
service to you. [Janesville] is near enough to -------- that we can get all the necessaries there
as flour, butter, eggs. with the assurance of getting that, which is good, there is a moderate
size place. a house & two lots. has most all kinds of fruit on it & you see there is a fine
chance to ----- strawberries & early vegetables. this is near the [machine] shop of Mr. Wood in
Watertown. the rent $150 a year. could be bought a year ago for $2,000 but watertown is
under bonds for more than it is worth, which does not make property there very desirable. I
presume there are such places in -----. I believe there is a Church of Christ there. I don’t
know what you will think of this. please write & tell me just what you think. I wish I could
have a good long talk with you. I have heard you say farming is hard. I think so too & you
see sundays on the farms are different from those in cities. in the country there is more to do.
now if you were addicted to bad habits, I should prefer the country for reasons very apparent.
but I have the most perfect confidence in you, my beloved. you may think this is too practical
but --- not live on air. no his chubby figure shows forethought -------- ma to prepare for -------
my work shall be. if we later ----- I must have more of everything. I know that by good
management there is something to be made. I could give of proof of this. but Dora, write as
soon as you receive this if possible. I will write often, will have cause to write now. you may
think I could have written sooner, but this the first I have written & I owe letters to every one
of my correspondents (which are not first). some had written long before I received your
letter. I have told one girl of our engagement, she told me of hers first. she will not tell
anyone unless her brother. I hope she will tell him as he is trying to wait on me and Pa favors
him I think, always praising him. his Pa is well of your mind. only has four children. he is a
good fellow but my choice was made long ago. sometimes I wish you had been with me ever
since we moved here. there are three young men that seem to want to go with me. 2 I am
friendly with the other I rather detest. I don’t know why they care for me. there are prettier
girls here. perhaps it is because I have not grown up with them as most of the others have but
my dear I shall have to wait till I see you. this is poor writing but I am in an awful hurry.
Remember me as
Your own Jennie