Quite a Few Additions
Letter from “Amanda Florilla Marshall Guier” - the war was being fought in earnest. The militia was known for taking men at gunpoint. Amanda was worried that her husband would be taken. Ike had already fought for both the North and the South. The six Marshall boys were at risk.
Lou Fowler wrote a teasing letter to Augustus Cooper Marshall. In it, she wrote of him preparing to head across the plains come spring. In fact, he, his brother and at least one friend were preparing to head to mining country to try their luck.
In May, 1864, James Alexander “Elec” Marshall and unspecified company (brother Gustus and “Parrish” we learn from a later letter - “Thom” Parrish,) head north and west. He writes from Fremont County, Colorado while sitting on a bag of oats. Grass was scarce, their mules were hungry. They had to wait to cross the river, since a band of bandits had just robbed the train where they had planned to cross and had tied the passengers to a tree.
By December, he was cold, discouraged and homesick. Word of the war was grim - there had been battles near home. There had been no word in months, and he was desperate for news.
In February, he had had just one letter, and that from his sister, Mollie (we do not know when it was mailed). He was preparing to start working in the mines again come spring.
There are some new photographs of graves in the New Bethel Cemetery, and pictures of Isaac Burford Elliott and family. Buddy, as he was called, died tragically when he was ten and left a hole in the family that is felt to this day.
On a more recent note, there’s a photograph we’ve added a picture of the Flat Creek Covered Bridge, which burned in the 1960’s. There are also some of the paintings of Maureen Gabarrino, the talented great-granddaughter of Amanda Florilla Marshal Guyer. It’s fascinating to see what the descendants of the family are doing a hundred and fifty years later.
News from Pettiscountypioneers.com
Thursday, August 10, 2007
