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Note: Dorothy Gray Rhode lists both of her parents as being born in Pennsylvania (PA) (?) on the 1900 census form. Perhaps the enumerator made an error, or the transcriber that posted it on the internet. It may be Virginia (VA). Dorothy Gray Rhode is said to have been a prolific letter writer. The following is a verbatim letter Dorothy wrote on July 27, 1856 to her parents, William and Sarah Cobb Rhode, back in Warren Co., Indiana, where both Dorothy and her husband, Jonathan Rhode (Seymour, John) were born. Jonathan and 19-year-old Dorothy were homesteading in Fremont Co., Iowa, with other members of the Rhode clan. The homesickness is apparent in every line. In 1860, Dorothy would get her wish; she and Jonathan and their two small daughters Rebecca Arvilla (b. 1855) and Sarah Esther (Sadie, b. 1858) returned to Warren Co. "Dear Mother, "I thought I would write you a letter this morning because I don't know what els to do. I have rote so much that I am ashamed, but I do like to hear from you all so well, and it is the most satisfaction I see, to get a letter from in there. I am tolerable well today, though I have not bin very well all the week. All the rest of us is well I believe. Arvilla grows very fast, and I can't keep her in the house a minute if I hant holding her. We are living in a little Irish shanty that Jont (Jonathan) put up for us, and we had a fine rain this morning and our house is not very good watter proff. Jont's eyes is getting well as fast as they can, and he is in mity good hart about them. Jont's eyes has not bin as well since we got here. they have had two bad spells. I think it was caused by his working so hard in the heat. Jont is up at Uncle Joes (Joseph Rhode, Jonathan's older first cousin) today and they are going to start out there next Sunday if they can get ready, but I dont expect they will for they want to see the house raised before they start. There is three carpenters at work at it and they say they can raise it by the middle of next week. I guess that we are going to live here and we will ahve to build the house, there will be four rooms in it and a poarch I think I could live here very well if it was not for these awful high hills but we can't help that it looks like nature has tried its self. I think there is is very good watter here and the pirtiest springs that ever was. I can sit in the cool and see the steamboats booming along the old misouri, and I can get up on the hill and see nebraska City. there is a mity prity view over the bottom, the lake runs in about a have mile of here and we can catch as many fish as we want and the boys is gone down there now. we don't have much to eat only corn bread and meat and coffe. we have not got much garden stuff, but we will ahve lots of watter mellon prity soon, everything is high here and we paid thirty dollars for a cow and calf. She is a good cow for milk and I have a little place in the spring branch to keep it. It will keep sweet always. I believe we could have the greatest milk house fixed there in the wourld. the watter is so cold it will make your hand ake. flour is 5 dollars and a quarter a hundred here and hard to get at that. chickens is 2 dollars a dozen and I give my old tea cittle and a skain of yarn to miss pillips for a dozen old hens and I sowed for aunt betsa (Elizabeth Gray Rhode, wife of Joseph Rhode and sister of Dorothy's father, William Gray) and old hen and chickens. mis phillips is a very clever woman she gives us a chicken once in a while to fry. there has not bin any flies here yet, and I am in hops there wont be. there was a strange affair hapened at slusher with there beas about 2 weeks ago. they live in about a mile and half of here. they have about sixty stands of beas and there was two men come along there with a team and spoped to let them drink and the beas came out of the hives and stung the horses and they couldent get the horses away till they werre almost stung to death one of the horses died and its eyes bursted out before it died. Slusher weeent out to help the man get there horses away and they stung him very bad the doctor almost gave him up he was just like a crazy man and they picked two hundred and sixty stings out of his head. he is getting well now but it was a tight race for him, and the other men was very bad sick, there has been several bit with rattlesnakes here. Slusher has a boy about eleven years old that was bit when he was binding wheat, but they think that he will get well. there has been some accidents with lightning here. there was a man breaking prairie up at kainsville with five yoke of cattle and the lightning killed nine out of the ten, and riped the mans brichs but it did not hurt him it is supposed that the chains drawed the lightning it hardly ever lightens here without it strikes something. well I have nearly filled up the sheet andhant sayed haff I want to say. I wish I could go down to them June apple trees and get an apple. I thnk it would refresh my memory but I guess I will wait till I get done wrighting. If Emily was here we would go get some graps and goosberrys and could have more fun a washing at the spring that we had that day at the creak. Tell her that little Dorth was mity pleased with that plate whe sent her. I will no tell you that the boys has got back from fishing and they have got a fine lot. I think some of them is two foot long, wihs dady was here alittle while to kill a deer for they are thick--there is a deerlick close here and Johns dady has killed three this spring. he killed two since we come. I want you to tell Aron and john that the nedent look for a letter from Jont for I can't get him to commence a letter atol. He says he promised them he would rite but he says if he was to rite, he would just say he had nothing to say. I want you to rite to me as soon as you get this, I want to give my love to grandfather and Uncle William and Aunt Martha and Uncle Bill and Aunt Elice and bettsa and Hessa and Seam and all yes everyone of the rest. I think we have got a very good cooking stove it is one of those double oven stoves and we got a nice set of cooking vessails with it. tell little hit to rite to us, she has not sent one word to us yet and tell Buck and uncle Billy he's to rite and not be so saving of there paper. I want to know how you and dady is getting along and I want to know how all the rest is. I could rite a whole sheet to betsa and hessa but I will wait until another time. I must tell you that aunt betsa and her girls is the finest ladyes in Iowa, she has got mary and harriet fine silk bonnets and two fine dresses a peace. (here is a fine letter for Charles to give to his girl if he is got any) so no more this time. look over any bad wrighting and I will do better next time. (So farewell from your child.)
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