Letters

A letter from “Petter Speacht”

~ Lark
This is a letter dated January 6, 1897 from “Petter Speacht” (Eva (Spect) Rumping‘s oldest brother), to Mary.  Mary would have been 18 years old at the time this letter was written and Peter was about 62.
Spelling, punctuation and capitalization are as seen in the original letter, except for edits I made as necessary to clarify meaning.

January the 6, 1897

Dear Neace,

I received your kind and welcome letter and was glad to hear from you all and I must say it was quite a surprise to us all to hear from you all.  I have asqued Tena several times about your mother and she said she had not heard from her for some time.  I should of rote to her if I new where to right to.  You was quite a small childe when I saw you.  We live with 2 children, boy and a girl.  Charley, he will bee 20 years old in June.  Laura she is 13 past.  We have now married.  We are living in the country, about 5 miles from Decatur.

We are well and hope thease few lines may find you all the same.  Charley is as large as I am.  The girl is small to her age.  She goe to Country School this winter.  Charley he workes when he can get enything to doe.  What does your papa do?  I am going to farm this next summer if nothing happens.  You spoke about your pictures.  I would like to have all of your pictures.  I will send my family’s pictures as soon as I can. 

Times are very hard hear.  Nothing going on.  I have not seen Aunt Tena for some time.  Sister Kate was to see us last fall.  I would like to see all of you very much.  The children send their love and best respects and also their mother.

I believe I will close by saying I am truly glad to hear form you all and hope you will right often.  Give my love and best wishes to your ma and papa and all the family.  Tell them to right.

Good by from your Uncle and family.

                                                                       Petter Speacht

                                                                       Decatur, Illinois

Note: Although Eva and her siblings were all born in Indiana, I believe they  may have been brought up in a home where German was their first language.  I’m doing a little research on this now and hope to update this post with more information on this point at a later date.

Only one girl in this world for me

~ Lark
George Schenk head shot_vignette Mary Rumping head shot_2_vignette
Another letter from George Schenk to Mary dated April 30, 1897, while he was living in Belt, Montana.  This letter appears to cover three different writing episodes over two days.  Spelling, punctuation and capitalization are as seen in the original letter, except for edits I made as necessary to clarify meaning.

April 30 [1897]

Dear Mary,

This is Friday and I have just finished the dishes and fixed up the bed and the house so I have nothing to do but write.

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“Say good by, do not cry . . .”

~ Lark ~ Leave a comment
George Schenk head shot_vignetteMary Rumping head shot_2_vignette
This is a letter from George Schenk to Mary dated April 29, 1897, while he was living in Belt, Montana – several years before they married.  Spelling, punctuation and capitalization are as seen in the original letter, except for edits I made as necessary to clarify meaning.

Belt   Apr. 29/97

My Dearest Mary,

I received your kind and loving letter Tuesday and was glad to hear from you.  It is not as it used to be sence I am down here.  I can’t see you every day now.  But that sweet face I never shall forget. 

Mary, I guess you think I am having a great old time down here with the girls the way you rote that letter but you are mistaken if you think I am.  Thair are a lot of girls in the Coulee and the same in Belt[1].  But there is none of them for me.  I met a few girls that I know before and that all I care to know.  I am not looking for fun.  Now days I know a few marryed women that comes over to see Edith[2] and one of them told me I was an awful quiet boy.  If I was like the rest of the kids in this town, I would be run [illegible] it.  There is a lot of them drunk every day. 

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Kiss Me, Stupid!

~ Lark ~ Leave a comment
So let me set the stage.
George is 19 and Mary is 18.  Apparently they’ve already passed a few notes back and forth and have been caught on at least one occasion by Mary’s mother, who disapproves.  Nevertheless, things are clearly heating up between the two of them.

Feb 9 1897

Dear Mary,

I see you are going to write.  Just the same, so am I.  But if your Mother gets a holt of another note, she may go hard with us and then what.  So don’t let her know it at all.

Well Mary, when you were up here the other night you came in the front door and I did not know you were in the house at all.  So when your Mother came, she ask me if you was here yet and I said no.  So I told her to go in to the other room and she saw your muff or hat on the bed and she said Mary is here.  So I said I didn’t see her come in, she must of come in the front door.  Maybe she thought I knowed you were here.

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