My dear Cousin,
I will now strive to answer your letter which I received so long ago. you will see by the heading of this that I have changed my place of residence. I have also changed my name. I changed my name on the 8th of Jan and my house the next day. I was married at the parsonage and went home for dinner and started for my new home the next morning and have not been homesick yet. I like better here
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I ever expected to any where but Lake Co. my husband is a farmer he has a farm of something over a hundred acres but I don’t know how much over for I don’t remember. he has bought some since we were married we live near a village called Poynette it is quite a place of course there is no use to tell you I think I have a good kind husband for it is not time yet for me to think any other way but he is a very steady good disposition fellow. he will be 25 years old next Nov he is not very much older than I nearly two years and a half is all.
Ella wrote to me this last week that she thought she would be up to see us the 23rd of this
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month and when she comes she will bring me a new brother. I expect she intends living in
Will has got all his small grain in and winter wheat looks nice. his folks live about three miles from here on the prairie we live just in the edge of timber land. I don’t like the place his father lives as well as I do here
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there it is mud if it rains a bit here it is more sandy and it don’t muddy around the doors in a great while.
Now Annie don’t think I don’t want to hear from you just because I am married for I do just the same as before and I will answer them and try to do better next time. just two weeks after we were married Will had the measles his sisters and brother had them when we got here and so we stayed with his folks until he got over them he was quite sick with them then we moved and I took cold while we were moving and was sick three or four weeks so you see I have quite a good excuse for not writing before. I will close by wishing you good night. Deette
Top of page one, written upside down:
Please direct to
Mrs Will R Bullen
Poynette
Columbia Co
Wisconsin
give my love and best respects to all friends
Louise DeEtte Hall married William Kelsey Bullen. Per family records he was born November 5, 1855 in Washington Co, WI; son of Winslow and Selina (Gilmore) Bullen.For more see:
Carlisle - Wisner Letters
Family of William Wisner
Descendants of Maryetta Wisner
Descendants of Sarah Ann Wisner
Bullen, DeEtte Hall (Poynette, Wisconsin) to “My dear Cousin” [Sarah Ann Camfield Carlisle]. Letter. 18 April 1880. Digital Images 1-4. Privately held by Apple, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Snowville, New York. 2008. [Carlisle Family, Box #1, Correspondence, 1880, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan]
3 comments:
I've been following all of your letters, Apple, and enjoying them immensely. But I have to say, this is one of the most interesting as Dette talks about her early married life.
First, I wondered what I would have written to a cousin or friend about my early months of married life. Would I have said my husband had a "steady good disposition"? I don't think so but I'm not sure how I would have described him. Interesting to ponder.
The other thing that struck me was how much land Will owned and farmed at the age of 24. Wow! You wouldn't find many 24 year olds with that kind of responsibility nowadays!
I find these letters to be fascinating reading. And with every one I think of you and remember our dinner together. Thanks so much for sharing your letters!
I, too, have been following your letters. I love the glimpses into the lives of these newly-wed girls. "I changed my name on the 8th of Jan and my house the next day." So cute and understated. They got married, went home for dinner and then started for their new home the next day. I want to know how they met and how long they dated and lots more. Her rather stoic observation that "we cannot expect to always all stay together" brings to mind how many of our families left their homes, never to see their loved ones again. These are such great letters--a record of how people did "stay together" with their writing. Thank you for sharing them.
Jasia,
I've been surprised by the lack of details. I think I would have written lots more about a new husband!
I'm glad you were there to listen when I was so excited as I first read them and happy you're enjoying them now that I've finally started publishing them :-)
Tex,
In Ella's last letter she says, "I expect to change my name in the course of a week or two" I would expect many more details about an engagement! Instead she talks about dinner and her niece. DeEtte gave very few details of her wedding. They do seem to be somewhat limited by the writing paper that they used. Very few of the letters in the file that used this paper included extra sheets.
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