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Show Century-Old Century Old 'enturv-OId 'enturv enturv OId ' - Letters Rate Jobs , Homes Firs First History H1story has a way of fading fadmg into Intoromance mlromance o I Iromance romance with Wlth the passmg passing of a cen cenWry century ce ; tury Wry even though the tacts facts are kept keptmebculously keptmeticulously kemeticulously ) t mebculously meticulously a aligned gned So it is that thatwhen thatwhen thiwhen when one thinks thmks of the development developmentof developrneiof of Michigan M1Chlgan Ohio and the rest of ofthe ofthe 'the the ' the Northwest Territory Terntory he be is aptto apt aptto ato ] t to think tlunk in terms of gold bralded braided braldedboundary braidedboundary braideboundary boundary jugglers ugglers coonskm coonskIn capslong caps capslong caplong long rifles rilles and buttered rumAlvin rum rumAlvm Alvm Alvin Hamer Detroit Detrolt bookseller booTsel1er booksellerhas booTsel1erhas has d scovered a collection collectlon of let letters letters , ters written wrltten wi'itten wiitten ' by the five sons of ofJoslah ofJosiah iJosiah , Joslah Josiah Colburn a dour Yankee of ofilie ofthe . the ilie early Nineteenth Nmeteenth century to let letus letus " us know the first of the 1800s lBODs was wasnot wasnot , not altogether af aftlffie a , , tune tlffie time of the grand grandgesture grandgesture gran gesture and poll political lcal pow wowThese wow These were men whose letters re reveal reveal ' veal that they were hard workmg working workmgjourneyxnen workingjourneymen journeymen journeyxnen and laborers and sea seafarers seafarers se . tarers farers whose main mam concern was not notWlth notwith ni with Wlth the dangers of frontier frontler life llfe but butWith butwith t with the ordinary ordmary business busmess of gettmg get gettmg ge geting ting tmg jobs and founding foundmg homes homesOut homesOut Out of New York state these boys boyscame boyscame bo ; s came to spread as tar far north as On Ontano Ontario Oi Oitano tano tario as tar far west as St Louis LoUls and andsouth andsouth south to New Orleans with the theBlble theBible , Bible Blble read ng father always m in tt ttbackground the thebackground thebackground , background g ving vmg good Scnptural Scriptural Scnpturalcounsel Scripturalcounsel Scnptur ; counsel . , ' There was Thomas a rOlstermg roistering rOlstermgwanderer roisteringwanderer roistenn.wanderer roistennwanderer S . wanderer in sail whose paper papers papersshow papersshow : show that he sailed salled in ill 1816 from fromKmgston fromKingston Kingston Kmgston Ont . . . with Wlth a cargo of 4D 40 4Dbarrels 40barrels ( barrels of beer and 427 pounds ofcheese of ofcheese f cheese at a tune tlffie time when memories memones of ofthe ofthe o : the v si . ar Sr with Wlth Britain BntaIn were still freshIt fresh freshIt It was Jeremiah Jeremlah who wrote of the theboom th thboom theboom < boom which followed the war ill in illBuffalo inBuffalo irBuffalo Buffalo only to complain complam three threeyears threeyears thretyears years later that Jobs ) ] obs were hard to tofind tofind tfind ( find He had just lust fin shed his apprenticeshlp apprenticeship ap prentlceship prenticeshlp prenticeship as a a carpenter and was wasstartmg wasstarting wa ; starting startmg out on h Ii sown sownI s ownI own I am this thlS day pretty good lookmg looking look ing mg half hal ! white and 21 years of agehal agehalf age ( half hal ! Indian perhaps perhaps7) perhaps7 ? ' ) I am now nowsquare nowsquare novsquare square with Wlth the world-love world love world-I world I world - I o yebody ve ye no nobody nobody body and nobody owes me Jerry Jerrywrote Jerrywrote Jerr ; wrote to his sailor sallor brother Thomas Thomashad Thomashad had evidently eVldenUy caut oned h m in on the thefolly thefolly folly of wandering wandermg tor for he contIn contm contInued contmued uedFree ued Free and independent mdependent you have haveadvIsed haveadvised haveadvised advIsed me to refrain refralb refrais . from ram ramblmg rambling rambimg blmg bling and be steady I should be beglad beglad be glad it If you would take a little to toyoursel toyourself yourself yoursel ! for I bel bet eve you stand In Inneed inneed need ot of becoming becommg more steady than thanwhat thanwhat what you have been for these SlX six SlXyears sixyears years past For you have traveled traveledthousands traveledthousands thousands of miles and I have nf ' nr ni nrtraveled ' traveled travelcd half hal hail ! of one |
