Transcribers Log #005 - LAURA LEE RUTHERFORD of Red Banks, Virginia
Welcome to... My Darling Emma 1857
If you are NEW HERE be sure to read the beginning of the journey I am on transcribing my family's 19th century letter collection!
...Challenges of transcribing old Letters…
I wanted to write about a few more of the hiccups I’m finding in transcribing my family’s 19 century correspondences. I mean the obstacles other than the normal wear, tear, dirt and fading for a piece of paper that has been laying around for 150+ years.
✒Rodent damage. I was told my letter collection spent quite some time marinating in a cardboard box in an old dirty barn. When I got the box, some of the documents and letters were completely annihilated by mice.. just riddled with mouse poop..AND mouse chew holes throughout the papers. Nonetheless this made literal HOLES in the story of some of the correspondences and we will never know what had been written all those years ago.
✒Ink bleed & Ink blots happened when someone wrote on both sides of the paper (example below). This happened a lot since paper & postage were expensive and why waste paper only to write on one side..
✒Tiny print. And I mean TINY! This was again likely done again to save on paper.
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| The infamous mouse chew holes... |
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| Example of ink bleed in one of the letters. This one written by Thomas Childs, Emma's brother. |
✒Cross writing. It’s exactly what it sounds like. I’d never seen anything like it and thought maybe I had stumbled upon a secret society’s communications…
I did not.
BUT imagine writing a full page letter vertically, and then turning your paper horizontally and then continue to write across your original words. It looks like chicken scratch actually, although I did see some beautiful samples online. I don’t have cross-writing correspondences like that. Mine look like they need handed off to the CIA for analyzing!
This form of cross-writing or "cross-hatching" was a technique used in the 18th 19th century as a way to save on scarce paper and pricey postage, but phased out after the turn of the 19th century when said things were more affordable. One can also guess everyone begged their friends to stop writing like this as its a migraine on paper!
I feel that I may have the double whammy of cross-writing actually (pictured below.) I have a letter that is cross-written on checkered paper. Yes, not only is there words in 2 opposite directions, the paper has a background of hundreds of tiny squares. I have tried several times to transcribe this letter, but have laid it aside in frustration every time. It may never get transcribed and that’s ok. I know it didn’t come from a Secret Society.
NOW YOU GOTTA BE ASKING YOURSELF "who did write this disarranged lookin mess of non stop gushing words to my GGgrandma Emma in 1876!?"
Well, it was none other than her friend Miss Laura Lee Rutherford (1847-1922) granddaughter of Senator Philip Adam Pitman (1797–1876) and gggrandaughther of widely written about Captain Robert Rutherford, who in 1757 became Captain of a Ranger company who would become known as "Rutherford's Rangers." The Rutherford family held influential positions, high military ranks and were prominent land owners. Laura pens her correspondences from “Red Banks” Virginia - a MANSION that has a long history of its own! You can read more about the property at this link HERE.
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| Cross-written letter written by Laura Rutherford |
Laura was 28 years old when she wrote this crazy looking cross-written letter to her 19 year old friend Emma. At the time of this letter and all her earlier dated letters, Laura resided with her parents James & Susan Rutherford and several younger siblings in Bloomery, West Virginia. She would then board, work, and write (to my 2nd great grandma Emma) from Red Banks.
Eventually, Laura becomes Mrs. Laura Keeler when she marries Emma’s Nephew Charlie Briscoe Keeler!!
-remember I stated in a previous post that Emma's oldest (half) sister was 35 years old when she was born and already had three children? Charlie was one of those children…
Charlie Keeler is legendary throughout this letter Collection. More times than I can remember, folks were asking “where is Charlie?” "what is Charlie up to nowadays?" "who is Charlie setting his cap for?" I haven't figured out why Charlie is a much talked about topic among these letters, but I can say he was well sought after among the ladies - then marries Laura - to which it seems they did in secret! dun dun dun!
I am fortunate to have a few letters written by Charlie during his talk-of-the-town adventures in the wild west AND while visiting uncle Tom’s farm in Butler, Missouri for extended working stays. So I will try and write more of Charlie and his shenanigans in the future.
Laura & Charlie married in 1876 and went on to have 2 boys:
1. William Briscoe Keeler married Margaret Page Louthan. I didn’t find any children for them.
2. Charles Rutherford Keeler married Norma Lee Pittman and they had 2 sons, William and Charles. There are still descendants from this Keeler family living today.
Although I am trying to keep these bios short and sweet, I will leave you with ONE more last snippet of "Laura Rutherford history." If you’re a Civil War buff then you have probably heard of the “Battle of Rutherford's Farm.” This took place at Laura’s uncle farm when she was 17 years old in 1864. Many lives were lost during that battle. Today, other than a “small interpretive area” the Rutherford Farm Battlefield has been lost to development. Another concrete jungle.
Til the next time folks.
Sincerely,
CT
*My collection of letters also include correspondences from Laura's sisters Jennie and Minnie, but those are sitting waiting patiently to be transcribed.
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| The Keeler family Charles, Laura and sons Shared on Ancestry.com by FrmGrl3 originally on 21 Mar 2017 |
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| Keeler gravestone photo on Find A Grave.com added by Krista Al Qirim on October 2022 |
Quotes from Laura’s letters:
"Henry Gold came up here last Thursday week and stayed until last Wednesday. He is such a nice little fellow so polite and kind. Henry, Jennie, Willie and myself went chestnut hunting whilst he was up here. We all together got a pale and we had a happy time. We took our dinners with us and stayed all day."
-Laura L. Rutherford writes from Rutherford Retreat November 1869
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"We have had a good deal of company besides I have been helping Jennie to do up her sewing which was no little I assure you. Oh! how we wished for you and your machine."
-Laura L. Rutherford writes from Red Banks 1875
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"We forget we are no longer children when we get together after a few months separation. We spent such a pleasant day at cousin Mary Ripley's yesterday. Their was nine single ladies there, uncle John went with us, he was the only gentleman there. We played croquet and everything was imaginable."
-Laura L. Rutherford writes from Red Banks 1875
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"I tell you Em laying all fun aside, measles are not to be tampered with, especially when they get a hold of old folks like myself. You know I was sick when I allowed them to poultice me with onions, and dosed me with castor oil. I got a woke the night I had the onion poultice on, and didn't know where I was, thought I had my hand in an old dark cupboard, I soon threw the old onions behind the bed!"
-Laura L. Rutherford writes from Red Banks 1876
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"As much I am as nervous this week I can scarcely write and I will tell you why I am so. Caroline and myself were sweeping the yard when she told me to look behind one and what do you think I saw? Why a cozy man sitting just over the fence grinning at me, you may inquire my feeling. When the old fella got up and I thought was going to get over the fence we ran and hollered for the men but could make none of them hear us. Finally I saw two men coming up though right when they got nearly here I ordered the old fellow to pick up his hops and move or I would set the dogs on him. There wasn't a dog on the place they had gone with uncle R somewhere, he moved a long up the road until the men got out of sight when he started back swearing he didn't care for the dogs he was going to kill us, we took for the field for the men. I never ran so fast in my life, he didn't get to the house when he saw the men he went on up the road. I wouldn't have been so afraid of him if the dogs had have been here. And I wish you could have seen me getting through the corn stocks in barnyard when I was running I think it quite laughable now since it is all over."
-Laura L. Rutherford writes from Red Banks 1876
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"Emma I suppose you heard of the terrible disaster at Narrow Passage, the railroad bridge gave away on Thursday night and let a train of 17 cars go down about 90 feet. Oh! I think it must have been awful to have heard the cries of the poor men and following of the other persons hear it was a frightful site. Great many persons went the next day to see it, I had no desire to see it, there was 17 persons on the train, 11 were killed the other six wounded. Some of them they didn't get out until the third day. "
-Laura L. Rutherford writes from Red Banks 1876
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| Another cross-written letter from the collection. Do you think YOU would be able to read this? |
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| This letter looks like they had a little bit more to say and ran out of room so it was cross-written so they didn't have to use another piece of paper. |
Rutherford Battlefield information:
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/battle-of-rutherford-s-farm.htm
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