[Cholera] ALS from C.R. Wood, Detroit, Michigan to Parents Mr. & Mrs. Cyrus Wood, Montpelier, Vermont August 1832

Item Details

[Cholera] ALS from C.R. Wood, Detroit, Michigan to Parents Mr. & Mrs. Cyrus Wood, Montpelier, Vermont August 1832

Stampless Letter unfolded measures about 12.5 x 8 inches. Top third of second leaf missing. Tears from wax seal but no loss of content. Weakness at folds. Bold red Detroit circular date stamp. Letter mailed at the .25 cent rate. Fair condition.

Enlightening letter from a young cabinetmaker living in Detroit, Michigan in 1832.  C.R. Wood writes about various illnesses he has suffered plus of those around him. "It is discouraging to try to live here in this manner, although if it weren't for sickness, I could live here contented & happy, without ever seeing Montpelier again, but should be glad to see my folks...William has just come in & says that the cholera has broke out & now five was buried."

He also describes a series of street fights (gouging and cowhiding) between editors, one day and shop keepers the next. "We have been fighting here enough (not pistols nor dirks), by fist gouging & cowhideing... A little while ago, the four editors met on Main Street. Had a real battle. They quit & agreed to meet the next day. They accordingly met & had it out. Yesterday, two merchants stepped into the street & had a real fist fight. There is no need of all this fighting, if anyone would mind his own business."

Detroit, as a frontier town had several thousand inhabitants in the 1790's, but by the turn of the 19th century, white American settlers began pouring westwards across the Appalachians and through the Great Lakes.  This letter was written five years before Michigan was admitted to the Union and reflected still, a wild-west mentality. 

Apparently working in a small cabinet shop, Wood describes his co-workers, ". I have not got acquainted [with people] a great deal, but those that I have got acquainted with & set by them. Allthough my shopmate (a Frenchman) is a profane wreck & so is [the] boss, the other mate is pious."  Wood also describes his project work, " I have six workstands to finish, 4 drawers to make & six leaves."

He writes more about his illnesses plus a visit from a doctor, and we see a tinge of homesickness. "When I am sick, then I want my parents to watch over me, but am denied because we are at such a distance... It would gratify me greatly to visit Mont[pelier], but as for living there, it would be a prison to me.... I had the doctor & he gave me camomile & somthing else that puked me 3 times. I took this in the morning. It did not physic me till the next morning, then he gave me salts & magnesia &c. I am not so weak, I can't hardly get to the shop, but I think I am getting better..."

Finally C.R. Wood writes about efforts to get on a steamer, either the Henry Clay or the Superior, "I know I am a poor wanderer in the world. I don't know where I shall stop but will write as soon as I get settled."

A graphic snapshot of the frontier town of Detroit Michigan from 1832.  A complete transcript is included for this 802-word letter.