]> nbhips-l209 Letter from Uriah W. Oblinger to Laura I. Oblinger, Sadie Oblinger, and Nettie Oblinger, April 10, 1887: a machine-readable transcription. Oblinger, Uriah Wesley, 1842-1901 Collection RG1346 Selected and converted. Nebraska State Historical Society Library Archives

Lincoln, NE, 1999-2000.

Preceding element place and date of transcription only.

 Oblinger, Uriah Wesley, 1842-1901, Manuscript Collections, Library Archives Division, Nebraska State Historical Society The patron assumes responsibility for any copyright violation, issues of invasions of privacy, libel and/or slander that may result from the use of these materials.

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This transcription is intended to have an accuracy of 99.95 percent or greater and is not intended to reproduce the appearance of the original work. The Oblinger letters were edited with minimal corrections to the original text. A full discussion of editorial policy is available as a separate document. The accompanying images provide a facsimile of this work and represent the appearance of the original.

 1999/12/21 0001
Transcription

At Home1April 10th 1887Dear wife & Babies,

I am at home tonight with my little girls. I came home from Quinter Tuesday afternoon-- My Quinter friends would not hear to my leaving them monday night and agreed to pay my way to Gove city Tuesday morning if I would stay. Court met and decided a few law cases without a jury & adjourned till Oct and I heard of it monday evening yet & so I did not put the boys to any expense to take me to the hub & came home expecting to stay the rest of the week. I was not feeling very well and was laying on the bed wednesday trying to rest when at noon a man came after me from Gove city my Deputy being gone as usual so I got in the buggy & went with him & stayed till last night. they wanted me to fix the papers in a mandamus case for the town of Grinnell. I am going back in the moring to stay several days & get the books all in good shape for the next term of court & then the commissioners meet tommorrow & I want to see them. Oh yes; Ma I got quite a compliment from Lawyer Danford of Hays city he said I kept the best & neatest record he had seen my books were in splendid shape & were admired by all. I challenged the north debating society for another tilt. they got two votes in their favor & one for us but the decision was hooted by the audience. they chose J. C. Dunn & I chose Wm Wiggington, & Kessler from Collyer was the third judge & it was like this our three opponents & Dunn all belonged to the Covenanters, & Kessler took out a little spite because collyer dont like Quinter & because Quinter scooped him in debate on friday night before and I found out next morning that the decision was a forgone conclusion before argument was offered. we put Ralston up first and he spoke just 4 minutes & broke down completely which Cober & Me for the work & several told me next day that Cobers speech or mine either one upset all the argument they produced

I was looking at our garden today and it is coming up the peas are through the ground. we had a nice shower of rain yesterday moring commencing before daylight and lasting till sunrise. it has been very windy since friday morning from a souterly direction.

There was a fire started about 1 ½ miles south east of Gove city wednesday morning & the wind in the north west drove it over a large scope of country and friday, wind turned south west and brought it back, and friday night while McMains family were asleep their caught fire & they just barely escaped with their lives they had to put one of the girls out throgh a window and hurt her some in getting out. McMain was working in Gove City at the carpenter trade and he had just left the breakfast table at Mr Fosdicks when the word was brought him saturday morning, & before noon the citizens of Gove city had made up over a hundred dollars for him, and the day before they made up $25 for a man that got his wagon burned between Gove City & grainfield. it happened in this way he was driving from Grainfied against a strong wind and was smoking and looking back he saw his load all ablaze, & the sheriff, Lawer Danford & Frank Wright seeing it at a distance whipped their team into a run and jumping out tried to upset the wagon and having on about 3000 lbs could not do it so they put a rope to the wagon & hitched the team to that & upset it and saved the running gear & a few chairs. he had been to Grainfild for provision & expected to meet his family there but they did not arrive. he is a new comer & was here ahead of his family to fix a place on his claim to move into when they arrived and he had spent nearly every cent of his money for the provisions. So you see Gove City is trying to make people welcome they paid all of Spencers expenses when he was hurt, Doctor bill board bill & all. Made up over a hundred Dollars for McMain & $25-- for the man that had his wagon burned.

Our school commences in the morning & Stella has worked like an old woman all week, getting ready for it. Maggie is cutting a jaw tooth & has suffered considerable for three or four days & was crying last night with it when I got home, & Stella was gone to Troups to see if he came home through Quinter & brought us any mail but had not & so we have not had any since Tuesday morning & I am getting a little anxious to hear from you & babies, if you got through all right and if you are getting along all right and if Pa & Ma was at the Depot to meet or if you surprised them a day to soon. I want you to keep me posted every week or oftener just how you are getting along for I am in hopes you will improve rapidly and come back this fall sound & healthy I would go to Quinter tomorrow & get my mail but I am compeled to go to Gove City on my official duties & will probably have Baker remail my letters to me there

Ferry's cattle run down in the bottom southeast of the house all the time now & today Elliott turned his out on the creek. if I get my crop in some one will have to herd their cattle or I will make them some trouble. If it was not for the school I would try to move to Gove City for there is lots more work in the office than I expected, and it seems to be growing.

The Frank Wright cases that I told you about has been settled, 4 of them in his favor & the other two might as well be and friday his Lawyers was in my office figuring up the costs and it will amount to nearly $500-- of course it will not much of it come to me it is mostly costs the sheriff had to make when he took charge of his cattle ranch & livery barn a man had to be hired and boarded at each place & feed bought for the stock beside other Items. Stella & Maggie have been practicing penmanship tonight & they keep the house as neat as a pin, but then it's just a little lonesome without the babies, & well I believe I would just as soon sleep on half the bedrail & have Ma here as to have the whole bed to myself & have so many miles between us.

We are all feeling pretty well tonight and hope your health is improving rapidly. I have no little girls to climb on the table tonight & bother me but this ink is so thick it is a nuisance, if I could just feel the two pairs of little arms around my neck tonight and have a kiss from each & one from Ma I would not feel lonesome. but hope the God above will favor you and all my family with perfect health and unite us ere long on our Kansas Homestead.

Good night & God bless you till we meet again and dont forget to kiss my babies every day for me. Love to all the relatives Your Loving Husband

U. W. Oblinger

Monday afternoon back at Gove city

we had a fine rain last night have just seen Lehmer and told him to have Baker send my letters to this place today or tomorrow but not later in the week as I may be at home

Yours in love

U. W. Oblinger

Editor's note(s)

1. A fragment has been placed at the end of this letter, based on content. The main body of the letter was written by Uriah “at home” in Quinter on April 10, 1887, which was a Sunday according to the perpetual calendar. In the letter, Uriah writes, “I would go to Quinter tomorrow & get my mail but I am compeled to go to Gove City on my official duties & will probably have Baker remail my letters to me there.” The fragment written “Monday afternoon back at Gove city...” confirms that Uriah has asked to have Baker forward his mail.