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Letter
to William Robey from Absalom Ketchum
Dear Cousin: With pleasure I take my pen in hand to write to you for the first time, to inform you that myself and family is in good health at present & hope these few lines will find you and family enjoying good health also. Cousin William I did expect to have bin in your part of the world last fall, but we had so much bad weather I gave it out, but I intend to see your part of the world in the spring if life and health will admit. I say two letters a year ago to brother John giving your country a great name which has caused me to be very anxious to see it. I want you to write me as soon as you receive this, and let me know where you are living, and how times is, and to be short I want you to give me a full account of your country , the climate, fertility, health, trace &. We have excellent land here, as good perhaps as I could get anywhere else and well situated; my land is within half a mile of Crawfordsville (a very flourishing town) there is fourteen mills within five miles of my house and the most of them grist and saw mills, five of them within less than a mile of me. I have as good land as there is in the state. I can stand in our door and see our town. I have near fifty acres cleared and under good fence. Have built me a very comfortable brick house, have several good springs, have a small bearing orchard. I have nearly half a section of land, I suppose I could sell for thirty dollars per acres. Now, Coz. William, I want you (after giving me a full account of your country) to give me advice whether to sell or not. I have understand there is a find body of land on the Iowa river, that is the place I had a notion of goint to see. I have understood that the surveyors have commenced surveying the Purchase on the West of the Mississippi. I would like very well to git a job of surveying to do next season in that country. If you have any knowledge of a vacancy or any chance for me to git employ in that way, please let me know. I have all the necessary instruments and am doing business of that kind for our County at present. Almost everything sells high here at this time. Land from 20 to 50 dollars an acre. Salt $1.50. Flour $6 per barrel. Corn from 20 to 25 cents per bushel. Please write to me immediately after the reception of this and oblige yours. No more at present but [I] remain with much respect Absalom Ketcham unpublished manuscript, Monroe County Public Library
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