Creator
Sarah [Muir Galloway]
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
as to how we are all getting along David M. Annie or Joanna I suppose write you every once in a while Father and Mother were both well when I saw them on Christmas it is altogether too late to wish you a happy new year nevertheless I send the wish with a fervent prayer that the coming year may be one fraught with many of the best blessings to you. I must close as the children wish to send a few lines. let me hear from you soon As ever yours Sarah
My Dear Uncle John
If you will tell me what you was doing on Christmas morning I will tell you what I was doing. the first thing I did was to examine the contents of my stocking. I first took out a card with a picture of a cow and her calf next I took out a pair of mittens next came a lead pencil an pen holder and lastly a candy man. was your stocking as well filled as that. I am getting along nicely at school. I stuy U.S. history Geography Arithmetic and spelling. But I like Reading and Geography the best George
00528
603
[in margin: have you ever received Mother's [illegible] that I sent you some time ago]
Mound Hill Jan. 15th 1871
My Dear Broth John
How shall I begin to express my thanks for those dear little tokens of remembrance you sent us from a far of land. we each prize them highly but none of us more than Grandma. Galloway she tells us to tell you that she is very grateful to think that you thought of her when you were so far away She keeps her little flower tied up in her Mother's Bible with its history as she calls the description you sent along with it and thinks of it as one of her treasures. the little buds and flowers seem to tell us of rocks and mountains and of a warm enthusiastic heart very nearly
allied to us wandering among and admiring their beauties. It seems to me your life must be passing very pleasantly for sure you seem to have arrived at that Lodge in the vast wilder- -ness that [illegible] speaks of: there are wars and rumors of war outside but I am not sure whither much more than the sound will reach you I have a great mind to send you a copy of the Tribune to wake you up. The past summer and fall has been an extremely busy one to me, the build -ing of the new house and so much tear -ing down and changing around the old part has made more work than I can tell you of, what with papering and painting and getting things put in order again I have had all I could do I assure you, but my health is pretty good I have had one of Mr Wilson's daughter's helping me for about four- teen months but am trying it alone
again. Annie can help me a good deal now just think of it John she is as old as I was when I left Scotland when I think of it it seems as though it could hardly be real, and these thoughts lead us back [us back deleted] twenty two years, and then our shanty experience comes rushing back and so on. and so on. Many of those events in our history seem like a dream or a tale that has been told. George and Celia take me back further yet, to where you and I as children kept the house in perfect commotion so much so that they tell me if there was any extra noise going on they would say [illegible] thats John and Sarah fechtin. I believe C. and G. romp and play with as much noise and rest as we ever did when George is at home from school they are almost inseperable to be with him Celia is perfectly willing to help him tend to the cattle and clean the Stables. I suppose you are pretty well imformed
Mound Hill, Jan. 15th, 1871.
My dear brother John:
How shall I begin to express my thanks for those dear little tokens of remembrance you sent us from a faroff land. We each prize them highly, but none of us more than Grandma Galloway. She tells us to tell you that she is very grateful to think that you thought of her when you were so far away. She keeps her little flower tied up in her Mother's Bible with its history, as she calls the description you sent along with it, and thinks of it as one of her treasures. The little buds and flowers seem to tell us of rocks and mountains and of a warm enthusiastic heart very nearly allied to us wandering among and admiring their beauties. It seems to me your life must be passing very pleasantly, for sure you seem to have arrived at that Lodge in the vast wilderness that Cowper speaks of. There are wars and rumors of war outside, but I am not sure whether much more than the sound will reach you. I have a great mind to send you a copy of the Tribune to wake you up.
The past summer and fall has been an extremely busy one to me, the building of the new house and so much tearing down and changing around the old part has made more work than I can tell you of, what with papering and painting and getting things put in order again, I have had all I could do, I assure you. But my health is pretty good. I have had one of Mr. Wilson's daughters helping me for about fourteen months, but am trying it alone again. Annie can help me a good deal now. Just think of it, John, she is as old as I was when I left Scotland. When I think of it it seems as though it could hardly be real, and these thoughts lead us back twenty-two years, and then our shanty experience comes rushing back and so on, and so on. Many of those events in our history seem like a dream or a tale that has been told. George and Celia take me back further yet, to where you and I as children kept the house in perfect commotion, so much so that they tell me if there was any extra noise going on they would say, "0, that's John and Sarah fechtin." I believe C. and G. romp and play with as much noise and zest as we ever did; when George is at home from school they are almost inseparable. To be with him Celia is perfectly willing to help him tend to the cattle and clean the stables.I suppose you are pretty well informed as to how we are all getting along. David M[uir], Annie or Joanna, I suppose, write you every once in a while. Father and Mother were both well when I saw them on Christmas. It is altogether too late to wish you a happy new year, nevertheless I send the wish with a fervent prayer that the coming year may be one fraught with many of the best blessings to you. I must close, as the children wish to send a few lines. Let me hear from you soon.
As ever yours,
Sarah [Galloway]
[Following letter on same sheet of paper]
My dear Uncle John:
If you will tell me what you were doing on Christmas morning I will tell you what I was doing. The first thing I did was to examine the contents of my stocking. I first took out a card with a picture of a cow and her calf, next I took out a pair of mittens, next came a lead pencil and penholder, and lastly a candy man. Was your stocking as well filled as that. I am getting along nicely at school. I study U. S. history, geography, arithmetic and spelling. But I like reading and geography the best.
George.[Galloway]
604
Location
Mound Hill, [Wisc]
Date Original
1871 Jan 15
Source
Original letter dimensions: 20 x 25 cm.
Recommended Citation
Galloway, Sarah Muir, "Letter from Sarah [Muir Galloway] to John Muir, 1871 Jan 15." (1871). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 1365.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/1365
Resource Identifier
muir02_0381-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 02, Image 0381
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
Copyright Status
Copyright status unknown
Copyright Statement
Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Pages
3 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
