I’m the lucky caretaker of a pack of letters, most of them written by my great-great-great-grandfather William Sylvanus Bishop. The letters were written to his family back east in Bunker Hill, New York after William had come west in search of land and an independent life. The letters are infused with his sense of hope and optimism, and tell matter-of-factly of his hard work and dedication to his dream of being a successful farmer. This is one part of my agricultural heritage.
One interesting piece of trivia about William is that he was named after his grandfather, Sylvanus Bishop, a Revolutionary War veteran. Sylvanus received a war pension, and on the days his pension arrived he gave each grandchild a set amount of allowance money, which they called their pensions. William, because he was named William Sylvanus, received double the amount of “pension” the other grandchildren received.
William struck out in April 1863 for Iowa at the age of 24, leaving behind his wife, Minerva, and 4-month-old son, Sylvanus Parker. He traveled by boat from Oswego, New York to Cleveland, Ohio across the Great Lakes. From Cleveland he came – presumably by stagecoach, wagon, or on foot – to Ulster Township, Floyd County, Iowa (near Rudd) where he engaged in farming. We don’t know what made him select this particular part of the country. But the reasons why he came west are clear in a letter he wrote to his mother in July 1863:
Mother I am glad I came west. I never could have accumulated much if I had staid East, but now I think that in a few years I can be independent. It is going to be hard…at first for the want of a few hundred dollars to start with but after I am once started and free from debt it is all…worth it.”
Minerva and baby Sylvanus made the trip that August to join William. What a harrowing trip that must have been, traveling by herself half-way across the country, by boat and wagon with an 8-month-old baby. We know from the letters that for many years after settling here Minerva was terribly homesick.
Their first home was of logs as William described it in a letter to his brother, Nelson:
I have got the best log stable in town, 14 x 20, the cracks chinked and mudded, covered with hay. It makes a warm stable. The way I came to have so good, one I got my timber very cheap, I bought a grove of timber…good for nothing but rails and firewood. Besides 41 logs for house, sills and stable logs…are 8 inches at the top. Pd $32.50, since then I have been offered $35 for my grove and $15 for my logs. I hewed the logs on two sides making quite a quantity of firewood.
In December 1863 there is talk of a Civil War draft in Ulster township:
The draft will come off next summer, so said. The town of Ulster is required to furnish two. There are eighteen first class liable to the draft and so my chance is one in nine. Min worries some about this but I think time enough to fret when it comes, for I shall adhere to my old motto, ‘don’t borrow trouble’.
Later in the month he writes again:
We expected a draft here next month but last night we had a war meeting and two army men stepped up and said they would go. So I expect we shall have no draft unless another is made.
In 1864, after only one year in Iowa, William buys another farm. It is assumed that he sells his first claim.
I have bought 40 acres 1-1/2 miles from here with neighbors all around so I think Min will bid goodbye to homesickness. I paid $400 for said place. There is 28 acres broke and fenced with a log house upon it. It is not so much land as I want but I thought it would make me a home for a while and when you all come out here I would sell and we would setle near each other.
William was always trying to convince his family to move to Iowa. In a letter to his sister Jennie dated March 1868 he extols the virtues of the state:
We have had just enough snow to make good sleighing most of the time but I think it is the coldest winter I have seen in Iowa. We are all enjoying good health with a fare degree of prosperity. Parker has attended school this winter. He has been through his first reader. At a spelling the other night he spoke his first piece. We are to have a new schoolhouse this summer in the place of an old log one. There is much excitement in Iowa at present in regard to projected railroads. One thing is certain, the iron horse will soon be heard snorting in most all parts of Iowa. In your parts I suppose a citizen of Iowa is looked upon as something wild, as an Indian or a grizley bear would be. But here to be called a Hawkeye is as great an honor as it was to be called a Roman in ancient times, and well they may be for Iowa is bound to be the greatest state in the Union. She is already out of debt with $100,000 in the treasury, and there is no other state in the Union clear of debt. And nature has done as much to make her great as could well be done. Illinois is the only state that pretends to compete with her in agriculture. I shall sow about 30 acres of wheat, 8 of oats and plant about 8 to corn. I shall break some more this summer. Labor is high here. I have hired a man for the season at 20-1/2 dollars per month.
By April 1866 William’s brother Nelson has moved to Iowa and married the local school marm. In 1870 his brother Sereno joins them. The rest of their family remains in New York.
One interesting letter describes their adopted way of life called “the hygiene method of living”. This is essentially a vegetarian diet stressing raw foods. Very unusual, one would think, for an Iowa farm family, although William indicates that they are not strict about it.
You mention in your letter that you understood we had adopted the hygiene method of living. We have partially done so. Like some others we are ‘joined to our idols’ and for the sake of not being different from our neighbors still continue in many of our old ways of living. But we do not doctor with drugs, we do not use tobacco. Our drink is water. Our bread principally unleavened graham. Meat and grease used sparingly. Fruit as common as potato. This with not being afraid of water, sunlight, and fresh air is about the extent of our changes. In case we are sick, if our own comon sense does not tell us how to proceed, we consult Dr. Jacksen’s work ‘How to Treat the Sick Without Medicine’.
Minerva passed away June 2, 1912 in South Dakota while visiting her son William Theodore and his family. Her body was brought back to Iowa for burial. She was 70 years old.
William Sylvanus died November 15, 1923 in Nora Springs, Floyd County, Iowa just short of his 85th birthday.
Utterly fantastic!!! What a treasure you have in your possession. Do you have them archived and stored in any particular manner? There is information on properly preserving paper documents. WOW….is all I can say. I’ve just finished a book entitled, “This Cruel War”, which is an almost complete set of letters written between a husband and wife during the civil war. It’s a fantastic look into life back then. I’m curious about the vegetarianism you’ve described. Do you believe it was because their livestock was for draft – working purposes and not for food, or was there no way to preserve? I do have a book recording my family history back to just before the civil war, but it contains very little personal narrative.
That is just incredible! What a treasure to have so much of your family history told from their pen. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I briefly researched “natural hygiene” and found that while they do encourage vegetarianism, the main premise of the philosophy is food combining, i.e. eating foods in certain combinations. So there is a place for protein (meats) in the practice. In another letter he tells of fattening 5 hogs, 2 to eat and 3 to sell. I’m sure they preserved meat. I’ll have to ask my grandma – she’s almost 90 – what methods they might have used besides smoking/curing it.
This is so interesting Kelli! And to have it be written by one of your ancestors makes it all the more fascinating.
There are quite a pack of letters. One of my “someday” projects is to write a book that combines the narrative of the letters with a history of Iowa during that time period. I also have an autobiography written by another g-g-g-grandfather from this same time period. I read these over and over again.
Dear Kelli -I so enjoyed reading your blog & seeing pics from your farm. I was looking at pics on CNN’s ireports of Cedar Rapids where I used to live. Found your aunt’s storm pic that someone else put up as a tornado on ireport & your comment. Thank you for sharing the truth & your letters & legacy. You have a wonderful way with words & humor so please write that book!