John Ryerson

Dear Wife

This is inform you that I am in the land of the living yet and am middling well just now Hoping these few lines may find you All in good Health Hoping you may Keep courage & Keep things straight for as soon as I Receive all the Butter that is sent this year I shall come home as I Understand from the letters that I have Received that Amos is taking care of things verry [very] Well I am verry [very] Glad to Hear that I should like to see children verry [very] much & All of you I think the Butter you make & send here Will Bring Anough [enough] to Bring you & the childen a nice Present. I send Nicholas 30 ounces of gold somthing over five hundred dollars directed to the goshen Bank orrenge [Orange] county which as soon as I Receive the first lot of Butter I Will send More show this to Mathew & the rest of sisters & Mother & Give My love to all & Remain You Affectionate Husband & Friend Write to me ~~

John N Ryerson

Dear Brother this is to inform you that I am well hoping these few lines may find you all the same I Received your two letters, one dated 29^th of May and the other 29 June with the three Bills of Laden for forty two tierces of Butter and I sent you 30 oz of gold dust By Adams Express and Paid them for fetching it to be delivered By them in the goshen [Goshen] Bank which Mr. Murry will give you the money for it Arnd sult when you want it and he will sell it in new York New York or git [get] it coined which I think is worth there over five hundred and forty dollars I sent you an account of this gold Dust in my other letter But for fear you did not git [get] it I would write again you wrote to me you thought you would want some I should have sent you more But we are in Business In saremento city Sacramento City and Requires all the capital we have & more if we had it till Peters stuff Arrives which we expect soon & the Butter as soon As the Butter Arrives and sale can be made of it I will send you all the money you need to stragten [straighten] up & what is needed to pay Mr Bronsin & Murry their interest send me Particulars of cost of Wood salt and Butter & All Expence [expenses] So I can see if any thing is made which I think if you see that the Casks are tight & tubs so they dont [don't] loose pickle & keep the small tubs Packed & Pickeled as quck [quick] as they are made so the Butter gets here Rite [right] I think it will make a nice profit. they [there] is plenty of poor Butter here But verry [very] little good so good will fetch a good prise [price] I think the way this was directed By me to put up is the Best way I have seen here and comes in the Best order I wish you to do all you can to direct amos [Amos]

Dear Wife it was a pleasent hour when I Received yourn & Catherines [Catherine's] letter Dated July 8^th 1850 & Received By me Sept 6^th 1850 which I have looked for some time with teers [tears] in my Eys [eyes] to hear from you and all the children But as the children the fever & Ague it is not A Dangerous complaint I am In hopes to see the little group and you in the course of a Year which time will soon Run a Round Although some times I long verry [very] much to see you all But I try to make my mind as Eassy [easy] as I can thinking it all will be for the Best which my Being here or my coming here was for the childrens good I thought for if we should live to see them growen [grown] up to be able to make them midling comfortable is Pleasant for you as well as me as to sending your Butter here I think it will make you a good sumers [summers] work if it arrives here safe which I Will write as soon as any arrves [arrives] and what it fetches if You want any thing write for I Intend to send means home as soon as it arrives I sent to Nicholas 30 ounces of gold Dust about 540. there & would have sent more But We are in Buisness and Requires all the means we have and what we can make to carry on our Buisness Business Bringing and selling goods what buisness I do I will do safe you need not be oneasy [uneasy] I will look out for Nol.. we ar [are] doing well now & Both of us in good health & hoping this may find you all the same tell Dels & show them this letter tell all my friends to write I have Expected to have Recived [received] A letter from some of your sisters or Mathew & brotherenlaws [brothers-in-laws] how they all git [get] a long tell them to write to me & direct their letters to Sacremento Citty Calafornia Sacramento City, California & tell My sisters & Brotherenlas [brothers-in-laws] the same dont [don't] forget to Keep the buildings inshured [insured]

Amos for his good I think the Buiness [business] that we are in will Pay well which I will write to you herafter how we git [get] along which I think will do well I should like to see you all verry [very] much but as it is I cannot But am In hopes we may live to be all at the same table again as we did before I came away I Received Catherines [Catherine's] & My Wifes [Wife's] letter on the 6^th of september [September] which Pleased me verry [very] much & give me spirits to hear they had got well of the ague and all doing well I have Been looking for letters from some of the rest of my Brothers & sisters & tell my sisters & Brotherinlaws [brother-in-laws] to write to me I it Pleases me to hear from them & I will write to them keep good courage think after we git [get] fairly started here we will do well for it is a money making country for some Buisness men as for description of the mines I give it in my wh[?] I Renturned [returned] then some are making money in the mines verry [very] fast & some Complain of not making anything like all other Buisness But I do not Recommend any man to come here for he Runs great Risk a coming In his health and it is a long tedous [tedious] trip to git [get] here although some make for times here verry [very] soon But they is a great many here poor & Broken down & sick here by Exposing themselves in the mines and working verry [very] hard and many woren [worn] out before they git [get] here Crosing [crossing] the Istmus [Isthmus] & crosing [crossing] the plains many drops are the istmas [Isthmus] & Plains at this time I feel wel [well] and come up to the trough as well as I could at home which I am In hopes may Coutenue [continue] till I see you all face to face I think I shall write Evry [every] mail here after to some of you here after which will be twice a month & some of you do the same No More But Remian [remain] a friend to you all.

Sept 13^th 1850 send on the Butter

John N Ryerson

which the policy has run out if it has not been renewed I seen by your letter that the Shelse girl had left you and you had got Jane Forse Back I am verry [very] glad you have got Jane for she cant [can't] be beat and you and her git [get] along well together and makes you good company morso [more so] than any one Else keep good help it is no use to Kill your self I am In hopes Amos is A good boy which from what you writ [write] he does well You cannot Expect he would git [get] along as well as if I were there he is young & his being a lone a while will make aman [a man] of him if he has some charge on him it will Draw him to his buisness as to the colt he bot [bought] it will soon grow in a young teen with the one he has and will be no Damage the mail comes twise [twice] a week Month & wrte [write] as often as you can You and Jane can fixup a letter Evry [every] two weeks and I will try and do the same tell Isac to write to me how he gits [gets] along and what he and Caroline thinks of Calafornia [California] I think if he had Calafornia [California] therre [there] for a short time he would soon git [get] as much money as he wanted to Work as hard as he does I seen that man tell nicholas that had Mr Rhodes whiskey & he made out a bill and showed to me or gave it to me storage freight and fire and freight had took all the whiskey to pay its Expence [expense] Except $63 and he said he had trusted that to aman [a man] that had not Paid him and so he would not pay I Kept the Bill laden to send or give it to him if we Ever see Each other again he say he is a going to New York in November so I think he can count it lost – Keep good courage I have the worst of it so you must not complain if any thing goes wrong write to me keep things a going as well as you can I can not give any directions Do as Well as you can and all will be well

Give My love to all and I Remain your affetionate [affectionate] Friend and Husband

John N. Ryerson

September 13^th 1850