Letter 34 Mary E L Peterson Drinkard to Martha William Wright Moody

Date: 12 Jan 1846 [unknown]
Location: Hicksford, Virginia
Surnames/tags: Moody Wright January 12th 1846

Dear Pat

I received your letter after looking for it several times it was read with a gread deal of pleasure I assure you, for to hear of your being happy and contented was very delightful news to your sincere friend, not that it was so strange for you to be so, no not all for you ought to be so, you say Mr Moody says he has taken my advice, tell him always to do so, for I will never give any but good advice, and that it is my wish he may prosper here and be happy hereafter, I have not left the viliage but two evenings since Sally left, I went out to Mr Peebles's with her, when she left, the girls enquired after you, but I had not heard from you they send there love to you and they are very fond of you, they and I will stay with you some, when you return, I heard from you family, a few days ago they were all well, Dr Johnson Eliza and Nannie Newsome were up here a weak or so ago they stayed three days they are the lovingest coupple you ever saw, they beat Mr and Mrs Moody you know how fond they are, Nannie has the Erysipulus she has been very ill with it, but is recovering, Jack Reese has it and it is thought he cannot recover, I have a great mind to go South to miss it, I wish I was with you a weak or two, but I have waited for some one to go to Smithfield with me, but I find if I go I shall have to do as Catty says that is to go alone, which I think I shall do this day weak, I have begun to write to her to inform her of my visit, I shall go down to Robert's on Wednessday and then down to Smithfield, I will try to get through my far off visiting by the time you get home, I wish you to write to me as soon as you get this and let me know what time you expect to get home, if you come by Montgomery call and see Sally, as I should like to hear from her direct, her boys are the sweetest little fellows you ever saw the oldest the prettiest, the youngest the best, if you don’t make haste and come I shall be on the road there, for I shall leave this country, the 1st of June, I am comfortablely fixed in my little stable, and Eliza to wait on me, and Burton for my driver I did not get him in the divition, so I hire him, I got Randolph him I sold to Brother for his valuation, 450, Charlotte I sold to Mr Key he owned her husband, I got 400 for her, I greatly prefer hiring to buying, I think of the Doctors bill, and of their dying, I have had to leave this letter twice since I commenced it, and that has not been more than an hour and half I am a very important character, I am scarcely allowed time to read or write, but I will answer letters when I get them, I owe two or three now, I get from one to two a day, I got two yesterday was a weak and one every night but two the whole week, Mr and Mrs Graves have moved over she is very lively, we have 8 boarders, and some transient person every night, if were well fixed I should like this place very much, the society is very good and very neighbourly, I have not time to write but little for I have some cloths to make for my child, Mary Peterson, before I leave, and some fixing for myself, so I may look spruce and smart, sisters health improves a scuffle suits her, her and Brother send their love to you, Give my love to all my acquaintances, and particularly to Marth and ask her what springs, are the most fashionable in the south, as I am a fashionable and wish to visit some spring in the summer in that country, tell her all the beaus are fortunehunters in this country, and as I had rather marry for one than to bee married for one, I shall go south, hoping to get one, you had better bring one for me if you want me to live by you, and you get a place in Columbus, how is Dr Sykes and cousin Becky, and cousin Susan Barratte I don’t know who she married, give my love to them, I saw Henry Smith in this country he has gone if you see Patty, that we have made a bargin, but I don’t think he will kill her for me for he says she is likelyer than I am, you must excuse bad writing as I have hurryed through this letter to get ready to start, don’t show it to any one if you please for I have been but two hours at it and three interuptions, I remain as ever your very devoted Friend and well wisher as Major Jones's says in his letter no more till deth and writes a postscrip after, but I will play the man that bet he would write a letter without a PS and after he directed it he opened it and said PS you see I have written one without a PS, I am again your loving Friend

M E D

PS Sarah is as large as life but no more in family, bring me something pretty,

Addressed to: Mrs Martha W Moody

Columbus

Mississippi

Postmarked: HICKSFORD Va JAN 12

Postage: 10

[In one of the folds she has written] I have not had time to go to see Sis and the Dr yet I told when Catty came I would they don’t like it]

VLR (Virginia Leigh Refo)

A letter to Martha William (Wright) Moody who has apparently gone with her husband John Mason Moody to look at the area in and around Columbus, MS and perhaps buy property and a home. They did in fact purchase a home in January 1847 from Richard and Martha Sykes. They obviously spent time there and in North Carolina, as there are letters to and from Columbus. The home they bought in Columbus stands today and is known as Rosewood Manor. The Moodys are listed in the 1850 census both in Northampton County, NC and Columbus, MS. They owned the Columbus home until 1860 when they sold it to Mary Jane (Crump) Leigh, Martha'a aunt, widow of Rev. Hezekiah Gilbert Leigh and mother of Dr. H.G. Leigh who married in 1859 their daughter Martha "Alice" (Moody) Leigh. John Moody did not buy the land on the "prairie" near Bent Oak (Cobb's Switch) until 1849. From his letters, he was growing cotton there before 1849. He apparently leased land; there is no indication he owned other property. (Please refer to letter #36 which indicates he did lease land from Seth Peebles’ estate.) He may have been waiting to buy land until it was determined where the railroad was going.

Dr. Johnson is Dr. James Johnson. He was a neighbor and the only physician in the area in which the Moodys lived. He is referred to in other letters (#29 & # 33). His first wife died (#33) and left him with 6 children. He quickly remarried Eliza J. Mason. Nannie Newsom is mentioned in several other letters. Dr. Sykes and cousin Becky refer to Dr. William Alfred Sykes and his wife Rebecca (Barrett) Sykes. Susan Barrett is Rebecca's sister. "Marth" is either Martha A. Sykes, wife of Richard Sykes mentioned above, or Martha (Lanier) Sykes, wife of James W. Sykes "Jim Bill", Richard's brother.

Mr. Key ran the Hotel in Garysburg.

Henry Smith is referred to in letter # 7. He was the brother of Dorothy (Smith) Mason who married Col. Daniel Mason of the Western District. This may be the same man, or possibly his son. I know nothing of any of the other people mentioned in the letter.

We have recently discovered MED is most likely Mary E. L. (Peterson) Drinkard, daughter of Peter Peterson and Elizabeth (Newsum) Peterson. Her husband, Edward H. Drinkard, died in Greensville Co. in 1841. They had no children. "My child Mary Peterson" is not Mary's daughter, rather her niece, namesake, and probable god-daughter Mary Peterson Blunt--the 8th child of her sister Sarah Mason (Peterson) Blunt and John Norfleet Blunt. "Sally" is Sarah's oldest child, Sally J. Peterson (Blunt) Peebles, wife of Henry Peebles. "Mr. Peebles" probably refers to Sallie's father-in-law, Etheldred Jarrell Peebles, who lived in Northampton Co. Sallie and Henry were living in Alabama by 1845. Her 2 sons were Edward H. Peebles (older) and Eltheldred John Peebles (younger). After Henry Peebles' death in 1854 Sallie married his brother, Nicholas Peebles of Holly Lodge Plantation in Northampton Co.

Mary Drinkark had no brother. I believe "Brother" refers to her brother-in-law, John N. Blunt, and "sister" refers to his wife Sarah. Beside Sarah, Mary had another sister, [[Peterson-15678|Ann (Peterson) Rives. Ann's husband, [[Rives-743|John Mason Rives, died in 1845. Ann may be the "Sis" referred to on the fold of the flap.

Acknowledgement

• Many thanks to cousin Virginia Leigh Refo whose research and transcriptions added to this profile. The originals were donated to the Library of Virginia in 2004 by Liz Edens Vermillion with the help of Virginia Refo Moody Family Papers, 1750-1881. Accession 40535, Personal Papers Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.