Letter_from_T_O_Ellis_Sr_to_William_and_Jane_Davis.pdf

Letter from T.O. Ellis Sr. to William and Jane Davis, 15 July 1864

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Date: 15 Jul 1864
Location: Hornitos, Mariposa, California, United Statesmap
Surnames/tags: Ellis Davis
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After the death of Sarah Jane (Ellis) Davis (1838-1930), a collection of family letters, including the following letter, was found in a trunk. The original is held by members of the Davis family. The index to the complete collection is found at The Letters of Rev. T.O. Ellis, M.D.. The letters are all written by Reverend Thomas Oliver Ellis, MD (1808-1879), and almost all of them were to his daughter, Sarah Jane, and/or her husband, William Hale Davis (1828-1871). Ellis wrote from various locations in central California to family members also in that area.

Contents

Biographical and Historical Context

The gap in letters from November of 1863 to July of 1864 is unexplained. The Davis family, William Hale Davis and his wife, Sarah Jane (Ellis) Davis with their two sons, William Taylor Davis (“Willie” in the letter) and Jefferson Ellis Davis ("Jeffie" in the letter), had relocated to Mariposa from Hornitos where they had been living in January of 1863 when Jefferson was born. Mariposa was eighteen miles away from Hornitos through the Sierra foothills. Thomas Oliver Ellis MD and family had left San Luis Obispo and moved to Hornitos. Mary Carolina Ellis and ”Nannie” Nancy Sylvania Ellis were staying with the Davis family in Mariposa. The youngest Ellis child, Robert Lee Ellis, was born in Hornitos five days before this letter was written. After this letter, the Davis family moved back to Hornitos, since Mary Frances Davis was born “near Hornitos” in April of 1865 and the family remained there through December of 1866, when Eugene Garrison Davis was born in Hornitos.

The themes of Ellis’ letters remained consistent with health, finances, religion, and politics all mentioned in the letter. Ellis again seems to be referring to the tension during the Civil War in California, and perhaps the draft in this letter and hoped to start a medical practice in Hornitos.

Note: spelling and line breaks preserved from the original. Transcriber's additions or interpretations in [square brackets].

The Letter

Hornitos, Cal. July 15/64
Dear William & Jane, I hope you
arrived at home safely. I heard of you
at Loregan's the morning you left.
Your Ma & Babe [referring to the recent birth of Robert Lee Ellis] keep well, but
I, myself & very unwell & have been
nervous, you know for some ten days.
The Girls & Boys are all well except
those vaccinated - they have fever &
complain very much, but, nothing
dangerous, O.K. Take good care of
Willie for Jeffie will take care of
himself, & let me know how you got home
& what is the news. I wish
you to take a special interest in
Towser as I expect to need him; &,
do not forget Jule & her colt.
I have just heard that the Soldiers
are coming here, but can give
you no particulars as I have
just heard it through Mrs. Clough.
You must make your own com
ment on this, as you both areof
age. I would if I could - that
is all I have to say.
[page 2]
I think the time is coming that
will try men's souls & may be so, their
bodies too. Let us all live right &
all will be well with us, by & by.
I have declined coming to Mariposa
& expect to remain here a few
months “if the Lord will.” Should
I succeed & get a good Practice
it will be cause of devout grati-
tude to God. I will try to keep on
the old foundation, if God will
help me, it is my only help & hope.
Tell the Girls Mary & Nannie
we expect them to come home the
next time Mr. McCain goes to
Mariposa. If I knew I could be
at camp meeting, or you, or Agnes
would be there, I should have no ob-
jections for them to go. As it is, I
should object to them going, as they
would have no Protector, & I know
how things work under such cir-
cumstances. In fact I do not know
you will have a camp-meeting, as
Bro. Pendergrast [Jefferson Campbell Pendergrast] has not informed,
nor, invited me. Your father,
[To] W. H. Davis & T. O. Ellis
wife &c.

Additional Information

In this letter T.O. Ellis described vaccinating his children. The only widely used vaccine at the time was for smallpox.[1] Smallpox vaccine was introduced in California in 1828 by James Ohio Pattie, who vaccinated natives and colonists.[2] A scarifier made of wood with sharp prongs was used to introduce cowpox virus under the skin and provide cross-immunity with smallpox. The vaccinated area formed a lesion or “pox” and the vaccinated person often experienced a fever as Ellis noted in the letter.[3]

Methodist camp meetings frequently began with an experience meeting at 9:00 AM. New converts and penitents talked about their lives, which the preachers then incorporated into their sermons during the remainder of the meeting.[4] Ellis may not have been closely connected to the church at this time, as he was uncertain of the schedule for camp meetings. He also expressed concern for his unmarried daughters, Mary and Nannie, directing them to return home with Mr. McCain, and allowing them to attend camp meeting if chaperoned by an older married sibling.

The Ellis family apparently remained in Mariposa county for two years, as is evidenced by the next letter written on 6 September 1866 from Centerville in Fresno County.

Sources

  1. George W. Groh, “Gold Fever, Being a True Account, Both Horrifying and Hilarious of the Art of Healing, So-called During the California Gold Rush,” (New York: Morrow, 1966) p. 296.
  2. Ann Novotny and Carter Smith, “Images of Healing: A Portfolio of American Medical and Pharmaceutical Practice in the 18th, 19th, and Early 20th Centuries” (New York: MacMillan, 1980), p. 49.
  3. E.M. Hunt, “The Patients; and Physicians’ Aide; or How to Preserve Health; What to Do in Sudden Attacks, or Until a Doctor Comes; And How Best to Profit by His Directions When Given,” (New York: C.M. Saxton, Barker & Co, 1860), pages 129-133.
  4. J.C. Simmons, J. C., “The History of Southern Methodism on the Pacific Coast,” (Nashville: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1886), pages 238-240.




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