Letter from T.O. Ellis Sr. to William and Jane Davis, 6 September 1866

Date: 6 Sep 1866
Location: Centerville, Fresno, California, United States
Surnames/tags: Ellis Davis

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.

Biographical and Historical Context

By September of 1866, the Ellis family had relocated to Centerville in Fresno County, California from Hornitos in Mariposa County.

Medical concerns dominate this letter. In an eventful trip, T.O. Ellis traveled about approximatley 150 miles from Centerville to Havilah, east of Bakersfield in Kern County, to aid his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Jane (Leonard) Ellis, who was seriously ill. Havilah was a Southern stronghold, and T.O.’s son, William Josiah Ellis, relocated his family there in 1864.^[1] Part of his trip was via stage, likely the route from San Francisco to Gilroy, Visalia and Havilah.^[2] T.O.’s trip to Havilah led him to lose wages from his own medical practice, and his frustration at the poor medical care his daughter-in-law received is obvious. Medical practitioners were unregulated in California up the the 1850’s and quackery was common on the frontier.^[3] Jane had a “molecular conception,” a condition where a mass forms in the uterus from an abnormally developing egg.^[4]

Ellis also describes his own recovery from an eye condition, his son-in-law’s injured thumb, and an epidemic of whooping cough. Whooping cough is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Bordatella pertussis which causes secretions of mucus and severe fits of coughing that end with a crowing sound. It was often fatal for young children.^[5] Common treatments for whooping cough at the time included one ounce each of syrup of squills (a type of onion), syrup of ipecac, syrup of tolu (from a balsam tree), and purified linseed oil. A mustard plaster would be applied to the chest as a counter-irritant.^{[6][7] [8]}

Cholera was an additional concern. The first outbreaks of cholera in America occurred in 1832. There were major outbreaks in 1832, 1849-1850, and 1866.^[9] The cause of cholera was not known in 1865, and the majority of physicians believed it was from the atmosphere, or miasma, and Ellis mentions the “putrid atmosphere.” Around this time, suspicions were growing that cholera was caused by “animalculae,” later known to be bacteria, protozoa, and other microscopic life.^[10] Calomel was a common treatment at the time, because it was believed that the purging it caused would rid the body of the “vitiated humors” caused by the miasma vapors. By 1866, ice water was advocated, which greatly helped to reduce mortality, since it actually helped the dehydrated patients.^[9]

In addition to the above medical concerns, son-in-law John Caldwell “Calhoun” Russell left his wife Sophia at the Ellis home, which made Sophia ill.

Ellis expresses disappointment in his sons-in-law, commenting that A.O. (husband of his daughter Lucinda Agnes) failed to save any money and he did not expect his daughter Sarah Jane’s husband, William Hale Davis, to keep his promise about visiting Centerville. Another disappointment is frequency of letter-writing and Ellis sets different standards for correspondence for himself and his children.

In this letter, T.O. Ellis mentions his step-son from his first marriage, Vincent Reed Bailey (or Burley) Gray (1828-1905), who remained in Texas.

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

The Letter

Centerville, Cal Sept. 6th, A.D. 1866
Dear Wm & Jane
After a long silence I take
pleasure again to drop you a few hasty
lines. I cannot refer to your excellent
Letters by date, having forgotten dates.
For a long time I was pressed in Busi-
ness, sometimes no paper, then out of stamps
&, finally wounded in both eyes, but the
worst of all calamities yet mentioned, I
received 3 Letters from W. J. Ellis in rappid
succession, stating his Wife's life was desp-
aired of, & she greatly desiring to see me
before she died. In sixty minutes after the
3d Letter reached me I was in my saddle &
on my rappid march to Havilah. I
left at sunset, Aug. the 25th of Aug & the
first stop was at Agnes's, 20 minutes after
one A.M., staid all night, left A.O.'s fam-
ily all well, & next night staid at McGa-
h's, & the horse giving out, sent him back
to Visalia & mounted the Stage & Monday
night at 9 oclock arrived at H. having
sent a remedy ahead of me 4 days. -
Thank God the medicine I sent had
a happy effect, & I found Jane Conva-
lescent, & able to creep on the floor. Our
Joy was full when we met. I staid
till the 30th Aug. left her out of danger
[page 2]
the rest all well except light chills. Jane
was taken the 25th of June, Disease Hem-
orrhage of the Uterus occasioned by one kind
of false conception called Molecular Con-
ception. She came near dying. Josiah's
Doctor Bill will be about $80. dollars, &
what I did was of more benefit than all
the medicine of two of their cracked Physi-
cians. The 30th I left for Home & reached
by private conveyance my beloved family
on Tuesday the 4th of Sept. & lo! & behold
Sophia & Husband were at my house & both in
good health. They brought mournful intelli-
gence from your family concerning your
Thumb. I do hope it is well ere this. My fam-
ily, except Hindman, are well. Had it not
been for being wounded in both eyes, & also go-
ing to H. I would have done very well as
a Physician. I will live any way. I
Praise God for his mercy toward us. After
all the talk about sickness here in 70 fam-
ilies only two have died, &, they among little
children of Hooping cough. Now, you can-
not beat that. Give a dog a bad name
& the first man with a gun will kill him.^[11]
Upper King's River has a bad name & of
course people will talk & kill it but
facts & figures will not lie if men do.
[page 3]
Calhoun starts back in the morning
but leaves Sophia, &, expects to return
by camp meeting on the 20th Inst.[referring to this month]
Can you, will you come? I doubt it, for
I know something about promises.
Sept. 7, Seven oclock A.M. Sophia
is vomiting, it is one of her Brash spells [heartburn]^[12]
I suppose, Calhoun is fixing to leave.
Georgia is yet sick, but not dangerous.
Your Ma wants yours & the children's
Photographs to put into an Album. Every
one send you love & compliments.
W.J. & Wife & children send you their best
regards & good wishes. Vincent was well
& family the last account. I wrote to him
your P.O., he will write to you. Sophia
sends her compliments & Apology for
not writing; she says when Calhoun leaves
she will write a long one if able. Don't
fail to write often, even, if I do not write
you must know I am busy, or, have some
lawful excuse when I do not write. I do not
think children ought to hold a Parent to any
strict formality on that subject. Now, the
Girls could often write when I cannot.
A. O. & Agnes are doing tolerably well he
gets a great deal of work but saves noth-
ing except what he lives on. We are
looking for the Cholera.
[page 4]
The Atmosphere is very putrid this year.
Beef spoils the 2nd or 3d day, when hung
up on Greenhorn Mountain [southeast of Visalia, near Havilah]. Be very
careful with yourselves & children. Above
all things do not get scared, live temp-
erately & trust in God in Christ & all
will be well. My love to you & the
children & regards to Mr. Watts & all
friends. I am your affectionate

Father	T.O. Ellis Sen
Wm. H. Davis	Centerville
& Wife	Cal
Montgomery’s
Ranch, Cal.

P.S. A.O. & Wife send you their re-
gards. I have lost all of my Potatoes
& corn & Garden by the hogs, worth
over one hundred Dollars. T.O.E.
W.H. & S.J.D.

The next surviving letter was written on 6 October 1866.

Sources

1. ↑ Myron Angel, compiler, “William Josiah Ellis,” A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Fresno, Tulare and Kern, California, (Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company, 1892), p. 341; digital images, InternetArchive, (W.J. Ellis Biography : accessed 13 March 2021).
2. ↑ “Stage Routes.” Visalia Delta, (Visalia, California), 11 April 1866, page 3.
3. ↑ 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), page 178.
4. ↑ Benjamin F. Miller, and Claire Brackman Keane, Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1978), page 634.
5. ↑ Benjamin F. Miller, and Claire Brackman Keane, Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1978), page 1098.
6. ↑ 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 145.
7. ↑ "Squill - Uses, Side Effects, and More," Wiley Online Medical Dictionary, (link : accessed 11 October 2023).
8. ↑ "Tolu balsam," Wiley Online Medical Dictionary, (link : accessed 11 October 2023).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} John Duffy, “The Healers: A History of American Medicine,” (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press), 1979, page 103-4.
10. ↑ 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), page 298.
11. ↑ ”Give a dog a bad name and hang him,” Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, (5 ed.), Oxford Reference (link: accessed 11 October 2023). The proverb refers to the difficulty of overcoming a bad reputation.
12. ↑ Benjamin F. Miller, and Claire Brackman Keane, Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, 1978), page 148.