Letter from T.O. Ellis to W.H. Davis 21 September 1863

Date: 21 Sep 1863 [unknown]
Location: San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, 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.

Contents 1 Biographical and Historical Context 2 The Letter 3 Additional Information 4 Sources

Biographical and Historical Context

In the following letter Ellis expressed uncertainty about his future. The move to San Luis Obispo was difficult. Illness disrupted family life, and the threat of conscription as a Union soldier loomed for his son, William Josiah Ellis, a supporter of the South. (This was alluded to in a prior letter (7 August 1863 and described in the next letter.) Apparently in a prior communication, T.O. had been so ill that he had asked his son-in-law, William H. Davis to send a wagon to relocate the family from San Luis Obispo. While T.O. was unable to work (presumably on the farm and as a physician), Josiah supported both families. Josiah’s wife, Elizabeth Jane, was expecting, and experiencing difficulties with the pregnancy. T.O. Ellis described her condition as “dropsical,” a term used for edema, or swelling. As a physician in the mid-1800’s, he likely knew that the swelling could be an indicator of early preeclampsia, which can be life-threatening.^[1]

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

The Letter

San Luis Obispo Cal. Sept 21/63.
W.H. Davis, Dear son, this is Monday
morning, I am sitting up & going
about some, but, have the headache
about half the time. I fear Mrs. E. [referring to his wife] &
I have committed an error by send-
ing for a wagon to you all to move us.
This climate does not agree with me
but, then I am better & can wait
longer, if you are all pressed. I know
how you are all situated & dont
wish to do wrong. I wrote before
when sick [&] besides Mrs. E. was scared
I will try & take better care of myself
or, if need be, go to the warm Springs^[2]
& stay until you can come conven
iently. Besides I dread to leave W.J.
Ellis alone. My coming has rolled back
the tide, which, was against him, & now
if I leave before he can sell, it will
rise again. We will sell as soon as
possible, but, his selling is a secret
here. We dont want to seem to be
in a hurry, would have left here
long ago had it not been for threats.
The families, both, are now up
[page 2]
except E.J. Ellis, who, is in a delicate
condition. Her dropsical affection
will cease by & by. I need money
very much indeed, but do not in-
jure yourselves to get it. W.J. Ellis
is hard run, owing to loss of Bus-
iness for us, & heavy expenses also
on our account. I felt it my
duty to write this much, as I am
a little stronger in Mind & Body.
My regards to Capt. W [Captain Watts]. & Mr. C. [Mr. Crockett, his agent for his mining claims]
Love toMiller & Agnes & Mattie
& Eddie. Remember me & wife &
children to Jane, Sophia, Bell &
the children. I must leave for the
sick room, & the mail.
Your Father as ever

W.H. Davis Esq.

T.O. Ellis Sr.

Additional Information

The next letter was written on 26 November 1863.

Sources

1. ↑ Mandy J. Bell, “A Historical Overview of Preeclampsia-Eclampsia,” Journal of Obstetrical Gynecological and Neonatal Nursing, 2010, vol. 39(5), p. 510-618; digital version, (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951301/ : accessed 24 September 2023).
2. ↑ “Messrs. Blackburn and Clark...” (advertisement) Visalia Delta (Visalia, Tulare County, California) 4 May 1861. Ellis may be referring to the Warm Springs of San Miguel, 31 miles north of San Luis Obispo, described in the advertisement. The springs were purported to have medicinal qualities.