Letter Number 7--From the Mary/Sue Collection--J Nanny Letter--18 February 1868 (Date Provided in Letter)

 

Letter 7 Original Front

 

 

Letter 7 Original Reverse

 

Letter 7 Enhanced Front

 

Letter 7 Enhanced Reverse

 

LETTER TO ROBERT BOND JR. (1819-1894) FROM J NANNY

Transcribed by William B. Bond—November, 2013

 

From the Mary/Sue Collection

FRONT:

Kildare¹ Feb 18 1868

Robt Bond Esq

          Lyndon

Sir

          I am happy to inform

you that I have Received

your Bounty of $100.00 please

to call and get it

          Yours

                   J Nanny

NOTES:

1.  Kildare, Wisconsin is a county that surrounds Lyndon Station—near where Robert and Sarah lived in 1868.

LIST OF FAMILY MEMBERS MENTIONED:

There are no family members mentioned in this letter.

LIST OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS MENTIONED:

A.  “J Nanny” Identity not known. Possibly a clerk for Kildare County, Wisconsin?

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

NOTE 1: The transcription of this note was quite easy—except for the signature of the author. It is not certain whether the transcription of the signature “J Nanny” is correct or not. 

If anyone who examines a scan of the original letter can see where there is an error in the transcription, I would appreciate being made aware of the error.

NOTE 2: The spelling and grammar in this letter are reasonable so I do not believe an overall transcription is necessary.

NOTE 3: This note creates a question and clarifies a date.

The question is —of course—what did Robert do to deserve a “bounty” of $100.00? It is tempting to think it was for his service during the Civil War, but if so, why was it not paid until 1868? Or maybe the bounty was for whatever work Robert was doing in Wood County, Wisconsin during February, and March of 1867 and February of 1868.

The clarification has to do with a letter Robert wrote to Sarah dated February 29^th with no year given. (Part of the Billie Pettit Collection) February 29^th only occurs during a leap year, and 1868 was a leap year. So was the February 29th letter written in 1868? From the Mary/Sue collection, Robert wrote three letters to Sarah from Wood County; one dated 1 February 1867, one dated 12 March 1867, and one undated. From the Billie Pettit collection, Robert wrote two letters to Sarah from Wood County; one dated 25 February 1867, and one dated February 29^th—no year given. But if the February 29th letter was written in 1868, it would be the only letter we have written by Robert from Wood County in 1868. I at least thought it possible that Robert wrote the day—February 29^th—incorrectly and that the letter might have been written on some other day in February 1867. But in that letter, Robert writes: “…I was glad to hear that our Bounty had come get it if you can….” So between the note signed by J Nanny—dated February 18^th 1868—and what Robert wrote in his February 29^th letter, it can be concluded that the February 29^th letter was definitely written in 1868, and that Robert must have worked in Wood County, Wisconsin in both February/March of 1867 and in February of 1868.

NOTE 4:  This letter was written on the front side only of a single sheet of paper. There is an “embossed seal” indicating the paper manufacturer at the upper left of the front side as was common on many papers of the time. The embossed seal appears to be oval in shape, but I cannot determine its pattern. There seems to be some writing at the top of the oval, but it is not clear enough to transcribe. The paper was torn at the bottom.

NOTE 5:  This letter was found loose and not in an envelope.

NOTE 6:  The purpose of this letter or “note” was for “J Nanny” to communicate to Robert that his bounty of $100.00 had arrived—presumably in J Nanny’s office—and that it was available to be picked up.