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Date Original
1866 March 21
Description
This is a letter written by Evie Woodruff in Camden, Arkansas to her sister, Harriet Woodruff Jabine, in Kentucky. Evie writes about being with their father, William Woodruff, in Camden and her unhappiness about being away from Little Rock.
Biographical/Historical Note
William Woodruff established, owned and published Arkansas's first state paper, the Arkansas Gazette. Evaline "Evie" Woodruff was born in 1841. She married Craddock Robinson Vaughan and worked with the Daughters of 1812 and Little Rock's Aesthetic Club. She died in 1927. Harriet "Hattie" Woodruff Jabine was born in 1836. She married John N. Jabine and was one of the founder of Little Rock's Aesthetics Club. She died in 1918.
Transcription
Camden, Arks
March 21st 1866
Dear Hattie
I hope you will not be very much
surprised (when you receive this) at the place in
which it is written, for I presume you are already
acquainted with the particulars of Pa's and my
being here long before this through the published extracts
from his unfortunate letter. It has been eleven days since we
left home, and it seems like it has been at
least a month to me. We have met a great many
of old Little Rock friends and have been
staying at Mrs. Rapley's ever since we came. Pa speaks
of starting to Washington in a few days to see some
of our friends there. So far as I am concerned, I would
much rather stay where I am, but Pa thinks it will
divert his attention from home to travel about and that in
consequence will make him enjoy himself more during
his exile from home & friends. - I never knew how
much I loved home and home-folks till now, &
I feel as if I would give almost anything to know
with a certainty when I will be with them all
again. - I don't know when I have been
as homesick as I was yesterday evening. Mrs. Rapley's
children were in my room having a nice time generally
laughing & screaming. It made me think of the
children at home and I thought I never would
get out of patience with them again if I was ever
permitted to see them & home again.
Pa has found several of his acquaintances
here and he goes to see Cousin George every day
and after supper too. He says that Cousin George
looks so lonesome that he feels sorry for him,
and indeed he advised him to get board
with some private house. I don't know whether
he followed Pa's advice or not but he moved
his office yesterday.
Miss Ellinor Fields expects to start
for St. Louis this morning, and as I may not
have an opportunity soon of writing to you
I trust this will reach you as the last time
a "Flag" was sent to L.R. [T]he military authorities
have requested that no more should be sent
except on business of importance. - I intended
to write to Georgie too but haven't time so tell
her to consider this as being a partnership letter
and to act accordingly.
I haven't been anywhere
since I came here in fact. I haven't had time for
there has been someone here most of the time
since my arrival, but I expect to return some
of them soon.
Eva Ratcliffe called on me the other
day, and she is just as wild as ever. She was
married about a year ago to a Dr. J (?). It
seems strange to me to think of her as a married
woman.
Well, Pa wants to finish a letter he's
writing home & I must finish this. Don't let
the children forget me, and give them all a kiss
every day for me. - Write soon to me and often
to me. With much love from us to you all
Your affectionate sister
Evie
Physical Description
Letter, 8" x 12", envelope, 4.75" x 2.75"
Keywords
Women; Correspondence
Geographical Area
Camden, Ouachita County (Ark.); Cloverport, Breckingridge County (Ky.)
Language
English
Identifier
MS.000383, Box 1, Folder 2, Item 3
Resource Type
Image
Collection
John N. and Harriet Woodruff Jabine papers, MS.000383
Publisher
Arkansas State Archives
Contributing Entity
Arkansas State Archives
Recommended Citation
Letter, Evie Woodruff to Harriet Woodruff Jabine, John N. and Harriet Woodruff Jabine papers, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Rights
Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.
Disciplines
United States History | Women's History
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