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John Moore to JA Johnson, July 7, 1863, Weeks Family Papers, Reel 18, Frame 116f.pdf
Letter from John Moore to J. A. Johnson, July 7, 1863
Moore writes from Starrville, Smith County, Texas, about a recent letter received from W. F. Weeks about opportunities for hiring out slaves to do railroad and other work in the Houston area.
John Moore
Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations, Series I, Part 6, Reel 18, Frame 116f
Image scanned from 35mm microfilm published by UPA. Published here by W. Caleb McDaniel.
July 7, 1863
This item is published solely for personal research and nonprofit educational use under the terms of fair use. No copyright in the item is asserted or implied by its publication here.
English
Text
7E752A92-6520-4FFE-AF4F-F697ECD72200
… Mrs. Meade received a letter from W. F. Weeks her brother dated
Houston Texas, Jun 27/63 advising her that since the Evacuation by the
Enemy he had taken twenty nine of his negro men remaining on the Island
and had gone out to Houston and obtained a contract to furnish X ties to
the Rail road at 65 each cutting them along side of the track lining not
more than 100 yards to haul and deliver, that $3 per cord is given for
cutting wood & putting it along the track 100 yards to haul, that $40 a
month is offered for negro men to work on the road & $20 for women.
I have thought that it will possibly be well for us to go there to get
employment for our hands, if we can get provisions & I have written to
him to ask him to let us know about provisions &c. He states that his
cooper makes $15 a week making light barrels at $3 each & $24 making
flour barrels at $1.50 each—good wages. The distance from Mansfield to
Liberty by an air line on the map is 150 miles probably by the road 180
which could be travelled with a train in about 10 to 12 days should no
accident happen, and we would then be about 180 miles by the road
travelled from New Iberia making it very little farther by that route if
at all, than the one we came with a better road. Make inquiry about the
road to Nacogdoches, thence to Liberty.
By the last advices Genl Taylor had taken Brashear City by [storm?]
and recovered about two thousand negroes, a great number of Horses &
mules and carriages and Buggies covering an acre of Ground. Property
thus taken by the Rules of War is considered a prize to the captors, but
heretofore our armies have delivered Slaves thus taken to the owners
when applyed [sic] for. If so in this case I hope that your son
William will have gone to the Bay to recognize and claim any of our
Slaves found among them, also any Horse & mules. …
Manuscript