Letter from Daniel Lyman on farming, family, and the election

Easthampton August 12th 1851

Dear Brother

It has been a long time since I have written to you I fear that your patience has by this time become allmost exhausted. As an axcuse I will say that my time has been very much taken up and my family claims much of my time and attention. You will find enclosed a sheet written by Payson and Daniel in the spring and fore part of the summer they have been wishing to have me write this long time. I hope now to be able soon to gratify them by sending this away. I fear that you will be troubled to read it as it is not written very plain but I think you will be pleased with the information that it gives if it is old news. I received a paper from you last Saturday that was printed in Portland I was very thankfull for it gave an account of the dedication of the meeting house in portland also of the part which you look in the exercises this was the more gratifying as we had received no inteligance from you since Mr Atkins account of your sickness in the home Missionary. I hope that the next that we shall hear will be that your health is restored and that you are able to go on with your labors. but you must use a great deal of prudance for life and health is not to be triffled with. The last of Mary I went out to Worthington with [?] and all of the children we left home a little after noon on Wensday got out to sister Bethias between sun down and dark the next day it rained and we stayed there all day. the next day it rained and we stayed there all day. Friday it was still [?] day and some misty, we however went over to father Smith. The next day I took Payson Daniel and Alfred and started for [?] to make Josiah a visit we rode through Middlefield Becket and Washington and had hills rocks and mud enough. He arrived at Josiahs about 5 oclock PM They were all well and very much rejoiced to see when He had a pleasant visit staying there till about 4 oclock in the afternoon on Monday when we rode to [?] to see an uncle of A[?] who resides there we spent the night there and started for Worthington the next morning arriving there about 8 oclock in there evening. The next day we got safety home feeling that we had a prosperous journey. our children have grown a great deal since you were in Easthampton Horace has got to be a great stout boy Payson Daniel and Alfred go to school and have this for made good improvement They have a much better chance to make improvement than we had when we were children.

Nov 13 You will think it [?] that we have kept this letter so long after commencing it. I intended to have sent it soon after I wrote 3 months ago but Addison and Lauren had sent letters and I thought you would like it better. If I waited a while and I have waited [?] this time. In the mean time a considerable amount of news accumilated. We have just finished harvesting our corn we had an excelant good crop I should think that we might have a few bushels over 4 hundred. we had a frost about the middle of Sept which did a good deal of damage to late corn a few days before the frost it was very warm and continued so for more than a week Saturday towards night we had a slight rain accompanied with a blow-off Sabbath day was cold and Monday morning the corn was killed and we had some frost for 4 nights so that corn that was not cut up grew worse very fast there was not a great deal cut up before the frost. We had commenced cuting ours and had got nearly one third cut up before the frost after. Our corn was the most of it so ripe that the frost [?] not injury it very much what was gren grew in the bunch. Some corn was very bad by injured especially that which was in Northampton meadows. We have had some exciting times in the political affairs of our state this fall. Last fall the [?] and free soil united and carried the the State. Consequently we lost our good Gov. Briggs and had a [?] Gov. in his room. This year the coalition had become more complete and they had become quite confident of success. There was a general determination among the whigs that they should not. They accordingly rallied under the banner of Robert C Hinthrop for Gov and the election was warm [?] by the people. The whole number of votes cast was 137000 Winthrop had 65,000 which left him about 7,000 short of an election. In the Senate the whigs have 11 and the coalition 15 in the house, the Whigs had at the last account from 25 to 30 majority which is beleived by the Whigs to be enough to secure the election to the whigs. If this should prove to be the result it will be grattifying to the whigs. As the coalition have done thire utmost to destroy the Whigs. The Rev Mr Manord of Caselton Vermont staid with us over night a little more than a week since. He was getting subscribers for the Independant. He seemed anxious that you should have the reading of it. He said that if some one would pay for half of it he would pay for the rest. He should like to know if you would wish to receive it. His quite strong Anti Slavery a good deal more so than the puritan. I think when Lauren wrote last Mother was quite sick. She has since been a good deal better allthoug she is not now very well. She is not able to do much work. Father is affraid that she is not a going to get along very much. I do not know how it will turn with her but it dose not look very encourageing at presant. We know that troubels trials and changes await us in this world and that in a little while we shall have done with earth and all thing hear [?] happy will it be fo us if when we have done with this world we are prepared for that better world above where peace and joy shall forever reign. We have for the most part enjoyed comfertable helth. Daniel is not very well to day. His stomach is out of order he has had a number of turns of late of vomiting. I hope that it will be any thing lasting and that he will soon get over it. With much affection I remain your ever dear brother.

Daniel F Lyman