TerryB
Lt. Colonel
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Location
- Nashville TN
I found this letter in an old trunk at my grandmother's house. I had to supply some punctuation because there were a lot of run-on sentences. Samuel Pointer was Marcellus Pointer's brother. He fought with the 1st Ark Cavalry as a partisan, at his own expense. The letter is to his father, Dr. David Pointer of Holly Springs, Miss. Dr. Pointer died at Como, Miss in 1870. Alice is Samuel's cousin, and a direct ancestor of mine. Philip and Monroe were also Samuel's brothers, but he makes no mention of Marcellus, who was at the time a Confederado in Mexico. Sue was Samuel's second wife, by whom he had not five, but ten children, so his plan didn't work out. Sue was the younger sister of Samuel's first wife, by whom he had a son.
Indian Bay, Arks
Sept 25th 1867
Dear Father & Mother,
I learned from a letter written by Alice to Sue that you had sold your plantation & was in search of another place. If you all have been vexed, annoyed and perplexed as we have been with Negroes, you have found that you need but a small tract of land. Just enough to make a support on. The larger the place, the worst for the owner; for it is impossible to cultivate profitably a larger place with the present labor system & it will be several years before it will be much better; the country must become densely populated so that when a laborer fails to do his duty he can be discharged and his place supplied immediately. There is no planter in this country making anything by planting any more than a support. The Negroes will not more than half cultivate the land, consequently we make only half crops. Some persons might say get more laborers & plant fewer number of acres to the hand-- but that will not do on the Share System, as experience has proven that they will cultivate 12 acres about as well as they will 8 acres. The less you plant, the more idle time the laborer has, & it is impossible to make them put in all of their time at work, and when they have but a small crop, they think that they can play half the time and work it.
If you are not afraid of the health of this country, suppose you come & look at it; so far as the production you would be pleased with it. I have land enough for all of the family. I am tired of Negroes and want to sell off my land. 160 acres is all that I care about owning. And I will have the selling of Mr. Bagby's place near Cotton Plant this fall; there is about 700 acres in the tract, 250 cleared. I have no doubt but that it will sell low; it is within 12 miles of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad. Is Philip likely to make anything more than expenses on the place he rented this year? What business is Monroe going at next year. My crop of cotton looks well, but the worms have commenced eating the leaves & they will not probably do it any serious damage at as late a period as this. Some of my hands have left since making the crop, leaving this crop without anyone to gather it & I am afraid that I will be troubled to get hands to gather the crop. I would like to hire ten hands until Christmas. I have not commenced regularly to picking cotton. It will be October before I get regularly at it. Will make Meat enough for my whole family if the Cholera does not kill my hogs. Will not make more than corn enough for the place another year. The health of my family good except chills, which the children have in abundance. We have an interesting parcel of children, five in number & hope to have no more, as that is enough these hard times. Sue says the youngest is sixteen months old & that she does not intend to have any more. Give my love to all & write soon & visit us when you can.
Your Son,
Saml R Pointer
Indian Bay, Arks
Sept 25th 1867
Dear Father & Mother,
I learned from a letter written by Alice to Sue that you had sold your plantation & was in search of another place. If you all have been vexed, annoyed and perplexed as we have been with Negroes, you have found that you need but a small tract of land. Just enough to make a support on. The larger the place, the worst for the owner; for it is impossible to cultivate profitably a larger place with the present labor system & it will be several years before it will be much better; the country must become densely populated so that when a laborer fails to do his duty he can be discharged and his place supplied immediately. There is no planter in this country making anything by planting any more than a support. The Negroes will not more than half cultivate the land, consequently we make only half crops. Some persons might say get more laborers & plant fewer number of acres to the hand-- but that will not do on the Share System, as experience has proven that they will cultivate 12 acres about as well as they will 8 acres. The less you plant, the more idle time the laborer has, & it is impossible to make them put in all of their time at work, and when they have but a small crop, they think that they can play half the time and work it.
If you are not afraid of the health of this country, suppose you come & look at it; so far as the production you would be pleased with it. I have land enough for all of the family. I am tired of Negroes and want to sell off my land. 160 acres is all that I care about owning. And I will have the selling of Mr. Bagby's place near Cotton Plant this fall; there is about 700 acres in the tract, 250 cleared. I have no doubt but that it will sell low; it is within 12 miles of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad. Is Philip likely to make anything more than expenses on the place he rented this year? What business is Monroe going at next year. My crop of cotton looks well, but the worms have commenced eating the leaves & they will not probably do it any serious damage at as late a period as this. Some of my hands have left since making the crop, leaving this crop without anyone to gather it & I am afraid that I will be troubled to get hands to gather the crop. I would like to hire ten hands until Christmas. I have not commenced regularly to picking cotton. It will be October before I get regularly at it. Will make Meat enough for my whole family if the Cholera does not kill my hogs. Will not make more than corn enough for the place another year. The health of my family good except chills, which the children have in abundance. We have an interesting parcel of children, five in number & hope to have no more, as that is enough these hard times. Sue says the youngest is sixteen months old & that she does not intend to have any more. Give my love to all & write soon & visit us when you can.
Your Son,
Saml R Pointer
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