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Transcribed by Dawn Ellis, [email protected] Letter copy provided to Dawn by Sam Kotchman
Letter from John T. Weeks, Alberton, PEI to brother, William L. Weeks, North Dakota, Nov 6, 1903
Alberton P.E.I. 6th Nov/03 [1903]
Wm L. Weeks
My dear brother:
Your letter of 27th July came duly to hand. How did you get the Smalpox and had anybody else but your family the disease You were lucky in all recovering from it
You ask me what I think of your milk & cream project. Well in answer if you remember I strongly advised you to dispose of your farms, either by sale or rental and keep a dozen cows. I still think it a good undertaking as your boys have all gone to do for themselves, and farm work is too heavy for you and Anne at your age but you can milk cows for many years yet
I think that the whole country will have to resort to mixed farming before many years, grazing will kill out the wild barley and other noxious weeds. There is quite an immigration to Canada both from the U. S. and G. B. and Europe but a great deal of the wheat is very short this crop. Returning harvesters tell us that a lot of the wheat they threshed only gave seven bushels per acre. The time is not far away when a duty of 5 or 6 cts will be put on foreign wheat and other grains going into England and Canadian wheat and other grains will go free.
I am still home. I applied to the forresters court last January to be put on the total & permanent disability list. They have not decided yet but I have not had to pay any monthly assessments since
If I am put on that list I will draw half of my insurance $1500, and pay no more assessments. That would save us $8.00 per week, my health is good but my legs are very week, particularly the right or numb one; if I walk about much my leg burns from the hip to the foot. A year ago I was quite ? on my feet and I might be so yet if I was in the same climats but I don't wish to ever see that country again
If I can rent our house out in the spring I will hunt up a place where we can make something out of keeping boarders. We keep no girl so I am kept pretty busy assisting Susan. We had a very good garden this summer. We commenced using our potatoes Aug 4th and have enough for a month yet. We sold $15. worth of currants and our little girls got $11. for strawberries & raspberries. I have sold $24. worth of apples and have 13 barrels of winter keeping apples on hand. I got $1.00 a bus. Or $3.00 a barrel. Our girls are all going to school yet. This is Winnie's last year, Harold left Amherst in July and went to Providence R.I. and is working in a large machine shop there. He refused to remain in Amherst at $12.50 per week but I do not know what wages he is getting now. He and a Miss Stewart of Amherst were married in Cambridge about a month ago and have gone house keeping. He is 20 and she 18, we don't know anything about her. He has been to see brother James but has not given any particulars about his circumstances but said that he was coming this way shortly, I presume he was going to Amherst to work in the car works. The crops in this part of the Island are fairly good, but scarcely an average. Wheat was very poor oats are said to be unusually heavy they are worth 30 cts and potatoes 20 cts, Lambs 2 1/2 cts per lb; they have been 3 1/2 cts for several years previously.
Elijah Hardy is home on his farm again George Gillian who has been tried three times for shooting Arch Graves and who has been out on bail since last June is to be tried again on the 24th of this month It is probable that the jury will acquit him this time, he certainly done a good thing for Alberton when he killed Arch Graves! But the Catholics are crying for his blood, that is why he is to be tried again. At the last trial a catholic got on the jury by getting the subpoena intended for a protestant, Ned Matthews died at last not of lung trouble but heart failure. As you mentioned in your letter Mrs. Fielding died and since then their second youngest son Fred aged about 14, died Fielding has broken up housekeeping and gone boarding for a year, thinking that the microbe will be dead by that time. Mrs. Fielding coughed for 17 years but would not consult a physician about her cough. She was a fine woman.
We have had very little frost yet. I pulled my apples this week and dug my beets and parsnips yesterday. It rained heavy last night for a while from the s.w. Today the wind is N. E. and cloudy
Let me hear from you soon how your crop turned out and also the cream racket
Hoping you are all well. I remain your affectionate brother
[signed] John T. Weeks
Note: This letter provided to Dawn Ellis by Sam Kotchman.