Item Description: In a letter dated 30 August, 1863 from James Bryan to William Alexander Graham, Bryan details financial loans and happenings. William Alexander Graham was a lawyer, legislator, United States senator, Confederate senator, Secretary of the Navy, and Whig vice-presidential candidate in 1852.
[Item transcription available below image]
Item Citation: Folder 204 , William A. Graham Papers #00285, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Item Transcription:
My dear Sir.
I wrote you sometime since ? John Leathin?, wrote? for $500 and two letters – one to formal? H. Johnson _ the other to John Leathin?, – requesting you to have the letter forwarded etc. to these parties.- Mise? Person, have written to me desiring to pay the money they owe me to some person in Hillsboro so to save them the trouble and expense of coming down to Kinston to settle with me. John Leathin?, owe, me $1000 and with the note making $1500 which he and his father William Leathin? promises to pay me.- Johnson however said he writes to take up the note to me to much effect. Be pleased to aid me in Collecting these monies, and advise me if you have heard from the parties, etc.
I was at Orange C.H. Va a few days ago had your son Joseph to dine with me etc. – he was well and in fine health.- My love to Cousin Susan, ? and families.- Very truly yours,
James W. Bryan
Okay, so here’s my transcription:
I wrote you sometime since [, enclosing] John Leathin[‘s], note for $500 and two letters – one to [Saml.] H. Johnson — the other to John Leathin, – requesting you to have the letters forwarded etc. to these parties.- [These] Person[s], have written to me desiring to pay the money they owe me to some person in Hillsboro so to save them the trouble and expense of coming down to Kinston [&c] to settle with me. John Leathin[s] owe[s] me $1000 and with the note making $1500 which he and his father William Leathins promise[d] to pay me.- Johnson however said he [wished] to take up the note [and wrote] to me to [that] effect. Be pleased to aid me in Collecting these monies, and advise me if you have heard from the parties, etc.
I was at Orange C.[ourt] H.[ouse] Va a few days ago & had your son Joseph to dine with me &– he was well and in fine health.– Our love to Cousins Susan, Eliza & families.
Very truly yours,
James W. Bryan
Bryan has a distinctive way of making his final ‘s’ look like a comma. I’m not sure whether Leathins is actually Leathers or something in between. Sometimes it looks like there’s a dotted i in the last syllable and sometimes it doesn’t. The capital S is Sir is like the capital S in Sam’l.