This came to me today - maybe someone on the list will be interested? Hello, I don't know if you'd be interested in this or not, but there is an 1848 Waynesville, OH letter written by S. Gause to Lot Gregg of Belmont co., OH that is for auction on _www.ebay.com_ (http://www.ebay.com/) . For more details and a photo see: _http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140040946347_ (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140040946347) Anyway, good luck with your genealogy, G.T. Bishop ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------- This folded lettersheet / stampless letter has a circular date stamp for WAYNESVILLE Ohio DEC 20, a 5 cent rate, and is addressed to Lot Gregg, Belmont, Belmont co., Ohio, and is long three page letter written by S. Gause to 'Dear Mother sister & brother'. The headline is Waynesville 12th mo'th, 17th 1848. >From a little research, I think the writer of this letter was Sidney Thomas, wife of Clarkson Gause, daughter of Calvin Thomas. The style of writing the date is 'Quaker', or the Society of Friends. Some abstracts: "We received a letter from brother Asa last week which gave the satisfactory account of your health and well fare, which we have not been blest with for some weeks past; both our children have been quite sick. Noah had quite a severe spell of the Bronchitis which lasted near two weeks before we got it conquered ...." "... and mustard plasters on his breast till it was almost blistered. Mary E. had quite a severe spell of influenza but is now pretty well ..." "Clarkson started to Cincinnati this morning loaded with oats apples poultry and butter, he was down in the lsat of the tenth month loaded with buckwheat flour and butter ..." "Harriet Cook was confined about the middle of the tenth month and died when her babe was two weeks old; with child bed fever and since that Ann Whitacre had a very severe attack of the Erysipelas and the two younger girls the scarlet fever ..."