David Crittenden Linville

Jeanette, Crittenden County, Arkansas

 

Letter To

 

James Franklin Taylor

Jackson County, Tennessee

 

                       

 

 

David Crittenden “Crit” Linville & Marinda “Mary” Taylor

 

 

The following letter is in possession of Opal Taylor Mahan, granddaughter of James Franklin Taylor. The letter was found in a trunk after her grandfather’s death.

 

James “Jim” Taylor was unable to read and write, and for some unknown reason, possibly no one was available to pen letters for him, wasn’t able to answer the letters that had been written to him by his brother in law, David Crittenden Linville.

 

David Crittenden Linville was the son of Samuel Chester Linville and Charity Adeline Meadows, formerly of Allen County, Kentucky. Marinda “Mary” Ann Taylor was the daughter of John Taylor and Lucinda Ipoch of Jackson County, Tennessee.  Crit and Mary Linville were married September 5, 1896 in Jackson County, Tennessee.

 

Sarah and Matt, as mentioned in the letter, were two younger siblings of Mary Taylor Linville, who had moved to Arkansas to live with the Linville family. Sarah Taylor married Pate Ayers

who died in Cookeville, Tennessee in 1918. They had a son, John Russell Ayres.

The identities of the other children mentioned in the letter are unknown. Matt Taylor was

John Madison Taylor who registered for the World War I Draft on September 12, 1918,

and was residing at Lansing, Arkansas.  He was noted as “Mack”.

No further record has been found for him.

 

The letter has been typed with the same spelling and punctuation as appeared in the letter.

 

 

 

 

Oct 5, 1919

Janett, Ark

 

Mr Jim taylor

 

My dear brother and famley i seat my self to rite you one time more to see if i can here from you. all well Jim. the last time we hird from you did say you was sick. we rote to you rite back hav and rote to you 2 more and got no anser so i thought i would rite to you agin

 

2

Well Jim if you get this rite and tell us what you all ar doing. how crops is. Well Jim, Sary and the Childern is well. mat cut his foot with an ax a bout a month ago. has not walked on it and don’t know when he will. all the rest well. thay are picking some cotton. well Jim Mary says tell you to

 

3

rite to hir and tell hir what is the matter that you don’t rite to hir and the Childern. She talks about you a lot and wonders what could be the matter with you all. She says you ouot [ought] to be here for dinner. She has rossen years [roasting ears] and green beans and calf milk and butter, sweet pottatoes and turnip greens for this rainey day.

 

4

Well Jim I don’t know mutch to rite. i will have to rite to will [Will].  Cant rite very mutch. I will haft to close for this time. Jim rite as soon as you get this.

 

From D. C. Linville and famley to my deer brother and famley. Rite soon and long letter.

 

                                                                        By By

 

 

 

 

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Last Updated Monday, April 28, 2008