Frederick Lang to William Skeen in 1861 in which he alludes to the ongoing crisis of the Union that was unfolding amidst the secession of southern states following Abraham Lincoln’s election.

T R A N S C R I P T I O N

Solitude,
February 17th, 1861

Dear William,

Your scarcity of the 18th ultra came to hand and created quite a surprise. It was indeed a wonder that you wrote again. Do you know when you wrote to us last? I suppose not. But my letter records mention only one of January 12, 1858. That was the last, excepting the few lines you wrote to me of brother Charles’ letters. Well! no odds! it has come at last and so allow me before everything else to congratulate you on the happy increase of your family. You have as good fortune as we had—a boy first to keep up the name, then a gal to please the mother. I hope you are enjoying as good health as we are. My girl begins to talk quite smartly and is as lively as a cricket. I often wish you could come out to see where & how we live. Can you not make it come around to pay us as a visit before the family increases again??

The news of the death of so many persons known to us has been communicated by our Water Cure correspondents, but your information about Charles Steubgen has been welcome & painful—welcome because I heard nothing of him for a long time in spite of my endeavors to find out his whereabouts; painful because it shows a great lack of friendship, which I am nearly forced to call professed friendship, as nothing but death could excuse Charley’s long inexplicable silence. I wrote to Dr. Held, his brother-in-law in Saxon C. If he is a gentleman, he will answer my letter. What the result will be remains to be seen.

I hope you are at work again, although times have not revived much yet [and] I doubt their getting much better before the crisis is over! We are getting along very well. Farmers generally have the least to suffer in such matters—that is, independent farmers, but I cannot call myself quite that yet, although it goes as well as can be expected. We have enough of everything except money. If we had had enough of that, we could have come in to see you.

Where do you work at present? Out in Bayard town’s shovel factory yet? How do you prosper? Do you intend to spend all your life in the city, or have you a distant wish of becoming a farmer? Is brother Charles in the bakery yet, & boarding with you? Give him my regards and get him to write when you write again. Ernest will drop a few lines to him. Is he a Democrat or Republican? Write soon & much and get your wife to write some too. To say that you are a poor writer will not excuse you. You can write a good interesting letter if you wish to. But there is the rub; if you would spend as much time in writing to me as you do in reading the Ledger or Dispatch, we might keep up a regular correspondence. You probably say you would not know what to write if you would write often informing me of everyday occurrences. In fact, everything is interesting if it comes from distant & cherished friends!
 
We had a nice winter—plenty of good sleighing, and the ground was open for only a few days this week. Yesterday & today it is falling briskly with a good prospect for another sleighing. It is just the kind of weather I want for wheat. I like to see winter in the right time and be done with it at the end of March or beginning of April. I am in hopes of an early Spring. Hoping soon to hear from you & including my best and my earnest best regards to yourself, wife and brother Charley, I remain your ever sincere friend, — Fred. Lang