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Letter from S. W. TINKHAM of Willoughby, OH
Sept. 6th 1837
To Buenos AYRES or Ransom OSBORN of Hicksville, OH
[This letter was folded into a rectangle with words inside; then addressed on the outside and sealed
with a wax drop. The original letter was in possession of Merrill K. Zimmer, Jr. of CA (1999; now
deceased). The compiler of this information has a xerox copy of the original letter.
Brackets [ ] inserted by the transcribers. The handwritten letter was addressed as follows]
To Buenos Ayres or Ransom
Osborn
Town of Hixville Williams County
Ohio
to be left at New Rochester
Paulding County
[Letter begins...]
To my absent friends, we received your letter Sept 1
we was glad to hear of your health and welfaire but was sorry
to heare that you had not received out letter I wrote verry
soon after receiving your first letter I dont intend to
be slack in fulfiling my promise in this respect for I
have to much consolation in reading letters to be verry
neglectful in writing, the grim messenger death has in
a verry sudden manner made an other breach in Erastus
family there yungest chiled was removed from time yesterday
about 2 Oclock in the after noon itt was about considerable
want[?] the day before it was quite unwell through the knight
and they gave her a portion of oil in the morning and she
seemed to be better for a little while and then began to fail
and was soon prostated by death so we can see how uncertain
all things are here below Roxa has benn quite unwell for
two or three days but is some better at presant Alvins health
is verry bad this summer he has been quite low some of the
time and we was affraid he would not get up again but he
is about again quite comfortable his wifes health is poor
Mother Wait has some poor turnes but on the whole is a
gitting some stronger the rest of connection about here are in
usual health George O/V[?]ials folks buryed there youngest child
last Sonday, it had the dissutary Old Mr Brash[?] was buryed
last week. Mr. Clark that owns a part of the Kirtland Mills lost his
wife lately she was upset in a carrage on Sonday and
died on tuesday, your Sister Mrs Stevens and Theodurick[? Theolunick]
came in to our neighborhood a week a go last Satturday
and went away Tuesday morning they left there folks all
well Charles works a farm a bout one miled from Tudes[?]
Sary Ann is to Alvins yet Sovina[?Lovina] has kept school in
Harvys neighborhood this Summer she kept a good school
her school is out Harvys[?] folks have a prospect of and increase
in there family and Bill Shoemaker likewise.
[end of page one]
Suthers wife has a great fat son about threet months old
Asa Ayres has sold his farm talks some of bying in Mantuway[?]
he has been to Stinam[? Stiram?] lately Stayed to Charles over knight and
sent his Respects to polly and said he should be glad to see
her I have heard some wey that they have the fever and pague[?plague?] where the
Crarys and Morses[?] have gond, and that some of them had got it
we heard that Mr Clevelands women folks wished them selves back
again after they got to there Journeys end, I saw Mr Peenfield
and tryed to have him take that bill but he would not take it
he said the money was good when you tookit and he thought he
had not ought to loose it, I have not sold any thing you left it is
such hard times for money that there is no chance to sell any such
thing at presant there is as many Mormons a going awey as there is
coming in this Summer and there is not any chance to sell to them
they are what folks call pritty[?] low on the edge they are at war
among them selves they have got so they have some clinches right in
there meetings they had quite a riot not long since they go so high
that some of the women Jomped out of the window and the scrape
was altogether amongst the Mormons, there has got to be two partys
of thim and it makes rather troblesome times amongst them
I will let you know a little a bout my business we worked
to Mrs. Shalls[?Shulls/Stalls] till a bout the first of July we then put up a house
for Mr Wright at Pains Mills he built 18 by _[?3] 4 we did 50 dollars
worth of work on that since that we have been on the college the
most of the time we have done a most forty dollars worth of work
for Quinn[?], we expect to finish on the college in a bout 3 weeks
what we do this season we complete the outside and finish the other
Lecture room below and the other connen [?common] room below and the
Museum room, Truesdall[?] has not worked but 51/2 days since we
left Mrs Stalls[?] he has been quite out of health he has not been
a bout here much lately Mr Eggbent[?] has helped some on the
college and Sam Saman has been with us the most of the time on
the college and I have hired Gideon Shoemaker a cousin to the boys
[end of page two]
he has worked a bout two months I dont expect to keep him much
longer I have some thing like 80 dollars worth of work to do on
Mrs Stalls[?] house yet I have no trouble to git work anough
but have some trouble to get my pay I some expect to build
a house for Mr. Woolcut[?] yet this fall the same sise of
Mr Wrights, Wheat came in verry good and oats was good
corn will be pretty good if the frost holds off 3 to 4 weeks yet
David Sends his best respects to you and said I might say he
calculated if he could get money enough to come in to that
part of the country next spring and if you wont[?wart; meaning “weren’t”] to far off
he should try to find you, the boys are plagueing[?] Abrubary[?]
about tending Fenny[?Jenny/Ferry?] he has been to see the Shakers[?Slavers?] and took
a Fenny[?]with him it want Starry[? Slavery] I don’t like to tell who it
was you must guess who it was Amelia sends a budget[?] of
love to Sarah and the children, if you git this letter
I shall want you to write a gan [meaning “again”] soon so that we may know that
you have got it and likewise heare again from you
Willoughby Sept 6th 1837
S W Tinkham
===========================================================================
Transcribed by Steve Cholet & Gloria Odom -- brackets [ ] inserted by transcribers.
NOTES BY Gloria:
Many of the words were spelled according to sound rather than our “correct” spelling of today.
Punctuation & capital letters were used infrequently.
The capital letter “T” was used in Theodorick? Tuesday and Tinkham (signature) - it has an
interesting dip at the start of the letter.
“Kirtland Mills” was probably in Kirtland, which was only about 5 or 10 miles from where S. W.
Tinkham was in Willoughby.
Willoughby [OH], in 1837 was located in Geauga county. With the creation of Lake county
in 1840 from the counties of Geauga & Cuyahoga, then the town of Willoughby became a part
of Lake Co., as it is today.
“Hixville, Williams Co. [OH]” is the same as “Hicksville, Defiance Co., OH” today. Defiance Co.
was created in 1845 from counties Williams, Henry & Paulding. This letter was written in 1837
before the creation of Defiance County.
The letter states “your Sister Mrs. Stevens;” this is probably Buenos’ oldest sister, Polly AYRES
who is said to have married to Jude STEVENS. I am lacking vital statistics and the name of
any descendants (if they had any) for this family!
There is written that “Asa Ayres has sold his farm talks some of bying in Mantuway.” I wonder if
“Mantuway” is the phonetic spelling for “Mantua” which is found today in Portage county, a
couple of counties below Geauga county?
I believe this Asa Ayres is the father of Buenos Ayres. Asa would have died, according to
family records, three months after this letter was written - place currently unknown.
Buenos Ayres married Sarah Osborn, the daughter of Ransom Osborn.
Mary WAIT, the wife of Asa AYRES, Sr - mentioned in the letter is possibly “Mother Wait.”
The “Charles” that Asa Ayres visited could be his son-in-law Charles SLAYTON, who is said to
have married Asa’s daughter Sally (2nd) AYRES. My records indicate that Sally had died 19
May 1834 (location unknown; about 3 years before this letter was written), so that is probably
why only Charles is mentioned and not Sally. I am lacking most of the vital statistics of this
family, and do not know if they had any descendants.
Asa Ayres... “sent his Respects to polly and said he should be glad to see her;” could Polly be
his daughter, and the same person as “Mrs Stevens” in this letter?
==============================================================================
According to the book: Lake County Ohio - 150 Years Of Tradition, by Bari Oyler Stith,
pub. 1988, Windsor Publications, Inc., Northridge, CA; p 39, 78-79.
"In Kirtland, the abundance of abandoned buildings, a result of the Mormon exodus in the
late 1830s, aided in Nelson Slater’s choice of a location for his teacher’s seminary.
The school opened in September of 1839 after Slater obtained a lease for the use of the
deserted temple and a state charter for the Western Reserve Teacher’s Seminary and
Kirtland Institute.
...the Mormon community found itself friendless, destitute, and unable to cash in its
worthless bills or raise credit. Their solution was to head west...In 1838 the camp was
ready to start, and left in a body, making a string of teams more than a mile long..."
Perhaps the college mentioned in S. W. Tinkham’s letter was a renovation of some of
the buildings used by the Mormons.
==============================================================================
In Chester, Geauga Co., OH are found these two known deeds for Asa AYRES (Sr.):
1- Deed Book, Volume 8, pg 4 ~ ~ 6 Feb 1821 purchased 22 1/2 acres in Chester, Geauga, OH
2- Deed Book, Volume 12, pgs 416-418 ~ ~ 28 Oct 1828, Asa & Mary sold same
22 1/2 acres ~ deed said "Asa & Mary of Kirtland, Geauga Co., OH"
In the 1830 census of Kirtland Township, Geauga Co., OH [Microcopy 19, Roll 131,
Page 269, Line 23] is found "Asa AYERS" with 10 in his household - 7 males & 3 females.
It is possible that one of the children of Asa & Mary was living with the family and had their
own children with them, according to the ages of the household members. “Asa Ayers, Jr.”
is also found in Kirtland Twsp. [Microcopy 19, Roll 131, Page 271, Line 11] with 11 in his
household - 6 males & 5 females.
I am wondering if the “fever” mentioned in this letter by S. W. Tinkham might be what took
the lives of Asa AYRES and his wife Mary WAIT. According to the cemetery book in OH,
Asa died Dec 1, 1836 age 76, and Mary died Dec 8, 1836, in her 75th year. However,
according to their ages, they would have died in 1837, not 1836. The cemetery book
states that the tombstones were illegible in late 1990's when they were read, and the
information was from 1930. Therefore, if this couple were still living at the time this letter
was written in Sept 6th, 1837, they would have died some 3 months after the letter was written.
At this time, this is only speculation on my part.
Mary's day of death is identified in another secondary souce as Dec 6th, not Dec 8th.
Another descendant of Asa & Mary (Wait) Ayres provided me with the place of burial for
this couple, which had long been a mystery to many of us.
From the book: Portage County Ohio Cemeteries, Vol XI, City of Aurora, Hiram
Village, Hiram Township, 1803-1995
Published by: The Portage County Genealogical Society, Revenna, Ohio, 1995
==============================================================================
Some additional information, possibly of interest, can be found in extracts from the book
of Lake Co., OH.
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