How old is 'Shacking Up'?

This is one of the interesting tidbits found in my genealogical research. The writer is my great-great-grandfather.

Florence, A. T. (that is Arizona Territory)
Nov. 7th, 1890

Dear Ones at Home -

I received your letter but put off writing because I wanted to surprise you when I wrote again. I have left the road of batchelor life and taken to myself a wife. I got married last Saturday, Nov. lst to Will LeBarrons's sister. She has been stopping with us for over a year in the same house so we are pretty well acquainted I think. She is just what I have been looking for. We had no wedding, just went to town and was married at Mrs. Thomas'. Mrs. Foreman's youngest daughters, the old lady and Gussie happened to be there and saw me get married. She got a divorce from her other husband, he has been away from her four years. He was in Colorado when last heard from. He was an inveterate drunkard. She has four kids, three boys and one girl. The oldest is 11, the youngest is four. They are good children to mind. They mind me better than they do their mother. I will give you their names, John is 11 years old, Joseph is 8, Nellie 6, Benjamin 4.

I guess will think I have made a great match but I have made it and never asked anybody for advice, so I can’t grumble.

I got so tired of living alone. I feel well satisfied so far. Her name was Mary Elizabeth Holigate. I call her Libby for short. She has kept herself and the kids washing and sewing. She has made most of my clothes since I have been here if I would furnish the ranch and cows and chickens and pigs so I told her it was a shack because I knew I could keep myself. I had the ranch but would not live on it without a woman. I got my cows the other day from the mesa, 4 years ago I put a calf to pasture in the mountains and sent for her and there were five head. She had 3 heifer calves and one of these had a calf. I gave 2 of the calves for to pay the pasture and got 2 cows and a calf yet. They are wild but I will soon tame them; one of them is giving milk now. I will try and milk her today. We have just got well started putting in grain. We have about 60 acres in and it is raining very hard today.

Dr. Hurley was here two weeks ago with a gang of men and put us up a new addition to the house and put up a 2500 gal. tank and fixed the windmill to pump it full and put a pipe to the house and it is very handy for the women folks. He said he was going to fix things so handy so that we would stay here. He is a very jolly fellow and he is well pleased with our style of taking care of the place and he says he wants to make us comfortable. We have sold part of our grain, we got 1.25 for it, that is some better than .65 and still raising, for barley is scarce. We are only going to sow 120 acres here this year. The other 320 is in alfalfa. We put it up on shares, but we want to sow 160 on our own land. Bill has his all cleared and I have 80 acres of mine cleared. I tell you it keeps us busy. We are working 10 head of stock every day. We want to get it all in before Christmas, for early grain is what counts.

Will close for this time. With love to all at home from

Mrs. & Mr. William Schmidt

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Today's Thought

Voices we prefer to ignore may speak words we need to hear.

Cheap Gas

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Today's Thought

Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.

Thought for the Day

Somedays you are the pigeon; somedays you are the statue.

Ray's antique ride - 1984 Honda VF700C