Volume 5, Number 7 - Spring 1975
Letters from Anderson Hopper to Creel Hopper
Eva Bruener says, "Anderson Hopper my great, great grandfather, and his family went by wagon train from Mincy, Missouri to Idaho. Creel Hopper moved from Taney County to Omaha, Arkansas a year later.
Anderson later moved to Riverside, Calif. He died Aug. 12, 1921. His wife, Mary Fletcher Anderson, died Jan. 24, 1930. Their children were: Milford, my grandfather; Leona who married Newton Combs, brother to Mary Louise Combs wife of Milford; Amanda; Ira; Christine; Ada; Thomas, yet living; Sylvia; John; and Edith."
Midvale, Idaho
July 10, 1904
Dear Brother and Family
Your letter of June 19 is at hand
We are well, but Harvey Brittain is ded. he died last Thursday knight with Lungs and & stomache trouble if Jane is living near you let her know. for we dont know just where her or Frank lives. Harvey left his wife a good living. As to myself, Early in the spring I was pruning trees & pulled a limb down & cut end of it off & when it went up a part of it struck me in the right eye & just about spoilt it. I can just see daylight with it & it may never get better. but I can get along with one eye all right if will stay good. Well our garden is short this season on account of being laid off at the time of planting but I think we will have 300 bushel of apples & a fine lot of peaches & our Berries is good.
The first cutting of alfalfa is short this season on account of cool weather I will have about 40 ton of first cutting & it is most all in. The next crop depend on rain for our water have run low
you spoke of your Boy Joe as though we New all about him when we dont. if you ever mentioned him before we have forgot it, who was he
I was surprised to hear all the old timers had left Mincy I had at least expected some of Bedfords was there
Well one can make a good living on a small peace of land & I wold rather have 4 acres of good land then 40 of pore land
I think you ought to get an acre of your side hill land cleared & put in Berries it will pay big besides the pleasure of seeing it grow.
Tell Claton that I am glad that him & his wife is living together. it is the only sencable way for
them to do and that I would like for him to write to me.
I wish I could exchange some of our nice alfalfa honey for some of your sweet potatoes for they are worth 5 cts a pound here we will have about 500 lbs of honey & no sweet potatos
Walter & Victor started to high mountains with their sheep the 10 of June.
Anderson Hopper
Middle Valley, Idaho
Dec. 15, 1885
Dear Brother and Sister: I take up my pen to write you a few lines in answer to your welcome letter which came to hand a few days ago and found all well but Mary who has the Erosipilis on one of her fingers but it is geting better now and I think will be well in a few days. I hope this will find you all well times is tolerable hard money is scarce and hard to get flour is $4. per bbl. fat hogs is worth about 4 cts on foot. bacon will be about l0 cts. cattle is a tolerable fair price wages is about $1.00 per day but man cant get much work to do now as winter is seting in and it is snowing now. The snow may keep on until it gets two or three feet deep. There isn’t often winters here that stock can live out almost all winter.
We are getting along tolerable well, but I have to raise $200.00 to enter my place with, that will make it a little hard on me for awhile. We raised 640 bu. of grain and a splendid garden. We killed about 2000 lbs. pork and have 25 head of stock hogs and six head of cattle, but I may have to sell my cattle to enter my land. I have a pair of good mules and a wagon and some farming tools.
If I keep stout enough to preach I think we will get along alright. In the last year I have preched about 80 sermons besides attending
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several prayer meetings and Sunday Schools, and one Association. Our church is getting along pretty well. We aim to hold a protracted meeting commencing New Year’s day if the Lord wills. The children are all going to school. Ada is married, their men both belong to the church and both have places of their own. The health of the county is good but I am not as stout as I would like to be.
Hinkle that used to live on bear creek in boone Co. and Henry Boggs is out here in a valley above here on the Weiser, I have seen them both. Hinkle has bought a place.
I have not killed a deer for 12 months. I sold my Winchester for a buggy and quit hunting. A little over a year ago a grizzley bear like to have run over me and I expect it scared me a little. I think I killed it, but it got away from me and I did not object much, but I don’t think I will ever meet that bear again.
Write soon.
(signed) A. (Anderson) Hopper
addressed to Creel Hopper, Omaha, Arkansas
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