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DOCUMENT No. 7

Dudley S. Gooch to Brother (Amos Gooch)
sent from Nash County, North Carolina
dated: April 19, 1859
letter (publicly held) - original in NC State Archives

Dudley S. Gooch is the son of Daniel and Nancey (Sneed) Gooch of Granville County, North Carolina. Dudley purchased 560 acres of land from N.N. Rice in 1858. In 1859 Dudley moved to Nash County and settled on a plantation just South of Springhope. This letter was found amongst others belonging to Amos Gooch and it is assumed to be addressed to Amos, who lived in the Tar River District of Granville County. Dudley was married twice and widowed twice before he moved to Nash. He first married Mary Jane (1805-1849), the daughter of Charles & Martha (Walker) Bennett, and second Indianna (c1829-1853), the daughter of William & Nancy (Ragland) Jones of Oxford.

Nash Cty N.C (1) April 19 th 1859

Dr. Brother I seat my self to drop / you a few lines to let you know that we / are all in the land of Nash yet, but some / complaining with bad colds. we have had a great / deal of rain down here, and I expect that you / have had a drop or two as old Tar has had / her sides pretty well filled out the whole / winter but the past week has given us a little / time to plant some corn though we have only / got under ^the way as yet but if the weather keeps / fair we will plant some of this week. our / tobacco plants are getting some of them nearly / large enough to plant in new ground. I am afraid / they will be too fast for me this year. I am / not done roling logs yet, I have not heard from / Morton (2) yet if he has not paid that note off and / do not pay it by may Court it will bother me / some, I wrote too you some time ago telling you / what I wanted you to do if he did not pay / it that was to put in Lasitors3 hands in time to get / judgement at may Court if you ^did received my letter / if he does not pay it I Should like to borrow that / amount from you or Hannah if you have it on / hand. I did Expect to have been up before now but / the weather has been so bad that it has thrown me / back with my work so that I could not leave. if / I can git along with my work I shall be up at / may Court I have nothing of interest to write to you / at the present but Remains your &.C.
Dudley S. Gooch

Notes:

  1. Nash Cty N.C. Nash County, North Carolina. In 1858, Dudley Gooch settles here after buying about 700 acres on the Tar River, just South of what is today Spring Hope and near Webb's Mill. Dudley dies in 1863 and the plantation is leased out. Dudley's brother Amos, the administrator of his estate, sells the property in 1872, at a loss of $1,000.00.

  2. Morton Joseph Morton (born c1819) Dudley sold part of his Granville County holdings to Morton by deed; Granville Deed Book 19, pg. 237. Apparently Morton purchased the land on credit. Local Granville historian and native, Patricia Slaughter, recalled that a Morton married into the Thorpe family; large landowners in the Goshen area and descendants of Col. Thomas Person. The 1860 Census lists Morton as a native of Virginia with a wife named Ann and children: Nat, Bettie, Ann, James, Sally & Joseph.

  3. Lasitors unidentified

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