Letter, Samuel B. Myers to John Wissler
Files
Dublin Core
Title
Letter, Samuel B. Myers to John Wissler
Subject
Myers, Samuel B.
Wissler, John
Iron industry - Virginia - Shenandoah County
Description
Letter sent from Samuel B. Myers to his Uncle John Wissler about the purchase of Union Forge, an iron producing forge located near Edinburg Virginia.
The letter was sent from Henrietta Furnace, another iron furnace owned by Myers and Wissler near what is now Basye Virginia. It is dated June 8 1859.
The letter was sent from Henrietta Furnace, another iron furnace owned by Myers and Wissler near what is now Basye Virginia. It is dated June 8 1859.
Creator
Samuel B. Myers
Source
Folder 1.30: Letter, Samuel B. Myers to John Wissler, June 8 1859, Henrietta Furnace Virginia, Wissler Letter Collection, Truban Archives, Shenandoah County Library, Edinburg, Virginia.
Publisher
Shenandoah County Library
Date
June 8 1859
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC)
Identifier
22-0505-001
22-0505-002
22-0505-003
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Henrietta Furnace Va June 8 1859
Dear Uncle
As an opportunity has presented itself for giving you a few items of news I shall avail myself thereof.
As you hace probably heard ere this, I bought Union Forge last Saturday evening from Saml. Lantz – Israel Rinker having been out before – the property purchased includes the forge, coal house Cribs, mill stables office hay barn, mansion house, & six other houses on that side of creek & 1 on church side opposite forge, also 500 acres of land timbered above Edinburg forge office & complete set of forge tools etc. for which we are to pay 100 tons of bar iron in monthly regular installments, in 3 years time, which makes payments 33 1/3 tons per annum or a shade less than 2 ¾ tons per month. Are to have possession on 1st Septm next. It is as you are well aware the most constant power on the creek and on these terms I think quite cheap. I told Israel Rinker that I would like to consult you first; but Mr. Lantz came here & we got so close that I could not do so.
No the question is – Do you wish to have ¼ interest in it like furnace here and consolidate this & the forge as one property or not – I would have liked to have seen you ere I closed; but they seemed to be so anxious to arrange it that I could not.
I shall try to arrange it to make about 50 tons bar iron and same amt. of bloom per annum, which will require about 400 loads of coal – work for one team and pig metal shall have it hauled. Out metal makes excellent bar iron, a little on the red short order but will correct that.
On account of knocking & jabbing around tungers (?) while in that bad condition when we started the furnace did not want to work fee & clean and Redeneiser begged to have a new hearth put in so that he can see what she will do under proper circumstances – accordingly blewed out last Saturday and expect to have hearth all dressed this week and in furnace to day a week – So that we can start next Monday a week – stopping 2 weeks. I will be down on Sunday as I have to be in Cout on Monday to get my compliment of hands to work road by our place over which I am appointed the supervisor. I understand you are driving things tremendous in the way of getting coal etc. – well that’s all right and if the pig metal would only advance it would be a good deal better yet; but I really am afraid it will be some time yet ere we can expect high prices or fair prices again.
I hope Congress will give us a fair tariff next session to keep this low priced English iron away: The English Iron Master are mostly doing a losing business at present rates and if England does get involved in the war so that labor will advance they will have to stop or prices get higher and there is no question that at some future day not so very far distant it will like it usually does shoot up as erratic as a comet again but I do not believe for a year to come yet.
Your Nephew
S.B. Myers
P.S. We are all well an busy as bees as we have but five hands and must make every edge cut. Hope to see you and Hannah up when we have her in full blast.
Yours S.B.M.
P.S. If you would sooner have nothing to do with Union be perfectly free to express it as I would not for the world wish to have it so against your wishes.
Yours truly
S.B.M.
Dear Uncle
As an opportunity has presented itself for giving you a few items of news I shall avail myself thereof.
As you hace probably heard ere this, I bought Union Forge last Saturday evening from Saml. Lantz – Israel Rinker having been out before – the property purchased includes the forge, coal house Cribs, mill stables office hay barn, mansion house, & six other houses on that side of creek & 1 on church side opposite forge, also 500 acres of land timbered above Edinburg forge office & complete set of forge tools etc. for which we are to pay 100 tons of bar iron in monthly regular installments, in 3 years time, which makes payments 33 1/3 tons per annum or a shade less than 2 ¾ tons per month. Are to have possession on 1st Septm next. It is as you are well aware the most constant power on the creek and on these terms I think quite cheap. I told Israel Rinker that I would like to consult you first; but Mr. Lantz came here & we got so close that I could not do so.
No the question is – Do you wish to have ¼ interest in it like furnace here and consolidate this & the forge as one property or not – I would have liked to have seen you ere I closed; but they seemed to be so anxious to arrange it that I could not.
I shall try to arrange it to make about 50 tons bar iron and same amt. of bloom per annum, which will require about 400 loads of coal – work for one team and pig metal shall have it hauled. Out metal makes excellent bar iron, a little on the red short order but will correct that.
On account of knocking & jabbing around tungers (?) while in that bad condition when we started the furnace did not want to work fee & clean and Redeneiser begged to have a new hearth put in so that he can see what she will do under proper circumstances – accordingly blewed out last Saturday and expect to have hearth all dressed this week and in furnace to day a week – So that we can start next Monday a week – stopping 2 weeks. I will be down on Sunday as I have to be in Cout on Monday to get my compliment of hands to work road by our place over which I am appointed the supervisor. I understand you are driving things tremendous in the way of getting coal etc. – well that’s all right and if the pig metal would only advance it would be a good deal better yet; but I really am afraid it will be some time yet ere we can expect high prices or fair prices again.
I hope Congress will give us a fair tariff next session to keep this low priced English iron away: The English Iron Master are mostly doing a losing business at present rates and if England does get involved in the war so that labor will advance they will have to stop or prices get higher and there is no question that at some future day not so very far distant it will like it usually does shoot up as erratic as a comet again but I do not believe for a year to come yet.
Your Nephew
S.B. Myers
P.S. We are all well an busy as bees as we have but five hands and must make every edge cut. Hope to see you and Hannah up when we have her in full blast.
Yours S.B.M.
P.S. If you would sooner have nothing to do with Union be perfectly free to express it as I would not for the world wish to have it so against your wishes.
Yours truly
S.B.M.
Original Format
Correspondence
Citation
Samuel B. Myers, “Letter, Samuel B. Myers to John Wissler,” Shenandoah County Library Archives, accessed April 19, 2024, https://archives.countylib.org/items/show/74740.
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