Armstrong Letters: "If only you were here now..."

Baker White Armstrong, son of Edward McCarty and Louisa Tapscott White Armstrong, 1883

Search Google for "Eutaw Place, Baltimore, Maryland," and you will get responses that include information about the Victorian architecture of an historical area of the city. One website about Baltimore describes an area of the city that is "one of the most architecturally distinguished late nineteenth to early twentieth century neighborhoods in Baltimore City." In the future, I may research those streets as they appeared in 1883, when Baker White Armstrong (Sr.) lived there. He was twenty-four to twenty-five years old at the time, working for George B. Seal, Druggist, at the end of 1883, which we know because he received in December of that year a Christmas card from his niece Eliza, and that card was addressed to Baker's place of work. And we know the address of his place of abode because letters from family are addressed to Baker at 453 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, Maryland. Baker had family living there, his cousin William Armstrong (son of William and Susan White Armstrong). In previous years, Baker had worked at his half-brother's store, learning the trade of a druggist, and now, here he is, more or less on his own, working for a druggist in Baltimore, Maryland. And the family at "Edgewood" near Salem, Virginia, miss his presence.  We have the letters to prove it.

Here in the bulging manila folder is a letter with the heading: St. Valentine's Day, Edgewood, Feb. 14, 1883. "My Dear Sons (BW and Robt)," the letter begins, and so we know that Robert, too, is in Baltimore. It is a family letter, with an entry from each family member remaining at Edgewood, beginning with Father, Edward McCarty Armstrong, Sr..  Mother writes next, then Sallie (who must be Sarah Elizabeth Armstrong, the youngest child of Edward's first marriage to Hannah Pancake--Sallie is often a nickname for Sarah, and in later letters, "Sallie" includes S. E. A. in her signature), then Fannie, then Janie, then Biddy (which must be a nickname for Nettie, though in later letters Nettie signs her name as "Nettie), then Katie, and finally, in huge, childish, cursive letters, Charlie.

Father says:

We all miss you much, we long for your letters, which we think are few, and far between. We have been pretty much isolated since the small pox scare, and our thoughts travel to you, do write often to us. The winter has broken, & we begin to look forward to the planting, trimming, pruning, and to long for the sight of the beautiful flowers and green fields. I must stop now, & give room to others, as this is to be the family letter.  Your Affectionate Father, EM Armstrong, Sr.

Here we get an initial impression of Father's voice, affectionate and focused on the changing of the seasons as those seasons affect the production of the farm. Then Mother, Louisa Tapscott Armstrong, writes:

My Dear Boys,
Kate received Robt's letter to-day & we were glad to hear from you. Think much of & wish often for you. Baker, as you have no business to attend to, you ought to write twice a week to us. Let us hear about the situation talked about with Canby, Gilpin & Co.. We are still quietly moving along at Edgewood, except the bustling about the cooking, house cleaning &c. If you were here now, we could give you nice bread, good butter & fresh eggs. The weather has been so mild and spring like, that my thoughts are beginning to turn towards my flower bed. None of us have been to town yet. No new cases of small pox in town. The Beemers have come home; but we steer clear of them. Will write again soon. Tell Sister I will write to her very soon. Take care of yourselves in every way. Your devoted Mother.

Again and again, as the years pass, Mother Louisa scolds Baker to write more often. She provides news of home as well as advice. In letters written later that year to Baker, Louisa asks Baker to gather flower seeds for her in a garden near where he lives.

Sister "Sallie," most likely Sarah Elizabeth Armstrong, the youngest child from Edward's first marriage to Hannah Pancake, writes next in the family letter. Sallie's writing has a breezy tone that shows up again in later letters, which are full of details of the household and the community. In this letter of Valentine's Day, 1883, she writes of Charles' taking her on a ride to "the top of the hill in front of the Tobacco House, from which he showed me Salem, and he entertained me far better than any of Salem's beaux (that I know)." Fannie, the oldest child of Edward and Louisa, describes the activities "going on inside the mansion today"--the ironing and butter churning, the short rides, the lessons (Charles "does not do full duty in that respect since his vaccination"), the dish-washing and bread-making.

Janie describes the dressing that she has to put on her injured arm (but no details as to how or why it is injured) and then provides a lively narrative  of her and "Sister's" attempt at plucking a chicken:

Well, I must tell you about Sister's & my experience in picking & dressing a chicken & Turkey. The day after Milly left (one of the servants) Ma wanted chicken so sister & I undertook the picking of it etc & you may imagine what a new thing it was to us but it was nice when it was finished. Week before last we undertook a Turkey & I wish you could have seen it. Pa killed it & in picking it we pulled about half of the skin off  & nearly pulled its legs off & tore it so badly that we had to take a needle and thread & sew it up before basting it but it tasted good too. Mrs. Goodwin was down the day we roasted it & she was very much amused when she saw it & offered to come down & help us in any way she could.

Nettie writes that she has just come from the ironing and is afraid her imagination will be heated. Then she tells this story:

Pa heard the other day that Mr. Lindsay had died of the small pox and we were all expressing our sorrow for Miss Lindsay when lo and behold! a letter came to Mr. Elliot from Mr. Lindsay himself, saying they all "had their health" mighty well--so much for small pox reports!

Katie and Charles, the two youngest, are the last to write. Katie tells Baker that he will be glad that she has been "using [his] Shakespeare" and that she has read Macbeth and will "commence Hamlet tomorrow." She also provides the first hint for us of bigger troubles in the family. In a letter to his father, James Armstrong, a son from Edward's first marriage, had described how he was not regaining his strength, that he could not stand any excitement, and that he might have to give up preaching for a while. If he doesn't get better, Katie tells Baker, James (and Agnes, his wife) will be staying with them during the summer. Later letters to Baker indicate that this is what occurred. "Jimmie" returns to Edgewood with Agnes and continues to worsen, with only a good day or two when he takes a short ride into town with brother William. By the end of that summer, he has died, leaving a pregnant widow. (His son, James, is born in October.)

Finally, the letter ends in the large handwriting of Charles, who is ten years old. (He celebrates his eleventh birthday that year on June 2nd). Charles tells Baker that he has been out riding; that after neglecting to check his traps for three or four days, he found  a dead rabbit in one; that small pox is going around town; and that his "vaccination took splendidly."

This family letter serves as a template for many of the letters that follow in the year 1883--and even beyond: descriptions of "the doings" at home for the benefit of the loved one living in a distant city; the details of illnesses, diseases, and deaths that seem to occur with great regularity; the gossip about local families; the descriptions of seasons and the crops that never seem to produce as much as expected; the nagging for more letters and the worry that the absence of those letters means the loved one may be ill, perhaps seriously; the advice of parents who are very religious and fear that their sons might be tempted by "worldliness."

And so, the year 1883: Baker White Armstrong is living in Baltimore, Maryland, working for a druggist but continuing to cast about for more lucrative business. Robert is there for a while but then returns home and works in Salem or Roanoke. Charles Magill Armstrong celebrates his 11th birthday with his nephew Glasgow (son of his much older half-brother William Dillon and Margaret Glasgow Armstrong). Edward McCarty Armstrong and Louisa Tapscott White Armstrong celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary (October 23, 1883: "We have had our trials" she writes her son Baker, "but how many mercies."). Rains delay the wheat planting; drought prevents the seed from sprouting quickly. Scarlet fever rages through Salem, and "the people are much scared up about it." The family manages to get new servants: "Pokey Price, in the house, & Adeline Man a cook, milker & general maid of all work." Jimmie (James Armstrong, youngest son of Edward McCarty Armstrong and Hannah Pancake) dies.

Just before Christmas, Edward writes a letter to his son Baker strongly advising him not to drink. He asks Baker to take a pledge:

You ask me to state exactly what pledge I wish you to renew, To abstain from drinking wine or spirits or fermented Liquor for 5 years more. [Letters from  years beyond 1883 reveal that David Gibson Armstrong drank too much, and the family was distressed by his subsequent troubles.]

The family is disappointed that Baker does not come home for Christmas.