For the Pearsons of Franklin County, Virginia, livelihoods depended on what they could sell at the market. The collection of family letters, Letters to Raintree County, tells the tale of solid profits but also disappointing yields, purchases and sales, economic woes, and the general anxiety that comes from making a living off the land.
The first letter in the book is from Thomas and Elizabeth Pearson to their son-in-law and daughter, Aaron and Nancy Ballard. It is filled with references to crops and land sales. At one point, the writer notes, "I wished to send you...money but got disappointed in getting the money of Hairston. He has not paid me all for the vegetables yet...Crops are very excellent for this country..." The notes regarding this letter explain that the man Thomas used to market his crops was slow in his payment. This precluded Thomas from sending Aaron and Nancy as much money as he would have liked. Later in the letter, Thomas talks about a relative who laments about "a great drought in their neighborhood" and that their "crops were very sorry." Weather was unpredictable, and that could be the difference between a tidy profit or a significant loss.
In response to Thomas and Elizabeth's letter, Aaron and Nancy write to tell of their bounty. "Corn is worth $2 for barrel...pork from $4 to $5 and the tobacco is selling very well and everything in proportion and if the...whigs will let the tariff alone I believe they will remain pretty much the same. As Benjamin Franklin once observed, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes," and here, the Ballards are concerned with the latter. They are selling their corn, pork, and tobacco and hoping that the tariffs won't eat into their profits.
Nancy's brother, Benjamin, who had moved to Nicholas, Virginia, praises the "fine healthy country" that is "a great place for raising stock that will always sell well." In his letter to his sister, he boasts, "Stock is high at this time, calves is worth from five to ten dollars, other cattle in proportion, horses is very high." Other than hoping that the letter finds his family well, these are almost the first words of the communication. It is clear Benjamin feels taking his livestock to market will be profitable this year.
Nancy's sister, Katherine Mason, writes about another common concern for those who sell their crops at market. "Crops is fine here now. Rain in abundance. Wheat is good as we ever saw it, Oats is better...but there is so much rain it looks like they will...spoil." These people were at the mercy of the weather. Sometimes their crops wilted or burned from the heat, and sometimes they rotted from too much precipitation. Selling at market meant keeping a constant eye on the condition of the crops.
Finally, there were years when it didn't matter if the crops were healthy or if the stock bred well. Sometimes the economy simply couldn't support it. In 1859, Joseph Williams writes to Katherine Ballard and notes that "our crops here last year was very sorry." The compiler's notes indicate not only an economic depression in 1858 but also a decline in international demand.
While "going to market" could be exciting, it could also be frustrating or downright demoralizing. Based on these letters, the only events that seemed to take precedence over the news of the market were births, deaths, and marriages.
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