Index of Oregon References:

1. Letter from Warren JOY to his brother Asa, 10 Jan 1862; Tualitin, OR
2. Letter from Warrent JOY to his sister Lydia Joy Dean, 1906; Portland, OR

"Tualitin Valley, Jan. 10th 1862
Dear Brother,
I take my pen to inform you that it is a snowing. Yes we are having an old fashioned snow storm. We had freezing weather for a couple of weeks and now we have snow enough and its cold enough to make excellent sleighing but we can see no sleighs and cutters gliding along the road and no jingling of bells or merry laugh of belles strikes upon the ear. The fact of it is that sleighing is not an ordinary Oregon institution. Seldom coming at all and when it does, not lasting more than a week or two at best. The consequence is that nobody is prepared to take advantage of it except perhaps a few about town. There is no telling however what Oregon will reckon in future among her permanent institutions with the exception of babies and some other nonconsequential productions. She has been considered rather a slow Country but within the past year she has displayed some astonishing marks of progress. Her gold mines which have heretofore with a few exceptions been considered to be unmitigated humbugs have been discovered to be of extraordinary richness. Days works are no longer reckoned by dollars or by hundreds but by thousands, not by ounces but by the number of pounds of dust. I will not pretend to say how extensive such diggings are but that a large extent of territory, comprising portions of Cyn of W. T. and Brtsh Pss ns, is filled with gold in paying quantities. There is no doubt these mines cannot be worked to any extent except in the summer season and in some parts of them that season is very short. There will be a large emigration to them in the Spring from California and this Willamett Valley and Southern Cyn. Most every man here talks of going and I suppose half will go at least. I dont think much about going as yet myself. Among other marks of progress was an extraordinary freshet on the Willammet river a few weeks ago. The water raised suddenly to a tremendous height, several feet higher than had ever been known by the oldest inhabitant, and dashing a long with irresistible impetuosity. Carried away houses barns mills and whole villages. Several lives were lost. A great amount of wheat and flour was lost and damaged, causing flour to rise from four to six dollars per bl. in a very short time. This shows that there is a latent energy in the elements of Oregon that the People of Oregon have not calculated upon. I would also inform you that I am well and that the health of community is generally good. I wrote of a case of sickness last Spring, of a neighbor who was nigh unto death. Well during the summer he got some better, walked and rode around considerable. But in the fall when the damp chilly winds and rain set in he commenced to fail again and is now in a very low state. I was at his bedside a few days ago and he told me in a whisper that he could not hold out more than a day or two longer. He was a hard working man and owns an excellent saw mill working in which he thinks caused his sickness. He is a married man but has no children, forty two years of age. I went to a ball Christmas and enjoyed myself extremely well. I suppose its unnecessary for me to inform you that I was one of the best men dancers on the floor but there was one lady, a married one, which for beauty of appearance and graceful and easy action could not be surpassed. I went through one set with her to my extreme joy. The mails come very irregular at this season of the year owing to high waters, snow on the mountains but the Telegraph however is in working order and we get the news of the progress of government in crushing out the rebels. They must feel some peculiar sensations as the dread anaconda gradually tightens his grip on them and they feel the hopelessness of their case. I will now conclude, direct yours to Portland.
Yours,
Warren Joy
To his brother, Asa Joy, Plymouth Mich."

"Portland Aug 24 1906

Dear Sister

I have just received your kind letter and am Sorry to hear of ure continued afflictions. I know not what to say to mitigate your sufferings my health is tolerable good and my bussiness has not materialiy changed. I have bought some more land where I live and now have 14 lots in one Block half is uncleared. the fruit crop is very good. and now at its height I shall have I suppose about 100 bushels of apples 20 of pears 10 of plums 9 prunes [?] of grapes not much Peaches. green Fruit is worth about one cent a pound grapes and peaches is more I peddle the most of my fruit hauling it around on a hand cart. I also raise onions cabbage and in the spring I sell green onions and asparagus in sickness I depend chiefly on Patent medicens. with some nostrums of my own. such as sullphur an molasses for the Blood. smoking mullen leaves for a cold. a little turpentine in mollases for cough its impossible for me to leave my place. its been a very warm summer and dry I know nothing of your circumtances whether you are a millionere or a pauper well I am very busy and will have to close

Warren Joy"

[Note: Lydia Joy Dean had surgery at Harper Hospital in Detroit on August 10, 1905 and spent the remainder of the month at the Hospital, thus incurring what must have been a rather large bill. Her son, Bennett Luther Dean, recorded the following in his journal:

Wednesday August 9, 1905     Very warm. Anna and I went down to see Dr. John N. Bell this Eve. to see about Mother. He expects to perform an operation tomorrow, enough anyway to fully determine just what the matter is. He can not come to a definite conclusion without. He does not think it is gall stones. I think from his talk that he expects to find cancer of the kidney, if so he says it will probably be no use to try and remove it. But he says it may be that and it may be a tumor or it may be gall stones. The nature and location makes it impossible to tell what it is.

Thursday August 10, 1905     Very warm and close. Dr. Belle operated on Mother this morning and found the trouble to be gall stones after all. He removed several, one an immense one about 3 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Mother came out of it all right and is getting along very well. The chloroform made her sick but if nothing happens she will get along all right.

Wednesday May 2, 1906     Very warm, showery all day..... Edna came in at supper time to say she had got a bill from Dr. Bell and he wanted to know if we could not raise the rest of Mothers account as he had a large payment to make, so I gave Edna my share of the remainder, $33.50. I was intending to pay it this month any way and am glad it is paid.

Monday June 25, 1906     Fine day, at Northville. My cold rather spoils my enjoyment. The children have such a fine time.... Went down to Mothers A.M. and Anna and Mother put up strawberries nearly all the rest of the day. Mother is gaining strength right along and seems more like her old self than she has since her sickness beginning a year ago last Dec. and an operation for gall stones last Aug. We came home to Detroit in the evening....

For more of these diary entries: Bennett Luther DEAN Diaries: 1902-1921]