Grenelle E C (1 results)

Condition: Near Fine. A small cache of nine holograph letters written by an energetic and entrepreneurial young man recently emigrated to Iowa. The letters, addressed to his parents: "Dear Ones in the East," are rich in content regarding his land speculation and farming in Chapin, and other business endeavors at Hampton. The letters are long, consisting of a total of 41 detailed, densely written, and very legible pages in near fine condition, with a few small clothing samples laid in. They document Grenelle's entrepreneurial activities as a pioneer farmer and real estate agent in the 1870s-80s, and his partnership in a "Ready-Made Clothing & Gent's Furnishing Goods" business. He married in 1882 and settled at Hampton, where he eventually became Superintendent of the Iowa State Agricultural Society in the 1890s. His letters contain several references to the many crops being cultivated at the Chapin farm (wheat, oats, straw, potatoes, etc.), and to his current business endeavors. In his second letter from 1875, he notes how he is dividing his time between the farm at Chapin and the court at Hampton: " I am here [at the farm] only about two nights in a week, but will be more in future, as Court has again passed The Ives and Hurd cases were up at the term and indictments found against each of murder in the second degree, and their bail raised from $5,000, its former amount, to $8,000 [the] trial probably come on in July " It's interesting to note that his partner in the clothing business was one "M.A. Ives". An engaging and detailed small cache of surviving letters providing a first hand account of an entrepreneurial emigrant in Iowa. A list of all nine letters is available.