The "Hoops" Letter from Elise to Brud Moran, January 1898

It's very surprising that Brud Moran never married. He seemed to be quite the ladies man if the letters to him from women are an indicator.  And he was very dapper looking!

We have quite a few letters from a woman who signs herself as "Elise D.A."  Elise is mentioned in a letter I transcribed in October of 2013, from Shepherd Milner Fowlkes to Brud.  Shepherd says "No doubt you have forgotten such a human exists, and I can only think of you as "Bob Taylor's barefooted boy" for I visited at your home seven years ago this past Summer, and I can't remember how you look, only that you were barefooted, but Elise Tells me that you are a "thing of beauty and a joy forever" now, and that you were not barefooted while she was at Dresden.  She spent one day and night with me last week, and we planned many schemes to get you down here." 

That letter was written a month after the "hoops" letter from Elise which makes me think Brud and Elise had known each other for a while for him to be sending her hoops!  As for the "Ide" who went to Boston, that may have been Brud's sister, Ida.  She may have been visiting some of the Gunn relatives since that's where her grandfather Lyman Taft Gunn was from.

Dear "Brud;"

Did you send the nice hoops that came from Nashville last week?  Farne (sp?) was there at the time & I thought he had sent them until I heard from him, then I could not think of another soul in that part of the country who would be at all likely to send them but you.  It would certainly be a delightful surprise to find that you did for I thought of course you had forgotten all about me long ago.  Hoops are the nicest presents any way and these are the ones I most wanted.

Just for fun we went to see a clairvoyant the other day and she said I had recently received something nice from a tall fair haired man and described you to a dot.  Wasn't that strange?  She told me many other things too that were exactly true and made many fine predictions for the future.

I am so sorry Ide has gone to Boston.  I wanted her to go and help me keep house next month while my mother is away on a visit.  I know you will all miss her so much.

Give my love to "Dennis" and don't either of you forget me before I come again next summer.

Yours Etc

Elise D.A.

Saturday

January 8, 1898

I hope someday we discover who Elise was.

The Gone With the Wind Connection, Charleston South Carolina

On a recent business trip to Charleston, South Carolina, Kent took time to visit Saint Phillips Episcopal Church Cemetery to photograph the burial location of some relatives. John Moran Ezzell is his first cousin, once removed. John married Margaret "Peggy" Rhett Cuthbert of Charleston, South Carolina.  If you are a Gone With the Wind fan like me then you also know that India Wilkes, Ashley's sister in the movie, was played by Alicia Rhett.  What was interesting to learn is that Alicia is a cousin of Peggy Butler Rhett Cuthbert. Alicia passed away on January 3, 2014 and is interred next to the large flat headstone of John and Peggy Ezzell.  The photo of John and Peggy was taken at Moran Place in July 1945 at a family reunion.  More reunion photographs can be found here.

Tintype, Unknown Boy with Gilded Jewelry

This tintype was found with a lot of things related to Shumate/Irvine/Ferguson relatives.  The tintype has two gilded pieces of jewelry, a pinky ring and a small pin in the center of his shirt collar.  In my mind the book he's holding is a clue but the meaning has been lost with time.  There's a clasp on the left side of the book and is ornately decorated on the front. It's interesting how he's holding the book, from the top so that the front is prominently displayed.  If it was ever in a case it was removed long ago.