Chatty Letters from Shepherd Milner Fowlkes, 1891 and 1898

The letters include new information!  We didn't know Ida Moran attended the New England Conservatory of Music.  Shepherd was trying to set Harrell up with a mystery woman named Elise. Well, she probably wasn't a mystery to him but she is to us.  The second letter is to Fannie.  Shepherd mentions Sophie and addresses her as "cousin".  I know there is a Gardner connection possibility somewhere but don't know if that is the family connection being referred to here.  Shepherd mentions friends from Wards visiting her.  That would be Ward's Seminary in Nashville which later became Belmont College.  Fannie also attended Wards. It seems there was a mystery man named Mr. Parks who was interested in Fannie and gone so far as to take pictures from Shepherd's album, presumably of Fannie!  

Before proceeding to the letters here's a bit of background regarding Shepherd and her husband William.

Shepherd Milner married William Connell Fowlkes December 17, 1889.  If you'd like to see the wedding invitation and birth announcement for Martin Fowlkes in 1891 you can visit that page here. In addition to their son Martin, they had Benjamin M. Fowlkes and George Gardner Fowlkes.  The curious thing about Martin is that his birth announcement clearly says his name is Martin Irl (corruption of Earl perhaps?) Fowlkes but other records say his middle name was Milner.   According to the death certificate, Shepherd was the daughter of Ben Milner, mother unknown, and was born in 1870. She died at Bolivar in 1952 and is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Dyersburg.  

I haven't been able to find anything about a Ben Milner but I believe there is a good chance that wasn't correct anyway.  She may possibly be the daughter of Terrisha Aurelius Milner and his wife Rebecca Melissa Abington, who had been married previously to James Richard Gardner.  If so that means she was recorded as "Saluda S. (Shepherd maybe?) Milner" in the Census records of 1880 along with her brothers/half brothers Henry, Benjamin, and George.   Rebecca and A.T. Milner are buried at Stovall Cemetery in Obion County.   The entire Milner listing for the cemetery is here and it includes Saluda Stovall Milner and B.J. Milner, parents of A.T. Milner. (Census Records 1850, Weakley County)

Shepherd's husband William was the son of William P. Fowlkes and Sarah E. Connell.  He was born in 1865 and died in 1941 and is also buried at Fairview Cemetery.  There is another blog entry about William's sister Sallie.  She married William Henry Haywood.

page 1 to Harrell

On to the letters....

The first letter is dated February 1898 and is to "Harold", aka Harrell.

My dear Harold:

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 met 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.  Presume you will wonder who I am & ask Fanny and she'll tell you.  

page 2 to Harrell

Don't you think you can come down and make us a visit, and Mr. Fowlkes will go bird hunting with you, and if you don't like that there is another attraction you know, and we will have a "house party" for a few days.  Perhaps I would tell you some of these lovely things to Elise and about you.  Tell Fanny I'm going to write her in a few days.  I'm nearly wild to see she and Jim.  I hear Ida is in Boston at the N.E. Conservatory and so glad she went.  We have a young lady from here there at the School of Oratory & I'm going to write her to go to see Ida.

Miss Chiles from Dresden was here today & I just saw her, that was all.  We took dinner at the "Hotel Dismukes" and Mr. Crane and Mr. Dismukes both called to see her (Miss Chiles) this aft.  Tell Fanny I'll never get through telling her that nice things Mr. Crain said about her.  Jim must get a ??

I've written quite a letter.  Hope you consider the matter, and run down to see all your friends.

With much love for all. I'm,

   Sincerely,

     Shepherd Milner Fowlkes

Dyersburg, January the Thirteenth, Ninety eight

The second letter is to Fannie Moran dated February 14 1891.

page 1 to Fannie

Dyersburg

Feb. 14 '91

My dearest Fan

Your letter received yesterday and I will show my great appreciation of it by responding at once.  I've been thinking I'd write, and see what had become of you ever since were to see you in Sept. but failed to so.have heard from you a few times through "Mr. Parks". Certainly I will write him at once for the pictures, which he "stole" out of my Album. he promised to return them, and I'll make him do it.  He is over here quite often, and always comes up to see us, really I have him selected for my "second", should I ever need one.  What on earth is the matter with you?  Know he has given you the "shake".

page 2 to Fannie

Quite a crowd of us are going to Memphis Monday night to hear Jefferson & Florence- wish you could come down and go with us in place of going to Nashville, by the way, can't you make us a visit soon; you can't imagine how much we all would appreciate a visit from you.  Dyersburg is unusually gay now, quite a number of young ladies visiting here, and a "dancing school" and a "protracted meeting" in progress help to make things lively.  

We have two of our School mates with us, and have been here every since Xmas.  One of them, Mamie Heron, of Water Valley Mississippi was my room-mate at Wards, so you know I'm happy she's a lovely girl wish you knew yer.  The other one also attended Wards & is up from Pecan Point Ark.  I expect to be housekeeping in about a month or six weeks, & I shall certainly expect you to visit me this Spring or Summer.  

page 3 to Fannie

We are building now & will have such a pretty home when completed. Connell has fallen very much in love with you, and cousin Sophie too-we fully expected some of you to Conference, but was disappointed.  I had a long letter from Julia last week, she apeaks of coming out in the spring.

Carrie & Sallie (Shepherd's sisters-in-law) join me in lots of love to yourself & Mama.  Write me as often as you can, am always glad to hear from you.  Connell is out here, but I'll send his love any way,

page 4 to Fannie

Lovingly,

Shepherd F.

Brud and the McElwrath's about 1913

I'm dating this picture about 1913 or so based on the information I have regarding the McElwrath family.  On the back of the photograph Brud has written the names of the people in the picture:

Nell McKruger - I may be a bit off on the spelling of the last name but that's what it looks like.  I wish I had more information on her but that's all I know.

Harrell Moran (Known as Brud)  He's the one wearing the bowtie.

Linda McElwrath - She's the girl with the blond curls and was born in 1901. Her parents were Tom and Mollie McElwrath.

T.A. McElwrath - That's Thomas Allen McElwrath.  He was born about 1858 in Tennessee and owned a dry goods store in Dresden, Tennessee.  He retired from the business about 1906 and stayed in Dresden with his family for a few more years before moving to Mayfield, Kentucky.

M.B. McElwrath - She was Mollie Brooks and was Tom McElwrath's second wife.  They had three children: Linda, George and Brooks.

After the Death of Sophia Gunn Moran

These two letters were written by Fannie Moran after the death of her mother in October  1895.  

The first letter is dated Nov 7 1895 and is to her brothers James H. Moran and Charles Harrell Moran.  The letter has the usual sadness that a mourning letter would have but it also has interesting tidbits of information about the time period.  For instance, the street lights in Dresden were lit after 6pm.  She also references a marriage that may or may not have taken place between her cousin Sophia Irvine and Charles Ferguson.  The marriage did indeed take place but it happened later in the month.  In addition it's interesting that she notes the society marriage of the Duke of Marlborough and Consuelo Vanderbilt which had taken place the day before she wrote this letter.  It also mentions a popular medicine of the day, Paine's Celery Compound.

Dresden.

The second letter is written in December 1895 and is to Fannie's brother Harrell.  It reminds of A Christmas Carol where she talks about how they had permission from Papa to come home for the holidays rather than stay at school.  Harrell and Jim were attending the Webb School at that time.  The rest of the letter she is telling Harrell where to shop to buy the prettiest and cheapest flowers.  What to buy for their youngest sister Marion and how the train schedule had not changed that much.  She also tells him he only had two misspelled words in his previous letter.  You have to remember that Fannie was a schoolteacher.  :)

Nov. 7 1895

My dear Brothers (Jim and Harrell)

My heart bleeds afresh as I write the above date.  You know the sorrow it brings to me, and I know the sorrow you are going through.  One month since she (Sophia Riley Gunn Moran their mother) died, and what a long, dreary month it has been!  The past ten years with their days of happiness seem but half that time and it seems hard to realize that we have suffered all the agony of and lives' greatest sorrow, has been comprised into one short month.  Truly time is not measured by days but by actions and events.  From this I realize that constant action, work either physical or mental is our only report.  

The worst hour of the day for me, the hour that seems longer than all the rest is the twilight hours when the days work is finished before the lamps are lighted, from 5 to 6 the hours that her soul passed eternity.  How I wish I could say something to comfort you, but your sorrow is mine.  Hand in hand we go through the valley of the shadow, and lover for her, for God and for each other is our only comfort, and it is a comfort to know that our lives have been so rich in love.  

It was impressed on me in reading of the great Marlborough Vanderbilt marriage celebrated in all the pomp and magnificence that unbounded wealth could conceive of and yet the father and mother of the bride were further apart than if oceans separated them.  Would you exchange even the memory of our once happy home with her?

I stayed longer in N.(Nashville) than I expected, but came home as soon as I could.  I got the ?? for Papa (John Williamson Moran) so Brother may rest easy.

In return wont you promise to take broken doses of salts for your boils and get a bottle of Paines' Celery Compound and take regularly.  If you haven't the money to buy it I will send it to you.  

Twas reported that Soph (Sophia Irvine) and Charlie (Charles Ferguson) were to be married at Bump's (James A Irvine) last night, but hope tis not true as I haven't heard it verified this a.m.  She made people believe she had broken off entirely with him after Brud's (Harrell Moran) talk with her but tell Jack (Forrest Dabney Irvine) I think he'll have to write her another letter.

Mr. Bondurant is worse.  This is a dreary, rainy day and the carpenters cannot work.  Bettie is up here sewing.  Papa has not looked so well for the past few days.

With a heart full of love

Sister (Fannie Moran)

LETTER 2

Dresden

Tuesday (The envelope is dated December 17 1895)

Dear Brud (Harrell Moran)

We enjoyed your letter which came yesterday and I was so proud to know that you had been complemented by "Buck".  All the ambition that I once had for myself is now centered on you and Jim and it does my heart good to know that you are getting along so nicely.

Jim's last letter was unusually good and yours was much better only two mis-spelled words both of which I think were due to carelessness instead of ignorance, couldent for couldn't and whare for where. 

We hadn't written about your coming home because we didn't know that you were going to get to come but after many persuasions and promises exacted by Baby (Marion Moran) from Papa, he consented saying it would be his Xmas present to you and we are so glad.  At the best it will be but a lonely Christmas for us without our dear one but more so with out your two.  I have just finished a letter to Mr. Webb giving you permission to come.  Papa asked me to write and also say he would send a check tomorrow.   He went hunting this morning with Mr. ? Scott.  

He said you never wrote him about Mrs. Black's bread bill, what the amount is up to date.  Please find out.  Knowing a little extra change is always convenient I enclose $1.00 bill for your street car fare, etc. while in N. You may go around to the market house and price the flowers.  When I was there they were some cheaper than at the Florists but were faded and soiled.  If they won't do, go to Joy's on Church St almost upper site the Vendome and to Currey's near the Nicholsons toward the depot.  Buy wherever they are prettiest and cheapest which I think will be at Joy's. Carnations and hyacinths are the most seasonable flowers.  Also ask about the weeping willow. 

So that you may not get duplicates let me tell you that I am to give Ida some garter clasps and Marion paper dolls and a book.  If you can find a tiny doll brush and comb for her get it.  There has very little change been made in the R.R. schedule the 11:30 train leaving N. 1/2 hr later and getting here at 12.  

With love to Jim and Jack

I am devotedly

Sister