GHBH Letters to His Father – Vol 4
George Henry Burraston Harris
Vol 4
(Transcribed by Scott Hinckley 2020, Original Spelling)
Salem Bingham Co Idaho 7 Jan 88. Dear Father—Happy New Year is the signal to al, so were happy to greet U the same last Xmas day with us pas’d of’ so gay, as the children al joind in the dance. There was little G.V. with his cousin An’e as big as tho he was in pants. Then the Xmas tree, that al would agree St Nickolas had fild to the brim, which helped wel along the dance & the song, til about 1 oclock in the day. Then al very fine, we with Cy went to dine & pasd of’ last Xmas quite gay. Then N. Yrs day Cy & family, James & family, baby Ricks with his Pa & Ma, Hyrum Rands with his family of 4 greeted us at our house with a Happy New yr, as we dined & sipd wine & playd on the old banjo. Wel father I hope U enjoyd Urself with some of the old friends of long ago in the absence of those who would have been preferable. We should feel much pleas’d to have U with us & hope we wil before long. We ar getting along slowly, but I trust shurely. We ar al wel. Tis now 5 m past 11 & Ma & Geneva has gone to bed & Geo V. is waiting for Papa to go to bed. We ar having severely cold weather here now but I think we wil stand it al right. The door inside is al over white with frost & we have had a steady fire since 7 oclock this morning. Its baby Ricks B. day today, should U want to make a minuet of it. His name is Alvin R. we have lots of sno to sla on and al is brite & fair. Clos’d with love from al by Ur affect Son Geo H.B. Harris.
March 8, 1888 Salem Bingham Co I-o. Dear Father. I have been owing u a letr for some time, so I wil now write u. we ar al wel & hearty, we ar anxiously waiting the beautiful & wil be welcome spring. The last few days has prolonged the winter, a heavy blizzard of wind & sno has been cutting quite a shine since yesterday morning, but the weather has moderated some. This evening I got a letr from Eliza a fews days since with very sad news. Sady is here now, she came over to Cyruses last evening. I stayd there overnight, she wil go to Jims in the morning & return home tomorrow evening. Cy & family ar also here. Our lucern hay is holding out wel. I think we wil have enough to feed until 10th of April but as stok increases, as also the setleres I think hay wil be in good demand. U told me in your last, u might be able to send me a little money. Now Father, I don’t want u to put urself out, at al, but if u want to & can without stinting urself, U may send me 100 lb of Lucern seed. I am rid of Grant Odel & Co so al I am under obligation to is Uncle Jim ( for Dan 100$) but I think I shal try & stay at home most of this sumer anyhow & I think a good patch of Lucern would help things along. My land is not so good for smal grain, that is the part that I hav fenced around the house. I have been hauling some posts & poles lately. Shal try & fence some more in the spring. Georgey & Geneva send kisses to Grandpa. Remember us to the folks in love & accept the same urself from ur son & daughter V & G Harris.
1888 Apr 12 Salem Dear Father: I suppose u think me quite tardy in answering to ur fovor thro Hays Brothers & Co. I receivd 200 lbs of Lucern seed at 10$ pr hundred pounds, 1st cost. I also receivd a certificate from H. B. & Co that u wou’d remit for the same. Thank til u ar beter paid. Rands & Harris took 100 lb of the seed & said they wou’d remit to ur for the same. I wil let u know for the rest as soon as I can get the money. We ar al wel I hope U ar wel. Al joins in love from Ur son George.
(On May 17, 1888 GHBHarris went to Utah to help his father move to Salem. Since they were now neighbors, I do not have any more letters from him to his Father.)
A blessing by Patriarch O. N. Lilinquest upon the head of Geo. H. B. son of Geo. H. A. & Ann eliza Harris born at Pleasand Grove city, Utah Co., Utah Apr 10th 1857 given April 21st /86. Geo H A Harris Reporter.
Bro Geo. In the name of Jesus Christ I place my hands upon ur head & seal upon U a Patriarchal blessing, with the blesings of Ur father & the blesings of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, that they may rest down upon U from this time forth & be a power of life unto thee, in al of thy administrations here below. Thou shalt be ful of faith, yes thy faith shal be like unto that of the Bro of Jared. The love of God shal dwel in thy heart & peace in thine habitation. U shal labor in the ministry & preach the gospel with power & demonstration. U shal bring many into the paths of duty & the path of life. U shal be ful of the testimony of Jesus & U wil be kind to the poor to the widow & the fatherless to the sick & the afflicted & seek earnestly to relieve them. Hence the Lord wil be ever kind to thee & He wil withhold from thee no blessing & what soever U ask of him in meekness & in faith He wil bestow it upon thee with pleasure as soon as it is for they good. U shal preside in various positions in Zion with honor & with dignity & thro thy meekness & thy charity that shal be in U, U shal hav power to feed Ur flocks with the bread of life & the smiles & approbation of the Lord shal be upon thee & wil continue so. The spirit of wisdom & prudence shal rest upon thee & U shal lead 100s of the young in the paths that leadeth unto life eternal. Yes also those that ar coming home from the 4 yrs of the earth. And if U wil continue to listen to the stil small voice & be pure & virtuous U shal labor in the Lords vineyard until the Master shal come & reward U among the faithful of his servants. Thou art of the House of Joseph thro the loins of Ephraim & an heir to the fulnes of the High Priesthood, with numerous & a righteous posterity. U shal live to see the over turn of Babylon & the end of Gentile rule upon this land & a happy position of the Saints in being delivered from their oppresors. U shal se the introduction of the United Order in its fulness & U shal with Ur brethren commence the great work of building up the New Jerusalem. For the angels of the Lord shal accompany thee from this time, until Ur work is finishd. U shal also do a great work in the redemption of the dead & stand as a Savior upon Mount Zion. U shal with Ur Father’s house come forth in the morning of the 1st resurrection & atain unto Ur position as a King & Priest unto the most High God. Al of which seals & blesings I seal upon U in the name of Jesus Amen.
A blesing by Pat. O. N. Lilinquesyt (Apr 21st 1886) upon the head of Victoria Josephene Sandgren (daughter of Victor & Christene Sandgreen) (It should be noted that in these writings the spelling is both Sandgren and Sandgreen. I have looked online in Family Search and also found many documents that spell it both ways, which is not uncommon as some families changed spellings once in the United States and others were just spelled by clerks who recorded what they heard. My family name also has more than one spelling in records) born at Ursal, Sweeden, Europe July 5th 1865. Sister Victoria in the name of Jesus Christ I place my hands upon Ur head & seal upon U a Patriarchal Blessing, with the blessing of Ur Father & the Blesings of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob, that it may rest down upon U & be a shield & protector unto U, against the sins & evils that ar in the world & against sicknes & death, that U may drink freely of the fountain of eternal life & enjoy the spirit & power of Ur mission & caling on the earth, & be ful of faith, of hope, & of charity & the love of God dwel in Ur heart & his peace is Ur habitation. Be of good cheer for the Lord is thy friend. His eyes has been over thee ever since U came upon the earth . His blessings wil be with thee & his angels around abut thee, to guide U safely thro the hour of trial & temptation, & U shal live til U have finishd al the work that the Father has appointed unto thee, even before U was born. Thou art of the elect of God, & thy name is writen in the Lamb’s book of life. Listen therefore to the stil small voice, be pure & virtuous & Ur name shal never be bloted out from the records that ar continually before the Lord. Be kind to the poor, the sick & the afflicted and the Lord shal forever be kind to thee. He wil hear Ur prayers & give U what U ask of Him, inasmuch as it is for Ur good. Ur of Ephrain & with Ur companion an heir to the fulnes of the Holy Priesthood with a numerous posterity & shal occupy a position of honor among Mothers of Israel & do a great work in the redemption of the Dead & hav power to be faithful to the end, & shal come forth in the morning of the 1st resurrection arayd in the robes of righteousness & be a worthy guest at the great wedding supper of the lamb & a glorious crown shal adorn thy brow, al of which blesings & seals I seal upon U in the name of Jesus, Amen (reported by G.H.A.H.)
(October 1889 letter to his Uncle John Harris) Dear Uncle – I having just drop’d in to c Father & seeing his leter to U, I thot a line from 1 of Ur many Nephews would be timely & acceptable to Ur. I hav often been pleasd in perusing ur leters to Father. Hav also been very interested in ur daughter Lizzy & her husband’s leter. I was indeed sory to learn of the siknes in ur family, but hope they ar beter ere this. My little family of 3 children ar al wel. The residents here ar making a canal 40 ft wide & about 10 miles long to bring additional water from Fal River to our farms. I should very much like to c & become acquainted with al my relations, but the oceans seems long & dreary to me, yet there may be a time when some of us may brave the distance. A new roller mill is nearly completed in our midst costing about 20,000$ which wil be a blessing. Our winter is just commencing which usually keeps up til about April. Owing to the late drouth, feed for our stock is scarce. Please giv my lov to Ur good Lady & to al my cousins, accepting the same urself from Ur affectionate Nephew Geo. H. B. Harris.