Post by jamesw on May 15, 2016 19:07:33 GMT
This folded letter I purchased yesterday at the National Stamp and Coin show I've already posted on my Niagara covers thread. But this one seems to have already yielded an interesting story so I thought I'd post here separately.
The cover was sent from Chippawa UC, via Clifton (both now in Niagara Falls Ontario) to Sandwich UC, near Windsor on May 21 1858. Online research of the recipient George Bullock proved interesting. Some details of Mr Bullock's life vary, depending on the source, naturally. But a common thread has shown itself, which you can read on the album page I've created.
In a nutshell, Mr Bullock made off with a pile of money from his government treasury job, and scarpered off to Michigan leaving his wife and 8 to 9 children (or just the children, if the account of her early death in 1860 can be reconciled with the date of his leaving). At any rate he was a bit of a scoundrel. No information what happened to him in the end.
The letter itself seems to be an early sign of his financial woes. He was forced to resign his position in 1859, but the letter, posted a year earlier, is calling for a tax payment, and possible sale, of three properties totalling 450 acres. Hard to determine if he is the property owner, but the letter certainly addresses him directly regarding the debt. There are light notes at the bottom of letter, about each property I believe, but they are too faint to make out.
This stuff never ceases to amaze me!
The cover was sent from Chippawa UC, via Clifton (both now in Niagara Falls Ontario) to Sandwich UC, near Windsor on May 21 1858. Online research of the recipient George Bullock proved interesting. Some details of Mr Bullock's life vary, depending on the source, naturally. But a common thread has shown itself, which you can read on the album page I've created.
In a nutshell, Mr Bullock made off with a pile of money from his government treasury job, and scarpered off to Michigan leaving his wife and 8 to 9 children (or just the children, if the account of her early death in 1860 can be reconciled with the date of his leaving). At any rate he was a bit of a scoundrel. No information what happened to him in the end.
The letter itself seems to be an early sign of his financial woes. He was forced to resign his position in 1859, but the letter, posted a year earlier, is calling for a tax payment, and possible sale, of three properties totalling 450 acres. Hard to determine if he is the property owner, but the letter certainly addresses him directly regarding the debt. There are light notes at the bottom of letter, about each property I believe, but they are too faint to make out.
This stuff never ceases to amaze me!
