Before you read this post, I believe you would do well to read my first post about The Love Song of Mr. Thomas. It contains a lot of information that I don’t intend to repeat.
This post is to let interested parties know that all of the letters that Mr. Thomas wrote to his wife-to-be, Kate Sutton, from June of 1867 until their wedding in March of 1869 are now in the possession of the State Historical Society of Missouri. Known as SHSMO, the society’s office is on the campus at UMSL, in the Thomas Jefferson Library, adjacent to the Mercantile Library.
What I hadn’t seen at the time of my first post was the box that the Thomases had used to store these letters. It was here where they remained for roughly 150 years. And what a box it is!
It is a large wooden cigar box. I suppose it is Thomas’s brand but we’ve no way of knowing. As hard as it is for me to believe now, I once smoked cigars myself. Some of the boxes that my cigars came in are still in the basement full of orphaned, useless bits of hardware. But they are cheap, cardboard boxes compared to this deluxe, wooden one of William Lyman’s.
I suppose my cigars were pretty cheap as well compared to his. Friends used to joke that if I were to unroll one, I’d be able to read the newspaper from which it had been made. I never tried it. Quit in 1980.
There is still plenty more in the Emma Beauvais Thomas Grumley collection that we haven’t seen. I’ll get back to that next post.
Once again it is through the generosity of Chrissie Hayes McConnell, a direct descendant of the Sutton/Thomas/Grumley families, that we are able to enjoy these historic gems.
Lately, I am reminded of a quote from Paul Newman. He said something like, “there is absolutely nothing that gets better as you get older.” It works just as well if you put a c on the front of that last word.
Stay warm. Wear your masks.
Doug Houser February 6, 2022
Thank you so much, Doug, for this continuing amazing labor of love that you share with our community! We truly appreciate your 20 years of diligent historical research. It certainly gives us a sense of PLACE and PERSPECTIVE in this world. And it’s always enjoyable to read the interesting responses you receive too.
You are welcome, Sharon and Gary. I am lucky to have a hobby that is easy to share. I agree that we learn a lot from the comments of the readers. I am currently copying all 365 of my blog posts (with the comments) on 40 South News. The eventual aim is to have them somewhere that they may be accessible to all. I’m not sure where that is just yet but I’ll let you know when I get there. And thanks to you both for your longtime enthusiastic support of this effort.
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