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Monday, December 1, 2008

Dear School Marm - 19 Feb 1900

Charles Joseph Gordon Logie started writing letters to his unmarried school teacher daughter in 1900 offering advice, relaying stories from home and sending his love.

He was born in Chelsea, England in 1829 and moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia as a young man. He became a skilled mariner and carpenter while living there.

Logie Charles Joseph GordonFriedlander Rosa ClaraHis sweetheart, Rosa Clara Friedlander was born on the Isle of Guernsey. They married in Sydney and after their first child was born, decided to move to Utah in America.

During the voyage to America, their ship, Julia Ann, sank in the South Pacific where they survived on a tiny atoll for months. That is a story for another day and will eventually be posted here as their story unfolds.

As the son of a British government official, Charles had a classic British education. However, his sense of humor often precluded him from exhibiting it.

Enjoy his humor, English cadence, lack of punctuation and purposefully misspelled words that were used to tease and endear himself to his daughter. I've transcribed the letters exactly as he wrote them.

The first letter in this series follows....

"Feby 19/ 1900 American Phork

Dear School Marm,

We us & company reveived your interesting letter last Sunday & were glad to hear that you are well & seem to be having an all round time. well I was a young fellow my self once & I have hardley got over it yet I some times have arguments with our Pedagous about some nonsence or the other about the pup its staying too long in the passageways. some times She finds some of Forbes children in the bed room when they should be out & then again he comes noseing around & Ketches some of her darlings breaking the rules then she teachers seem to be having pecular times since Cora came back you see Cora has the laugh on all the rest of them for she would not be vaccinated & she came back to her school with flying colors & after a three weeks rest got her full pay with the exception of ten dollars that the trustees had no right to deprive her of & now the She teachers don't have any particular use for & don't want any connection with the buggar next door. well so much for school. we are having quite a rain today had to stay in side & look out. I was trying to get Walter to write to you & he said that he would pretty soon he said to ask you if you ever saw any thing of Ramsey that used to work in Mercur. Bob & Rosa was down last Saturday to do some tradeing and among other things they bought a lot of vaccine & Bob is going to do the Stabing act so I expect they will all be stumping round with teir arms in slings for a change Perry was down a whle ago & he was in a big hurrey to be operated on & probeerbly he will join Bobs medicul socierty. by the way you have not given any satisfactory account as to what has become of that Telescope that belongs to our worthy School marm it is among the posibilities that She may want it some of these days Mother says where did you find your new box the mctionanie dude don't know of any thing new even thing is verry dul out here Dunkleys folks talk of Shuting up their Store the people don't paternize them & some how their boys don't seem to want to help them. Mrs Dunkley is quite worried about their affairs. I believe Earl Started out with some more boys for Sun Shine today & Walter says he don't know what they will find & do over there. now I will have to quit don't expose yourself more than necessary & keep your feet dry. we are well & hope this will find you OK & with

Kind Love I am your affect old Father

Chas Logie

Oh yes the dame is bakeing pies pies today aint they good you bet."

I'll post a new letter each week along with associated source documents and photos to help put the 'flesh, humor and smell of fresh baked bread' on the usual skeleton of 'dates and places' that we typically see in most of our family lineage books.




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