Background: George Jayne was a student at Fergusonville Academy in Fergusonville, NY.  Many of the students at the academy came from the New York City area.  It was thought that the isolation of Fergusonville would protect the children from corrupting influences such as drinking and gambling. George Jayne's family lived in Orange, NJ. 

Fergusonville Sat. Aug. 14^th

 Dear Mother

            I received your letter day before yesterday a letter from Charlotte yesterday and one from From Frank to-day.

            Last night there was a torchlight procession in celebration of the successful laying of the atlantic Telegraph Cable. we started in wagons from the academy a little after four o’clock in the afternoon and went to the village of East Davenport there all the wagons joined in a procession and went to the Methodist church in Fergusonville where addresses were delivered from Squire Becker and Dominie Erskine and by the time they got through it was dark and time for the procession to form, in the procession two drums went ahead and the torch bearers were scattered all through it, it came down to the academy and then went back to the church where it dispersed Give my love to all

                                                                                                                        From you Aff. son.

                                                                                                                                    George

(noted on letter:)  George

                             Aug. 14. 1858.

Courtesy of the Davenport Historical Association, Davenport, NY, 13750. Over 500 letters from the Ferguson and Jayne families, most dating from the mid-nineteenth century, are available from the Davenport Historical Association in The Ferguson-Jayne Papers, 1826 - 1938, edited by Mary S. Briggs,. Transcribed for this web site by Margaret Monaco. All misspellings have been carefully preserved..

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