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.  This letter is written to his sister.

We reached Cairo at eight o’clock in the morning and had our breadfast we reached Prattsville about four o’clock and had dinner it was pleasant and I know that we would go to Fergusonville that night for Andy Oliver said that if it was pleasant when the boys or rather that part of the boys that went in the two coaches reached Prattsville would go through that day.

I have omitted the accommodations we had, we had Andy Olivers big red state and red wagon and two coaches one of which I was in.
A little while after we left the Head of the River (a half-way village between Prattsville and the academy) upon the top of the mountain we overtook the other wagon (that we met a Prattsville) waiting for us to come along as the driver did not know the road he kept along behind us till we passed through the toll gate without paying because no one was up and then he (the driver of the other wagon had to pay for himself and us too so we got ahead of him. We reached the academy about half pasts twelve o’clock but the other wagon was upset in the mud it seems that the driver go out and went ahead to see the road and left one of the scholars in his place and in the dark the wheels on one side got of the bank and the horses gave a spring and upset the wagon although they were stopped immediately they got to the school about eight o’clock the next morning.

Give my love to all our family and the Ennis’s excuse the writing.

from your brother George.

P.S.
I received your letter this (Wed.) morning while I was writing this letter.

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.