It turns out that Carl found me because I'm a contributor on Find A Grave. I maintain Iver's memorial page. Carl said that he checked on Iver because he has a copy of a letter that Iver wrote to the Adjutant General dated 23 January 1873.
Wow!
I replied to Carl and said I'd be very interested in seeing this letter and asked if he could email a copy to me. Friday morning I had another email from Carl, which contained a pdf copy of Iver's letter! Carl also sent a transcription of the letter, which was very kind of him. The letter is difficult to read and appears to be faded in spots. But, that's okay. I'm just so thrilled to have a copy of Iver's letter! It's a very special family history treasure.
Here's Iver's letter.
The letter really is quite faded in areas and is difficult to read, so I tried to adjust it using Photoshop. It helped a bit as you can see in the image below.
Thanks to the helpful transcript that Carl sent to me, I think I can try and read Iver's letter. This is what I believe it says:
Franklin Jan 23/73
Adjutant General
of the State of Iowa
I have lost my Discharge from the Army and I hope you will give me another Discharge or certificate. I enlisted in the 21st Regt of Inft. Iowa Vol. and was Discharged in the 34th Regt. Inft. Iowa Vol. I hope to hear from you as soon as posabel. [sic]
Very Respectfully
Iver Iverson
Franklin P.O. RenvilleI have Iver's Civil War pension file, but this letter wasn't included in it. So, having a copy of this letter is really amazing.
County
Minnesota
I'm so glad Carl contacted me and shared this very special family history treasure with me. Thank you Carl!
Thanks for reading!
Jana
© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved
Wow! It's moments like this that make our research so exciting and rewarding. Thank you for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteHi Dara,
DeleteYou are so right! And I'm so grateful to Carl for reaching out to me and sharing Iver's letter with me. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! This is wonderful!!! Congrats on a great find and letter! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Carrie! It really is exciting!
DeleteThis shows once again how kind and generous the genealogy community can be. I'm so happy that you have this new background on Iver!
ReplyDeleteSo true Marian! The genealogy community is so very generous and kind. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteIt also reinforces the importance of putting your name out there and being associated with your ancestors. That's great that he found you and took the effort to reach out and share.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Family Sleuther! I agree that it's so important to put our family history information on the internet. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteWhat a treasure, Jana. How kind of Carl to send it to you. Did you have anything else that was hand-written by Iver? If not this makes it an even greater treasure. Thanks for sharing your gift.
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy,
DeleteThere are some forms in Iver's pension file that he filled out by hand, which is amazing! But, I don't see any hand-written letters in the file. So, this letter by Iver is really a treasure, as are the forms filled out by Iver too. Thanks for stopping by!
What a wonderful keepsake! I'm also amazed at the effort it took to prove one's disability and/or pension. Modern communication spoils us!
ReplyDeleteYes, Iver's letter truly is a family history treasure. And it is interesting to see what it took to acquire a pension. There are so many forms in Iver's pension file by multiple people who knew him. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteIsn't it wonderful when someone takes the time to search out people to share information! What a truly great find!
ReplyDeleteIt really is wonderful Jeanne! And I can't thank Carl enough for his kindness! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteIf the letter wasn't in the pension file, I wonder where it was and how Carl came to have it.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with those discharge papers? I have a number of ancestors who likewise lost theirs or claimed never to have received one. As a result, they really had to jump through hoops to prove their service.
Hi Wendy,
DeleteI was wondering the same thing about where Carl found Iver's letter. I asked him and he couldn't remember how he acquired it. He thought it may have been from the State Historical Society of Iowa.
Ya, I wonder how Iver lost his discharge papers. I hope he received another copy.
Thanks for stopping by!
What a treasure - and how kind of Carl to seek you out and share it with you!
ReplyDeleteYes. Iver's letter truly is a treasure! And Carl was so kind to contact me and share Iver's letter with me. Thanks so much for stopping by Debi!
DeleteWhat a wonderful surprise! All because of a findagrave page. Glad to share in your joy!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jacquie! I sure am glad I'm a contributor at Find A Grave and that Carl found me!
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
I've been meaning to leave a comment. So excited for your find! Thanks for sharing so we can all celebrate with you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Devon!
Delete