Guide to Reading Letter Transcriptions
Some of these features are only visible when "plain text" is off.
| Textual Feature | Appearance |
|---|---|
| passage deleted with a strikethrough mark | |
| passage deleted by overwritten added letters | |
| passage added above the line | passage with added text above |
| passage added on the line | passage with added text inline |
| passage added in the margin | passage with text added in margin |
| handwritten addition to a typewritten letter | typed passage with added handwritten text |
| missing or unreadable text | missing text noted with "[illegible]" |
| uncertain transcriptions | word[?] |
| notes written by someone other than Willa Cather | Note in another's hand |
| printed letterhead text | printed text |
| text printed on postcards, envelopes, etc. | printed text |
| text of date and place stamps | stamped text |
| passage written by Cather on separate enclosure. | written text |
It was kind of you to think about my Red Cloud4 investments5. While I was there I had all my mortgages filed at the Court House6 in my name, so they cannot be used as bank assets. That was about all I could do. Will7 sent me a very good interest check in February; about eight hundred dollars, good for a hard year. I asked him not to press any one. I've had other business troubles that have taken most of my time this winter. I seem to be able to make money, even if I don't invest it very well, so I guess I'll pull through. One does hate to loose good money, that one might have done so many pleasant things with. However, I've lost less than most of my friends.
With love always, Willie May 6th Mr. J. D. Cather1 3558 Myrtle Ave. Long Beach3 California NEW YORK. N.Y. STA.Y2 MAY 6 1933 430 PM Air MailInformation about this letter:
- Source File:
- cat.let2756.xml
- Letter identifier
- 2756
- Contents
- Document is one leaf, typewritten and handwritten on recto only. Includes one envelope, handwritten, with drawings and equations written in an unknown hand on the verso.
- Person to whom letter was written
- James D. Cather1
- Date letter was written
- May 6 [1933]
- Place letter was written
- New York, New York, United States2
- Location of original letter
- Charles E. Cather Collection (MS350), University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries, Archives & Special Collections, Lincoln, NE
Individual Annotations
Early in her professional life, Cather invested a portion of her income in farm loans to individuals in Nebraska and Kansas. Over time, she also acquired properties in the area, at least some of which she held until her death.
Webster County Court House, Red Cloud, NE, Image Courtesy of the Nebraska State Historical Society (DOI: 32880)
Person Annotations
Cather, James Donald (1886-1966) (“Jim”). Cather’s brother.
James was born in Red Cloud, NE, the fifth child and third son of
Charles and Virginia Cather. James moved to Wyoming in 1907 to work with his
brothers Douglass and Roscoe. In 1913 he married Ethel Garber, and owned and
operated clothing stores first in Red Cloud and then Holyoke, CO, where the
family settled for a time 1920 before returning to Red Cloud in 1922. The
couple had two children, Helen Louise and Charles Edwin. In 1930 the family
moved to California so James could work in the oil business with Douglass
and his partners. Willa’s relationship with James was more distant than that
with her brothers Douglass and Roscoe, who were closer to her own age,
although she was very fond of his children.
Auld, James William (1876-1962) (“Will”). Red Cloud banker; Cather’s
brother-in-law. Will Auld was born in Marion County, IA, and
attended Simpson College in Indianoloa, IA. He worked at the State Bank of
Red Cloud (NE) from 1898 to 1938, first under his uncle W. T. Auld, who was
president of the bank, and then as president himself. He married Willa
Cather’s sister Jessica in 1904, and they had three children, Mary Virginia,
William Thomas, and Charles. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1933. While
Jessica and Will were still married, Willa Cather liked and trusted him, but
in the wake of the divorce, she blamed him for mismanagement of Cather
family financial assets. In later years, he lived in Lincoln, NE, and
remarried.
Place Annotations
