John Umstot, Esq.

My dear Sir, yours of the 28th ...., was gladly received in due time. always glad to hear from you ~ we are all well, Thanks be to the good Lord who has kept us from our earliest infancy through dangers, both seen and unseen. our relatives are well in Wisconsin. old Adam Flick is not very well~ the old man fails fast. This season the cancer is very troublesome to him, blinded one eye and covers nearly one side of his face ~ we are all very anxious for you to come to our country ~ I have not the least doubt but you will like it for I tell you, we have truly what almost every person calls great country ~ our country is healthy and all the kinds of grain that grows in any country that I ever was in, grows here in abundance. ......... [And on about great farming]......... if Arthur Fleek has any notion of coming to our country tell him to come right along. I do not think he will ever regret it his brother Henry likes the country well the greatest objection I have to Wis. is we have not enough men to save our crops, now uncle John don't infer from that that we are scarce of folks, far from it - The country is thick settled. But sir a man soons get so much land in cultivation that he cannot save his crops alone, well they all get so ~ ..... [more on farming] ..... John B. Lease was well Pleased to hear from you. he thinks if you can not sell his interest in the Laubert Estate for two hundred dollars or upward that he will wait untill he can get it all ~ John is getting along about as well as he ever did and I think he may do well yet, John Susan and the family all join in sending their love and respect to you all ~ The cholera is rather bad on the Mississippi, along the Rail Road- principal Towns and some small towns ~ which has stoped a great deal of travel.

Isaac Fleek is still here he says he would like to stay until you come if he can ~ I really hope you will not fail to come to Wisconsin this fall say October or November then it will be cool and healthy and pleasant Travelling. you can come in three or at most four days. I came from Newark Ohio home in thirty five hours and travelled the last twenty miles by land.

for I weary you I will close
Yours as ever in haste
John J. Putman
Please write when convenient
let me know Jacob. G. Putmans
address that is county and name of post office