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CHAPTER SEVEN: “My home is in the prairied West and God is nearer us than fashion.” Lucy Petway Holcombe (1852–1857)
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49 1851 L ucy spent much of the following year at home, and, as her mother wrote to Theodore, she was occupied with, “sleeping , reading, writing and music.”1 Comforted by the love of her family, she probably enjoyed the daily pleasures of gardening with her mother and riding out to the farm at Fern Lake with her father. Although Colonel Holcombe may not have been a practical businessman , he was a respected farmer known for his fine horses and his generosity. When his faithful valet, Ned Hood, missed his wife, a slave owned by a Mr. Hood of Tennessee, Beverly Holcombe sent Ned back to Tennessee with eight hundred dollars to buy his wife. Mr. Hood refused to sell but did allow two of the couple’s children to return with Ned to Texas. This trusted servant stayed with the Holcombe family until his death, past the age of one hundred years.2 CHAPTER SEVEN 1852–1857 “My home is in the prairied West and God is nearer us than fashion.” Lucy Petway Holcombe 50 My home is in the prairied West The concern of the Holcombe family now centered on the education of their sons. Philemon, the younger of the two, attended schools in Marshall. Because of his deafness, he may have been encouraged to do manual rather than cerebral labor. John Theodore, the favored older son, was expected to bear the Holcombe name with honor. They sent him to the Moravian Seminary for male students in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His mother wrote weekly letters full of advice and gently admonishing him for his lack of studious and pious habits. Lucy wrote the following letter 26 July 1852. My dearest Theodore! We received a letter from you last week which greatly relieved our anxiety, our precious mother was suffering very much from anxiousness. She was fearing a thousand things about which no one else would have imagined. Her only thought—only anxiety, only hope of life seems centred [sic] in you her first born son. Your future moral and intellectual character is the theme of her hearts study, and now my dearest brother, I fear you do not appreciate all this deep devotion and interest as you ought. Do you read her beautiful letters so full of nice useful and heartfelt advice over and over again? Ponder on and strive to profit by them? Such letters any statesman might look to for counsel, then my brother do not throw them carelessly aside, reflect on them, take them to base your character on, and to guide you in life. Remember, the faults and inconsistencies of character which may now appear cannot be attributed to the thoughtlessness of a boy for you are now fast approaching manhood when you will be responsible for every step! When you enter the world you must take a stand, a position, whether it be high or low rests with yourself ! This my dear brother is what our beloved mother is striving to impress on you, and oh let not her labor of love be in vain. When you write could you not have sweet affectionate letters neater? Let them look as tho [sic] you were striving to [184.72.135.210] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 00:15 GMT) 51 1852–1857 gain her approbation in everything. You should respect her too much to send a carelessly written letter. Not that she has complained, (for she is always too happy to hear from you) but I thought I should mention it to you. Now my own dear brother you must not think sister Lucy is scolding you, far from [it]. She is just giving you one of her long talks! I know you love mother very dearly but sometimes I fear none of us love her enough, as deeply as she should be loved. You must often write long serious letters for she will prize them. Our dear father has been very ill but is now entirely well, sends his best love to you and says he wants to be proud of his boy. He often talks to me about you! Our family is very well, tho [sic] we have had some sickness in M. [Marshall]. Col. McCown and Mr. Burnside are dead. There is nothing more in the village. Mrs. Pullam writes that uncle Dug has been very ill for some time and Mr. Tucker is in Lamar where he will stay till fall then go to New Orleans. Next week we go to...