Ruth Green to Richard Yates

Abingdon Knox County Ill. Nov. 14th 1864

Our mutch loved and honored governor Missr Yates

I take my pen to pen you a few lines I feel it my duty as a friend and a head of my family and a soldiers widow. I congratulate you for your kindness to our brave soldiers and our beloved country may heaven bless you and god protect you as we are about to accomplish our great course and Lincon is going to be our next president god noes he aught to be for he obeyed the call of his majority and government 4 years and he done evry thing he could do in spite of traitors yes and I beg pardon for these hard names is what I call them.

Lincon is our father and if he does as well the next 4 years we will elect him again and over and over till he is a hundred years old if he lives to be so old and I wish he could live to be that age if the war continues don't you.

now this may amuse you a little when I am going to tell you you are going to the senate your self if I am not mistaken. Tell Mrs Y I said so and I do think so to some of the coperheads lookes like the ruins of beter days and thier faces is just about as long as any dough faces I ever saw.

N.B. govenor I heard you say in your speech at galesburg that you requested the friends and citizens to see that soldiers wives never ....

should beg and the responds was never no never now I will come out bold and say some dos worse than bad they have to friez and starve to in this land of plenty it is a litel to bad and I for one will not submit to this way of doing mutch longer it is true I draw my pension but it is not suficient to suport my family at the rates we have to pay for every thing and I am not abel to worke and tend to my household duties and live decent as any one as my children is small my health will not permit me to chop wood and do mens work mutch longer I had not had one stick of wood choped since last March ownly what I cut myself I tended my garden and now it is all distroid by catel and horces my fence was nine bords high and post now do you say it is rite to submit to hav my property distroid and shubry ruind after having my husband enlist as a true patriot and he faught in nine hard batels and was in the service 1 year and nine months and never was home or sick or wounded and at last Murdred by gerilles near Black River Miss. in Co. K 55 Ill. Vol Col Stuart and O Malburg capton Black and Kendrick was capton when he was killed report is that Kendrick sold my husbands revolver and kept the money without informing me if he has I never recievd any thing NB I took one women and 3 children and kept them 6 weeks and her husband is at Clarkesvile Tenn in Co I 43 Reg Ill vol the oficers of their county would do nothing for her she has got a Room with one of my neighbors at present I took my last draw of my money and I spent it to protect her and her children

Ruth Green

let me here what you say to this

Notice

what I propose to do is to colonize 600 families with the aid of the state and if the state will furnish one years provision I will furnish the names of sutch as are willing to go and take the benefit of the new law in sutch state or teritory as sutch persons shall vote to go within the United States it is my candid opinion that it will cost less to do this than to suport us for a number of years no telling how long besides it will place them in permanent homes and they will be less bills of rent

and we will not see so many aristocrats riding in fine carages when we are sufering here in this fair land. I wish to go but I will spend the last dime before I will see my pepal sufer so and others will do the same

Obediently

Ruth Green

Green, Ruth

Abingdon Ills Nov 14th 64

She thinks the recent victory of the Union Party was the greatest achievement of the age. She is exceedingly glad that Lincoln is destined to rule the nation four years longer. And although it may be amusing she desires to assure the Governor that he will go to the Senate, and wants him to tell Mrs Yates so -

She complains that the citizens of that county don't follow the injunctions of the Govr's Speech at Galesburg for they over

allow Soldiers Widows to beg- She encloses a proposition for the Gov's consideration