ABSTRACT
John Rutherford’s 1848 letter is written from Verona, Wisconsin to Rutherford’s brother in Scotland and is answering questions about the availability of farms; clearly, his brother is considering joining him. References to the many other Scots in the area, the good laws, the freedoms, and details of his journey are all encouraging. The 1859 letter, printed later in this volume, is written from Jean Rutherford to her brother, James Allison, and it expresses her surprise that he married and settled down in Scotland, instead of joining them in Wisconsin. Their thriving farm perhaps made her brother regret staying in Scotland. In Volume 4, the 1862 letter is again written from John, to his brother-in-law, Andrew Kesson, and surprisingly makes only a short reference to the war, on how it will limit their farm earnings. The 1866 letter is also from John, to his brother Thomas in Glasgow, and concerns family matters, crops and the fact that John was elected Justice of the Peace.
