Celebrating Sharpsburg’s Bicentennial Handwritten letter back home ...

James Berry’s letter written to his brother Joseph, dated Nov. 1808.

George Stone has the original hand written letter in his collection.

James was 21 years old and his brother was 19.

The Berry family lived in the Flat Creek area, which was still Montgomery County at that time.

Their father owned a sizable acreage and had moved to area in 1800.

Joseph is at Port William, in Carrollton, Ky where he is a tutor in a family for a number of students. James is possibly in Lexington KY and is also a tutor.

James gives his brother advice on how to handle his students.

“School keeping is really confining business but by usage it has become tolerably agreeable to me. If I can get a good school anywhere I will teach another quarter at least. My quarter is out, glory! And now I am endeavoring to collect what is coming to me. I will teach no longer here.

As for your studying physics I think it useless, unless you intend to follow that business, but shant advise you.(

I may be brief in this as I expect to see you soon.

Your rules as I said before are very good,I would dismiss school 3/4 or1/2 an hour by sun at least. I will mention other rules concerning behavior which I think most necessary, as for no combing hair, washing hands and face, so many stripes, for whistling, laughing or making any noise in school ditto, for tearing books, clothes, papers, their own or others, for abusing one another’s clothes, for nicknaming, swearing, if you read these laws to the children, and penalties to them and add other rules if necessary, but the best rule is to whip whenever there is a reason and keep them in awe. You must be severe or you cannot keep good order and without that you cannot please your employers. Give the scholars short lessons and make them say well 10 or 12 words is enough for one beginning to spell. But I hope you are able to judge what is sufficient by experience. I will borrow a horse of uncle to ride hone so will be obliged to come to Lexington again and expect from there to go see you, amen Jame Berry”.

Joseph did attend the medical school at Transylvania and became a doctor.

He practiced mostly in Bath County until his death in 1851.