Letters

My family recently inherited family documents that I had no idea existed from my mother's uncle (who was a bit of a hoarder) when he passed away. Included in the giant rubbermaid container were hundreds of pictures (mostly from the 1900s-1920s) including several of my mother's mother's mother, Bridget Theresa Healey. She was born in Ireland in 1884 and contracted tuberculosis in the early 1920's. My grandmother only had one memory of her, and never saw a picture. It's a shame she passed away before we received the container of family stuff that were salvaged from Uncle Jimmy's apartment, because there were dozens of pictures of Bridget Healey in it. Also in there were hundreds of letters written between my great grandfather (mother's mother's father) Frank Gleasure and his sisters and father in Ireland, as well as his son George, who was killed in D Day in 1944. (Frank was born Canada and moved to the United States with his parents in the 1890s. The other children were born in Natick, Massachusetts that decade. The mother (Maria Dillon) had a fall down the stairs which resulted in her death, and George Gleasure (Frank's father) moved the family back to Listowel, Ireland. Against the wishes of his father, Frank came back to the United States a few years later). My goal is to transcribe all of the letters into this blog, but we'll see how far I get with that.

To: Mr. Frank Gleasure, 56 Gardner Street, Allston, MA.
From: Pvt. Geo. F. Gleasure 31157709, C. C. 12th Inf. A.P.O. #4 U.S. Army, Camp Gordon Johnston Florida.

October 24, 1943

Dear Pa:-

I received your registered letter with money yesterday but you shouldn't have put so much in because you can use it more than I can but I got it safely anyway. I got a letter from Jimmy yesterday, he didn't have much to say and besides I couldn't read half of his handwriting in the first place. I wrote to Madeline about a month ago but as yet haven't received an answer. I also got a card from Theresa on my birthday. Things here are going along as usual except that the boat training is getting tougher all the time but it will soon be over. We were out in the boats all night once [last much?] and about 90 percent of everybody on board were sea sick, you never saw such a sorry looking bunch in your life. It didn't get me because I stood on my feet so that I could ride on an even keel, if you let yourself sway with the boat you get sick and I didn't do that so that's why it didn't effect me. It's Sunday here now and it's so hot you can't breathe. Well this is about all for now- so I'll close till I hear from you again.

Luck, George


To: Mr. Frank Gleasure, 56 Gardner Street, Allston, MA.
From: Pvt. Geo. F. Gleasure 31157709, C. C. 12th Inf. A.P.O. #4 U.S. Army, Camp Gordon Johnston Florida.

October 30, 1943

Dear Pa:-

Received your letter this afternoon and by it I see that you didn't get my last letter thanking you for that money you sent. It got here okay but you shouldn't have sent so much because you need it for things up there. What's the matter with Jimmy? One time he wants a day job another time nights it looks to me like he don't know what he does want. You say you turned in some insurance policies on me and that there is more due next October- how many policies do you hold on me altogether? It seems to me that you have been spending quite a little money for insurance. That fellow Beck that you were talking to in the Harvy Steel is a friend of mine but don't say too much to him because he is an awful gossiper, just like a woman. I dropped that friendship with that girl I used to write to because she is married so don't say anything to him about that because there would be a hell of a lot of trouble. I was thinking things over one day and decided to stop that affair before there was trouble. Things here are about the same as usual, right now the weather is very hot in the day time and very chilly at night so we have to be careful of colds. They have us down in the Gulf of Mexico every day trying to teach us to swim but I haven't gotten any place yet and I don't think I'll ever be able to swim because I haven't the strength to keep it up very long. Do you ever hear from Madeline at all? I wrote to her about three months ago and never did get an answer from her so I was wondering if things are okay out there. I received a letter from Martha the other day and a birthday card from Theresa on the 14th also I got one from Jimmy but his handwriting is so poor that I couldn't read it so if he writes again the thing for him to do is to have one of the kids in the house rewrite it so that its legible otherwise I can't read it at all. As yet newspapers haven't arrived here but should be here in a few days, anyway the postal service from Washington on through the south is very poor and unreliable so we [have?] just have to wait for things to come through. Like yesterday I got a letter that was mailed from Boston one month ago and never got here till yesterday afternoon so that's an example of the mail service down through here. Well this is about all from here for now so woill close till I hear from you again.

Luck, George

P.S. You have an error in addressing letters to me. You make it look like Johnston is a town here but it isn't, it's part of the camp's name. Camp Gordon Johnston. Florida.


To: Mr. Frank Gleasure, 56 Gardner Street, Allston, MA.
From: Pvt. Geo. F. Gleasure 31157709, C. C. 12th Inf. A.P.O. #4 U.S. Army, Camp Gordon Johnston Florida.

November 8, 1943

Received your letter today also one from Martha, she tells me that she is going for a physical to work at the Navy Yard but I doubt if she will pass because those tests are pretty stiff. It did take that registered letter about a week to get here but that's the best way to send money into this place because if it had been a money order I'd had to go one hundred and thirty miles to cash it so a few days delay isn't much as long as it got here. The newspapers didn't arrive till three days later and that is due to very poor railroad schedules down here. The railroads here have the best of engines and cars but the [spud?] is [governed?]. We have had a couple of days of rain here and its pretty cold and we had to go for swimming lessons today but the air was too cold for us to stay very long so we got out of the water after we had all turned blue from the cold and you can bet they won't get me in there again when it's cold. Well this is about all the news from here so till I hear from you again I'll close.

Luck, George