Ellen Goodnow wrote from Manhattan, Kansas Territory, to her husband, Isaac, while he was traveling. She included news of recent heavy rains, which had washed out bridges and roads, slowing travel and mail delivery. However, the crops were prospering as a result. Goodnow also described much illness and fever in the area, herself included. She closed the letter with a recipe for shaving soap.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Ellen Douglas Denison Goodnow to Isaac Tichenor Goodnow - p. 2