JOHNS, Florence to Minna W. Gauss - 1961-10-22
From Gauss and his Children
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Letter
Address
To: Mrs. Fred L Reeves
212 2. Walnut
Brinkley Arkansas
From: 524 W. Elsmere Pl
San Antonio 12 Texas
postmark: San Antonio Texas Oct 23 4:30 PM 1961
On back: P.S. I forgot -- you were the one that sent me the story of "Chevy Chase"
Body
524 W. Elsmere Place
San Antonio 12 Texas
22 October 1961
Dear Minna:
This paper is rather beat-up looking but it is my last piece and will have to use something else if I do not finish on this.
If you can conveniently send a book, do so but your convenience. you mentioned sending one of the diary books. Perhaps sometimes we can arrange to get them all and I can have them copied before they fade away entirely. It is too bad some of them are missing. (1) Do you believe that he started the diary in 1861? (2) Did Anne copy them as they were or just take parts of the books? It seems as if she might have left our some items she thought were inconsequential. At least this is the impression I gained from a letter you wrote me. It does not make any difference however. I was just wondering.
The books that are missing seems to be between 1881 (latter part) and ending with 1884. I rather think if Winston has them it contained something their family was interested in . Sylvia's mother just returned from her visit to Charlottsville [sic] but she did not look up Winston. She thinks he must be still living as her sisters would have told her as they had heard them speak of him. I am going to try again, if I got the wrong address the letter should have been returned. Sylvia and her mother saw him in summer of 1960, they were impressed with his looks but said he seemed so hazy about family connections. He wrote to Mrs. Leathers that he was so ashamed that she had picked up so much information and he lives just 100 miles from certain spots and he has not done it. shows something wrong. Another thing, my brother Jack told me when I was at their house in Beaumont in August that he had seen Winston many years ago and he was very much down. Also Winston told Sylvia and her mother that the man who owns the "James Monroe" house their was named Winston Johns but no kin. Jack said the man who owned it when he was there in 1953 was named John Jay Johns and he met him -- Winston was with Jack then. anyway we will have to do what we can. The books or rather the copies I made have made such a hit it seems worth while. Someone wants to put them into a story but doubt if it will ever come to pass. When I returned your little booklets to you the postal clerk told me it was just as safe as sending first class mail but since it was your property I was worried about its return to you.
I am enclosing three clippings. Two of them you can keep but the third one please return as it is my only copy. Every one I know has sent me copies of all but this little story about the likeness to a Rembrandt.
My nephew, Herndong Durfee Johns, Warren's son, lives in Dallas. I shall ask him to look up the Chambless'. The name "Bob Chambless" is very familiar. I do hope that Arnold gets his eyes more comfortable. Lois is so nice and I am sure that she would like him to be comfortable. Years bring their troubles, some of them people cannot help but some can be helped. My brother Jack has just let himself go terribly, just decided not to work any more (you can know by that he did not have to) but it has not been good for him. People have to keep busy and going and interested in things, but only when young but more so when they were older. He has just had another bout at the hospital and I do hope he gets over it as well as he did last time. His wife is active and so gracious and lovely and they have such a lovely home.
Now about the Claude Johns affair. Many, many years ago, I do not know how many -- when Dr. Percy Johns was living in San Antonio, it happened. Dr. Percy began to take some narcotic of some sort. He was a Physician here and County Health Officer! Every time he was found in a delirious or some other condition someone sent for Papa. Papa told me he went and picked him up out of a ditch once where he was lying in a dead stupor. Well, the time came when Dr. Percy mixed his drugs and the doctors thought they could not possibly save him, they massaged him, rolled him about in rug over the floor to keep his blood circulating. Papa got desperate and sent word to his brother Claude, in Austin. Well, it so happened that that by the time Claude Johns got here (getting places was slower those days) they had brought Cr. Percy out of it and Claude Johns berated Papa for all he was worth. Said he just wanted to make a spectacle of it, bringing him down here for nothing. Of course Papa was tired, upset and annoyed about it and he told him "You take your brother and look after him then". Well, I do not know the rest, was not nice listening to but I think Dr. Percy did straighten himself out because he was at our house once or twice, once I remember, but did not see him the other time. He was good looking, had quite a vocabulary and very suave. Sister said he took dinner at our house. By the way, he wrote a story on the place "Chevy Chase", which I should send you when I copy it. All of this time I do not know where Dr. Percy's wife was but Papa said he spent a great deal of time at our house. One thing that he (Papa) did not like -- he liked our mother, she did not like it either and it worried her considerably. Yes, Dr. Percy was very fond of my mother, much too much for her comfort.
I do not remember if Papa ever saw Claude Johns any more but they were big feeling people, his wife came from a prominent family and he made money. I was told that he went about in Austin during cool weather in a long cape like the old timers wore and he seemed to have made an impression on people. Ann's Sister, Warren's wife, told me that as they lived in Austin where her husband was professor of law at Texas Univ. Now as to his son, Glover Johns. When Anne sent Papa all of the nice data she had accumulated he wrote to Glover Johns who was living in Austin then and told him that if he ever was in San Antonio to sop to see him as he thought he might be interested in some genealogy of the family. Well, he did, he looked at it and said "This does not buy me anything at the bank" and talked a little and left. My brother, Glover, after he retired from US Army, worked for State Health Dept in Austin and became rather friendly with the Glover Johns (just a little I should say). He loaned Glover's wife the family folder and somehow it was not returned. We were left up the tree except for the fact that I had secretly copied it and put it away. Three years ago, glover Johns Jr.'s wife wrote from Virginia where he was Commandant at VMI and asked for Johns information. Glover turned the letter over to Sister and she wrote her a pretty curt answer and it would have been very bad except that I insisted she put in some information and tell them that since they lived in Virginia it might not be too hard to find out and gave them a little information. Rita, Glover's wife, claimed she was given the folder by her mother in law but misplaced it. After Sister got through with her I do not blame her for not answering as she (sister) thought she should and apologize. What they really wanted to know was where the name Glover came from as they have a son "Glover". When I read J.J.J.'s letter I wanted to write to them and offer the information but Sister was still hot about it. I do not care how they act, that does not worry me but I think if they did not locate the information they are entitled to know it. However I did not write.
I have not heard from Bonnie in some time. I sent her portions of J.J.J.'s diary in which he mentioned her family or forbears but have not hear from her. I do not know but have gathered she might be a little forgetful. At one time I went down to the Court House and got a copy of her mother's marriage licence [sic] and sent it to her. Her mother and father were married here. She thanked me for it and other information I sent her and said she had never been able to get any information from any of the Johns'. I told her she should have written to the Gauss family as they were on the ground floor and knew as much as anyone.
Well, so it goes and now I am writing on another page of paper. I do hope you both are well and if I am to get this in the mail tonight I had better be on my way to the mail box,
Love,
Florence
P. S. Arthur went in the hospital today for an examination. he seems to have trouble with his knee but we did not see any reason for going to the hospital for tests. Just his idea I guess !!! Am sure he will be sick of it in a few days and be glad to get back to work. But hope they find out what is wrong with his knee while he is there.
Sister thinks her back hampers her a lot but she will not trust any more doctors, am trying to get her to an osteopath.
Enclosures (click on image for enlarged versions and transcriptions):
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Source
Typewritten original in the private collection of the Chambless family. Transcribed to softcopy by Susan D. Chambless, 2000.
