1879

1879 revealed the up and down nature of life on the frontier to the Chapin and Christy families, who decided to make their homesteads in Kansas. Throughout their hardships, Marcia Christy, Oscar Chapin, and Katie Chapin maintained and cultivated a fondness for their new homes and found comforts to balance out the difficult realities of their situations. 

Letters from both Marcia Christy and Katie Chapin extol the virtues of Kansas over Illinois, especially the absence of mud in the spring, in an effort to convince Lucinda Chapin to join them in their new state. Despite these praises, it is clear that there were a great many struggles as well. Marcia mentions that her husband Richard is having serious issues getting along with “Kate.” It is unclear whether this is Kate Bocock or Katie Chapin, although it is more likely the former as in a later letter Richard offers to mend shoes for Katie Chapin and her family.

To procure timber to build their new home, Marcia’s son, step-son, and husband travel a great distance; they have an arrangement with their employer that allows them to take home half of the timber they fell. Beyond the grueling physical labor, Kansas also still presented significant issues in the form of grasshopper infestations. Marcia and Richard’s first winter in Kansas is also the coldest in 20 years. Marcia finds a silver lining in this, celebrating the fact that this might put an end to the hoppers.

In April, Oscar and Katie Chapin’s last horse on their Kansas farm dies after an accident. Following the death of his horse, Oscar–who served as a cavalryman during the Civil War–breaks down in tears, declaring that his and Katie’s tumultuous life in Kansas “is a long road that has no turn.” It is possible that the horse in question is the same one that Oscar served alongside during the war, and that it was a great emotional loss for him in addition to the financial hardship the horse’s death presented. However, Katie writes that she hopes “it is time for his luck to turn.” Katie mentions in her letter that “Will” has left to move to Arizona and will inform them if there are good prospects there. It is unclear who Will is, as it cannot be Katie and Oscar’s four year old son, and William Alfred–Marcia Christy’s step-son–is mentioned as having purchased a pony in Kansas later that year. Regardless, Katie and Oscar contemplate forsaking their experiment of homesteading in Kansas to start afresh someplace new.

Katie and Oscar stayed in Kansas, but it does not appear that things turned around as immediately as Oscar had hoped. In Marcia Christy’s letter from July, she writes that her brother “has got well again but his leg is stiff he will allways be a cripple,” indicating that he had suffered some devastating injury in the interceding months between April and July. Despite their hardships, the Chapins and Christys do what they can to make the most of their situation and attend celebrations for July 4th hosted by a neighbor. The serving of ice cream and lemonade makes their fête appear not too dissimilar to contemporary Independence Day celebrations.

Marcia’s July letter also includes other noteworthy information that provides insight into the Chapin family’s relationships and personalities. It is clear in this letter that Marcia is struggling mightily with the distance placed between her and her mother. Her entreaties for Lucinda Chapin to leave Vermilion county (although she herself seems unclear as to whether her mother is living in Oakwood or Danville) in favor of Kansas become more insistent and persistent. 

Marcia also comments on a scandalous development from Vermilion County. Lucinda’s youngest daughter, Maggie, has given birth out of wedlock circa January of 1879. The newborn’s father, Timothy Compton appears to have been pressured into marrying Maggie Chapin in March of the same year. Marcia and Richard greatly disapprove of Compton’s conduct, and Richard Christy declares that he should be shot.

A small, humanizing detail included in this letter amid the family drama may have had a part in easing some of the tension. Marcia Christy seems to have had trouble identifying different types of berries. She comments to her mother how she always gets poisoned when she goes berry picking.

By the end of the year the Chapins and Christys seem to have resolved themselves to permanently stay in Kansas: Oscar states that he will never leave, and Marcia comments that every one of them loves their homes in Kansas--despite a bit of leaking. Their determination to stay and to entice their mother to relocate is best evidenced by the fact that Oscar begins to build a house for his mother for when she decides to join them.