We just rec'd your letter, when I saw the name I sat down on the steps and read it, was sure glad to hear from you.

Yes, I rember (sic) you folks very well. in fact I think I know something about you (Max) that you don't know you were born in late Sept. or early Oct. 1891, I can also rember (sic) you on your father's lap, he said you were 13 mo. old, now don't you rember (sic) that, I also know the folks and Lev went to the Chicago fair in 1893, I was 8 then, my Aunt Rose and son Sherman were living with us at the time, Dad got a little fellow by the name of Oat Sturm and his wife to stay there and do the chores, they had a little boy by the name of Max and while there he had a birthday, when Sherman and I came home from school his mommy told us about taking two pails slop for the pigs and of course she had good help, on the way back he said two pails top, two-years old.

I used to see you and the folks quite often while you lived in Finchford but lost track of all of you after that, but I do rember (sic) that Oat and Ed Ralia (spell it yourself) run a butchershop in Shellrock for some time then I think you went to No. Dakota on a farm, Uncle Henry went up there a few falls to help thresh.

I also heard of a 10 yr old boy ploughing with 6 horses and a gang plow, then a little later the same boy drove an early version of the modern school buss (sic) after the schools consolidated (sic). I don't know how long Oat farmed there but I do know one year he had a bumper wheat crop and was getting the benders in shape to start harvesting the next morning when a cloud come up and within 2 hours he didn't have a spear of wheat left after the hail storm.

I seem to have a lapse of memory or a lack of information from that time until we came out to California in '29. I met you soon after you were in a bank at that time and one little trick you pulled was to head off a fellow from Mexico who had been trying to cash some kind of bogus paper, have you still got that watch?

Another lapse until this morn. I was sure glad to hear from you and will be glad to give you all the info re the family tree.

I have thot (sic) of you folks often and I would like to see you. I understand Roy died many years ago, I can rember (sic) Irvin as a baby and I have probably seen the twins but that is about (all) I would known of them.

You might like to know some thing about me. I grew up on the farm and married Anna's sister. You may rember (sic) her, she was taken sick in September '37 and was bedfast until April '44 when she passed away. I was in the bicycle business at the time, later I sold that and went in for refacing (?) washing machines and did that all thru the war and later went in for real estate until I retired.

In '48 I met a lady here in Azusa, by the name of Emily Baker, the next March she changed that to Ballentine. That was a lucky thing for me. We have traveled all over the U.S. for a while by car and motel but for 11 years now we have gone by trailer (an 18 footer) and we surely like it, we have never had a quarell or a cross words.

In '61 we went up to Wash. and on into Canada then around Canada crossing the St. Lawrence and down to Syracuse where Emily's only daughter lives, we went there see Emily could be with Betty when she had her fourth child, then just 2 weeks later Emily had a severe stroke but she made a rapid recovery about ... we came home with the trailer. She made a nearly complete recovery but four weeks ago she had another slight stroke, Betty and the youngest children came out and are still here she won't let her mother do anything. Father died in '31, mother in '53, Levi in '50.

Getting back to the family tree, It just happens that for the last 6 mo. I have been trying to put together a family history of the Ballentines then about 3 years ago when Eva was out here she said her son Harold wanted to get a line on his family tree so I wrote out as best I could a line from my Great Great Grandfather Jobe Garner Sr. who fought in the revolution then Jobe Jr. born 1795 (you will add 1 more Great to each of these). Job Jr. in the war of 1812. I have a photostatic copy of the old family bible giving Jobe Jr. year 1795 April 8. Rebeka wife 1799, June 13.

Rather than copy these down I am going to get a copy of the old bible record and send it as that will be more interesting.

Now I have gone and copied the whole thing but you can have it for what it is worth.

To each of the Job Garners you would have to add another great, 3 for Sr. 2 for Job. Jr.

I am sorry I haven't any info on the Sturm tribe, but I did meet a Will Sturm in Temple City in the 30, Will would be Oat's cousin. I think Will's father was Ed (El?) Sturm at least that is what he was called by the old timers.

Then Abner another cousin who I remmber (sic) in Finchford. He and Will's wife called on me in Baldwin Park some time in the 30's. I think he would weigh 300 lbs but he was very fat. I asked him if Uncle Henry had pulled any cards out of his pocket and threw them down an old well, but some people just don't remember the important things, well, I have a wonderful forgettery myself!

I just reread your letter, you spoke a remembering of your Grandfather Henry.

He died early in Jan. 1903 and Oat and Lizzie or maybe Oat alone came down for the funeral he had one small child with him, that was the last time I saw him. Your grandma died 1910 or 11. You said you didn't know where the Garner's came from, Indiana in 1854 Uncle Ike was the first white child born in Franklin Co. IA, about 50 mi. NW of Finchford. My pen seems to be getting lazy or something so I am stopping this bunch of conundrums as of this minute. I hope you can translate this into English.

A. A. Ballentine

930 San Gabriel Azusa P.S. I will send you a photostatic copy of the old record soon as I can get one. AAB. P.S. #2

I wrote you a rather jumbled mess today and have it ready to mail, I just remembered you spoke of your son going to IA and that he would like to look up some relatives. I can think of any of the gang there now except Eva, Dallas' widow, one of the Lutes girls Ethel and Charlton's girl but I don't know the last names of these too or their addresses. Paul Charlton's boy is in Albukirk (=Albuquerque) N. M. The Boyds and Ballentines have been gone from there for some time now, however we are at 930 San Gabriel, Azusa. He might try that address some time, we would like to meet him, he might even bring his dad and mom along also his wife! Amos

Glad to get your letter some time ago, I have been trying to get a photostatic of my copy but the firm here is out of business so I went to the library where they have a copy machine which made the two with the writing on but they are not good enough so I went to another place thinking I would get photo copy but the black ones are what they came up with, some day I will get you a good copy but will send these now for what good you can get out of them.

You asked about Aunt Winnie (your Grandmother), her parents were Samuel Garner and his wife was Charity Moon.

They were married in Ind. and came to IA in 1854, Uncle Ike was the first white child born Franklin Co. IA.

Several other familys came at the same time and most of them went on up to northern IA settling at Lake Okoboji and Clear Lake but about 3 years later the Indians came in one morning and killed nearly all of them, they took some captives but killed most of them, one 13 yr old girl survived and later married Kas Sharp who was a Bro of the two Sharp girls Matt and James Garner married. This woman Abbie Gardner Sharp used to come to visit us and Aunt Winnie when I was just a kid. If you ever get near Clear Lake in IA it would be worth your time to look up the monument there in honor of those killed in the Indian raid. Abbie and her two sons are buried there.

You said you would like to know more about your Grandfather Sturm's folks, I never heard much about them but I do remember Grandma Garner telling how Henry moved a time or two to keep from suporting (sic) some of his relatives.

I got the photo copy from Grace Fleming a 3rd cousin and a Granddaughter of James Garner. They live near Hanford and are very fine folks.

I have misplaced your letter, I wanted to read it again to see if there were any more questions. Emily is much better now, it was about 6 weeks ago that she had alight stroke.

Speaking of relatives, honorable and otherwise, I had a 2nd cousin and of course you will have to take one seat back making him your 3 cousin he distinguished himself by being one of the Jesse Jame's gang, Clel Miller.

Grandmother Garner's (Charity's) sister married a Miller and I guess he was pretty rough. Clel was their son. All this has been a rather disjointed bunch of information but maybe you can piece it together.

You mentioned being rather poor while in Finchford, you were not alone. My father asked a little fellow there how they were getting along "pretty good now we got a sack of flour last week."
Amos