From Cindi Barnes, in explanation of the letters and finding them …
21 September 1999
Hi Sylvia,
I did see the letters posted on your website … I do appreciate the credit, but it has a little bit of wrong information.
I also wanted to tell you that this summer, I went to visit a cousin in Strasburg, Colorado, to return some old photos she had let me borrow to copy. In talking with her about the Caldwells. I found out that she was the one that owned the original letters, and the actual cross-stitched bookmark, and Grandpa Caldwells **(James Leander Caldwell) Bible. It was wonderful to see these things. The bookmark was white and beautifully keep. The Bible was falling apart but beautiful. The letters were frail but all together in pretty good condition, considering how old they are. I took a photo of the bookmark laying on the Bible. It came out really good…I’m sorry for the confusion on who the copies came from.
The cousin that owns the letters, Bible, bookmark. Is Genevieve Bates/Helming she is the daughter of Charlie Bates and Alma Ratliff, granddaughter of Maude Ella Caldwell who married Jefferson Ratliff. Maude Ella is a daughter of James Leander Caldwell.
I am a great grandaughter of Ida Louise Caldwell who married Jurdy Jefferson Hicks. Ida Louise Caldwell is a daughter of James Leander Caldwell. I believe that my Grandma, Eloise Pate/Hicks, got the copies of the letters and Bible from Viva Marie Hicks, who copied the letters from Genevieve Bates/Helming…
Sincerely,
Cindi
**This Bible may actually have belonged to Sharrard J[ames] and Rachel Fulton Caldwell, since other descendants of James Leander Caldwell appear to have the Bible that belonged to him.