Early 20th century cursive writing help?

Hello, the Steele Box thread (interesting thread, btw!), reminded me of some documents I won in a photograph lot I purchased awhile back. I was trying to read the cursive writing in one of the documents (a letter), but am stuck with a few words, and was wondering if a few other eyes could help me decipher the contents of the letter? Below are pics of the envelope & letter. Here's what I think the letter says, with "?" meaning I can't make out the word:

To Mr. Fred? Beal (letter from Clinton Indiana, 4-8-1918)
Kingman, Indiana

My Dear Sir:
I have been thinking of going to Kingman to see you but could not get away on account of my work here. Did you ever take up the proposition with your brother in law at Indianapolis? I have two locations? for coal mines? that would be the best? in this field. One black coal, the other #3 grain? It would be a great favor to me Fred? if you would see him and let me know at once.

Hoping to here from you by return mail if possible, I am? Very truly yours
P. Edison?
615 So. 4th St.
Clinton, Indiana

So it sounds like P.Edison is trying to drum up business with Fred Beal, and Fred's brother in law. Coal mining appears to have been a big business in this part of Indiana. Unfortunately this letter doesn't match any of the photos or other documents in the lot I purchased. Any cursive readers, feel free to enlighten me Thank you.

 

I think the word after #3 looks like "vein" -- referring to a vein of ore in a mine, probably. I think you have all the other words in the letter correct, except I can't tell about P. E.'s surname.

 

Thank you figtree, "vein" makes sense, and with fresher eyes now, I think the name could be "P.Edman". Still not sure though. Thank you for replying!

 

On enlargement & inverting, I don't see anything to say that it's NOT 'P. Edmons', which it looks like in the letter....hope that's helpful...​

​

 

I compared the letters against those in other words and do think it's P. Edmons. But familysearch.org doesn't place him in Clinton, Indiana at the time. (Of course, he might not have been a permanent resident.) I did see something that a Fred Beal ran a garage in Kingman, Indiana but couldn't find anything else.

Debora

 

Thanks for the replies! I too searched Beal & Edmond with various spellings, but didn't find anything definitive. That seems to be my luck when researching old family photo albums too But these old documents & photos are still way cool anyway

 

You can always call the research librarians in the respective cities and have them look in the 1919 city directories for you. In that era, they gave occupations too.

Debora

 

Edwin?

 

I can see it as Ederson(s).

 

This morning I started looking in the 1910 and 1920 U. S. Census on Ancestry. I found a man named Pearl Edmonds, occupation coal miner, listed in the 1910 census in Clinton, Vermillion County, Indiana. Although the census says the last name is Edmonds, somebody has cross-referenced it with the last name Edmons. This was probably an Ancestry user who was familiar with the person. Pearl's wife was named Elizabeth and they had a son named Leaman F. Edmon(d)s, who was one month old when the 1910 census was taken.

Pearl was born in December 1883, according to the previous census in 1900, when people were asked to give their month and year of birth. He was listed as 26 in 1910.

I also had found a Fred V. Beal listed in 1920, not in Kingman, Indiana but in the same county. I don't have time to further research this right now. I hope that gives some clues.

 

Thank you figtree, very helpful, thanks for taking the time to check these two individuals in Ancestry. Although I'm not related to either individual I was born in Indianapolis and many of my ancestors were coal miners, and I heard plenty of stories about working in the mines from my Aunts & Uncles, when I was a kid. That is why this document caught my eye when I was going through all these documents that were included with some old photos I bought recently. Looks like I can get a subscription to Ancestry for about $25 a month, or maybe my library gets it for free, I will check that out. Thanks again for taking the time to look them up in Ancestry. And thanks to everyone else who has provided input in this thread!

 

Think that's reflected in your surname.

 

Yep.

 

"subscription to Ancestry for about $25 a month"
@Jerry Coker FamilySearch.org is free

 

Yes, I recommend FamilySearch.org as a place to start. One of my rules of life... Avoid reoccurring fees if not absolutely necessary.

Debora

 

True, and it's good to check both if you are really being thorough because FamilySearch has some things Ancestry does not have, and vice versa.

 

Thanks for the tip, I will check out FamilySearch!