In 1854, a young couple stepped off a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their names were Jane Renwick Smedberg and John Wilkes. Family and friends called them Jeanie and Jack. The bride had grown up in New York City, and the groom had grown up in Washington, DC, until he joined the Navy in his teens.
The earliest surviving letters date to 1847 and contain descriptions of Jack’s adventures at sea and Jeanie’s activities in New York and Devasego. From the letters, we learn that towards the end of 1852, Jack and Jeanie confessed their feelings for one another, and the letters reveal the depth of their relationship.
This page is an example of a crossed letter. To save money on postage, nineteenth-century correspondents would sometimes write over a page they had previously covered with text. The second time the handwriting would go up and down instead of left to right. With a little practice one can read it.
The first seven lines of Jack's letter to Jeanie are shown in the image at the head of this page. A transcription follows:
Washington July 8th 1853
My dear Jeanie,
