Traverse City Nov 30th 62
   Friend Bagley
		I have been expecting
to see you up here or I should have
written before    I see by the Republican
that the [illegible in original] or fusion ticket carried
every ward in the city how is that have
some of our friends turned conservative
or is it because the true republicans
have gone to the war
   If you are a reader of the Traverse
Herald you have no doubt learned
from that slandering sheet that I was
a candidate on the fusion ticket
in this county though your suspicion
would naturaly be arroused at seeing my
name in Italics I was not a candidate
for that office in any form
   I declined to allow my name to run for
the office in any convention or on any
ticket & I was not nominated on any

but after the fusion convention adjourned
the nominee for clerk & Register went
to Detroit to get the fusion tickets printed
& hoping to strengthen himself had my
name printed in the ticket I found it
out the friday before election and sent
letters by mail to all the election precincts
in the county that the mail will could 
reach in time that I was not a candidate
and where the mail would be to late
I hired messengers to go or went myself
I traveled 60 miles on foot and paid
out ten dollars for messengers to expose
the fraud all of which Mr Bates knew
before he published that paper & yet
he had the meanness to represent me
as a fusion Candidate.
     I am on his track and if he
keeps his office through Old Abes term
he he will have to be more honest than
he has been   I will tell you all
about the matter when I see you
it will take to long to write it

We have snow now about 4 inches
     the weather is mild and the ground
is not frozen atall yet and if snow
continues to fall much longer it will
not feeze this winter
     I have set out 26 Peach trees 14
naturals and 12 grafted the grafted
ones are from Adrian and very large
and nice 6 Early Crawford 1 Crawfords
late 2 Early [illegible in original] 1 Haines Early Red 1
Cooleges favorite & 1 Old Nixon Have
planted a quantity of pitts & intend to
breed from these varieties
     I also got 6 Dwarf pear trees & 2 of
the Delaware Grapes & 2 of the [illegible in original] Grape
so you see I am going to try the fruit
business right off
     All healthy & happy  Business is
dull now but the last six months
have been better then the first 6
I inventory about a thousand net more
to day than I did a year ago
    Remember me to the boys and congratulat

		for me
Mr [illegible in original] ^ on his promotion by
the people for me
   I think if Old Abe had hung
McLelland & some others 6 month
ago N.Y. & the rest of the states that
have gone Democratic or session
would have shown different results
It provokes me to think of it so I
   guess I'll stop & sign my name
		Yours Truly
			J Ramsdell

[Written upside down on bottom of Scan 4]

J.G. Ramsdell
       Traverse City, Mich
Nov. 30, 1862.
Ans Dec. 12, 1862.