[Peru]. Valencia, John C.

[Collection of Manuscript Letters Sent by John C. Valencia from Peru, to His Wife and Aunt Back in New York City]

[Lima and Callao, Peru: 1859-1861]. Thirteen autograph letters, signed, totaling twenty-six pages. Original mailing folds, minor wear, some fold separations and short tears to a few letters. Very good. Item #4525

An informative collection of manuscript letters sent back to the United States by John C. Valencia, a businessman working in Peru just before the Civil War. John is writing to his wife, Josefina, and his Aunt Brunner in New York City and Yorkville, New York over roughly a two-year period, between February 27, 1859 and January 14, 1861. Apparently Josefina and their children were living with Aunt Brunner in New York, at least for a time, while John was trying to conclude business related to Peruvian real estate held by his deceased brother and now owned by his sister-in-law. In one letter, he mentions that he working in the sea port in order to raise some amount of money to send home. John misses his wife and family and writes with longing about returning to his wife, often mentions the money he is sending back with each letter or plans to send soon, sometimes reports on his business activities, urges patience from his wife while he tries to make money, and more.

From his first letter, John is not having a pleasant time in Peru. Writing from Lima on February 27, 1859, John comments that "I am sorry of having proposed such a thing for this country is very corrupt, no moral of no kind in those People...I am afraid to be contaminated with the influence of the wicked." He again bemoans the state of Peru in his next letter from Callao: "I hope the Lord will help me in coming home as soon as I can. I am disgusted with the costume of this country. They are so deprived that I can not be happy in this land, but with your advice I will remain till I get some money even if I have to stay longer...." John would stay almost two more years in the space of the present letters, and his business was not concluded when the present letters end. While in Peru, John spends some time "in the House of a friend of my Father" (which may indicate John was a native Peruvian or Peruvian-American with roots in the country); reports on the process of the mail and his work in the port of Callao; details his deceased brother's real estate holdings, and frequently mentions the difficulty he is having with his brother's widow (he reports in one of his two short letters to his aunt that he is in a "Law Suit" with the widow). In one letter, John makes it perfectly clear how he sees himself among the people of Peru: "I am tired already of this country. There is nothing but rebolution [sic] that is the principal business of the Perubians [sic]. As for my part I am American and I am always with them." The conflict John mentions may be a reference to the Ecuadorian-Peruvian War, which took place between 1857 and 1860; this may also help explain why real estate issues inside Peru were difficult to conclude at this time. In his penultimate letter, John states that he plans to be back in New York by May 1861, but in his last letter, he sadly reports that he must remain in Peru longer in order to conclude his business affairs.

Price: $950.00