John Robert "J. R." and Amanda WELCH SEYBOLD came to Navarro County in late 1882 early 1883 and lived there until the spring of 1890 when they moved to I. T. [Oklahoma] According to the above letters and land records in Navarro County, he had a farm near Chatfield and Rice and also had a store. My grandmother, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Seybold Cloud, was born there in October 1883, although there is no record of her birth at the Navarro Courthouse.

Letters donated by Tom Cloud - 1/1999

Letter dated March 8, 1885, Chatfield, Texas
J. R. Seybold to Margret Foot
"Dear Cousin,
Yours received & noted. Was glad to hear from you. We are all well & hope this will find you enjoying the same blessing. I expect from accounts we have had here that it has been very cold north. The winter has been colder than usual here but the winters here would not be called cold north. It seldom freezes hard enough to stop the plow. I have two renters on my place, they have planted their corn. I expect to commence planting in the morning. This will give you an idea of the difference between this climate & where you are. I am farming but do not expect to farm longer than this season, if circumstances favors going into the mercantile business. The crop was not good here last season, money matters are close here. Now is a good time to buy land here. Land is steadly increasing in value here & is a good investment. They generaly have prety good schools here, but of course not so well fited up, as older states. The people here are generaly kind, & clever. We have as a [??] Illinoians, Indianians, Kentuckians, Alabamians, Tenneseeans & some from other States but a few of Texians. It is best for persons from the North to come here about the 1st of Octo, the change is too great in climate to come in the Spring. Now since I left Ills, I have not heard any thing about the Canada money, left there by Silus Seybold. It is very strange to me that nothing of a definite nature can be learned of it. There is something wrong somwhere. Wrote John Coffman & see if they have heard out anything>br? "Now as to this country, it is not as fertile a Soil as Ills, compared with the part where we lived, but compared with a majority of the States, it is a fine soil and excels. The climate far surpasses Ills. I would not live in as cold a climate as Ills. I am not far from a 150 miles South of the North Texas line, & Sometimes I wish I was further South. There is a good place adjoining me, that's for Sale it belongs too heirs. Three are not of age yet. They intend getting a [????] from court to sell it. It think ti will come in this fall. If I had the money I would buy it. Tell aunt Hatie [?]. She is old to change climate but it might be beneficlal to her but do not come before about the 1st of Oct... [end of transcription - spelling has not been changed]

Letter postmarked Rice Texas [date illegible] on one side and "Decorra, Ill. Mar 6, 1890" on the other.
Addressed to Stationery printed: "Rice, Texas
"To C. MOSCHELL Dr"
"Dry Goods, Groceries, Hardware, Harness and General Merchancise" The name "Moschel" and the word "harness" have been marked through to make the heading read: "J. R. Seybold, Dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries, Hardward and General Herchandise" Written in the upper left hand corner:

"It has been a very warm winter here and lots of ???? and a good many deaths. Just now it is cold, the coldest weather we have had this winter. It turned cold on Thursday night." "Rice, Texas Mar. 2nd, 1890 "Mrs. Margrett Foote Dear Cousin, "Yours of Feb, 25th, 1890 & contents noted, was glad to hear from you & to hear that you was all well & to get information of the relatives & to hear that Aunt Hatie, your mother was still living & well, for one of her age. give her my love & respects & hope that she may live many years yet, & a [?????] providence yet permit us to again, & if not permitted to meet again in this world, grant that we meet again in the heavenly paradise where parting *& Sorrow will be no more. Since in Texas [?] I have heard nothing of Aunt Alley or of any of her folks, I wrote a letter snce here to John Coffman but received no answer - I don't know whether he got it or not, neither have I heard anything of Uncle Dodson & his folks, don't know whether he is still living or not. Would be glad to know of both.
"Now Margritt, you speak of looking after that money in Canada, deposited there by grand-father Je?? Seybolds, brother Silas Seybold, for Jebie [Jelpie?] [?] Seybold our grandfather or his heirs, as supposed. Now Margritt, to tell you the truth I know but very little about it, I know what has been said & I am satisfied that Silas Seybold made a deposit there, but whether it is just for Je{?]ie Seybold & his heirs or not I don't know. Now Fredrick Seybold informed me, that a good many [years?] ago there was a Seybold -------------into---log-----, & swam the river St larence into Canada, to save his life, deposited in Montreal $140,000.00 for a brother, at a bank rate of 3 per cent now we know that Silas Seybold was the man------------------swam the river St laurence into Canada to save his life & also he never returned, but staid there & died intestate, that is he had no heirs, & it is reasonable to infer that if he made a deposit, it was for [Jelpie?] Seybold & heirs for those two brothers were disinherited by Jasper Seybold, their father. Now in the year 1830, I think it was, that undle Dodson & ???uncle Robert learned from I think Daniel? Seybold in Indiana that Silas Seybold was still living & was very rich. In the winter of 1870 and 1871 if I remember correctly I was at Wheaton 25 miles N. W. from Chicago. I learned there from the [Wheaton???] Seybold that about 7 years before that he got a lawyer in Chicago to investigate this matter & found a deposit of money, in the Bank Montreal, Montreal Canada, for W/A? Seybold, that it was not for any of his family, beyond this he would not tell me who it was put in by, who it was put in for, when it was put in, or how much was put in, notwithstanding I had a letter from him stating that he new who put it in, whoo it was put in for, when it was put in & how much was put in, but his excuse that he had forgotten & the letter was lost, that would show how it was. Guess it seemed with all the parties who I confered with who seemed to know anything, that there was a disposition to cover up & keep back what they new. In my investigations I was told by James Seybold that this money was put in the Bank about four years before his death, Jim might give you some valuable information. Now Margitt, this money I am satisfied will be hard to get all money deposited in a government Bank in Canada or England in 100 years if not claimed reverts to the English government, hence it is to their interest to cover all such deposits Hence in my view there is but one way to get at it, that is to go to Canada, have the records of the Bank searched by an officer, or employ a good detective to work it up, for a cnditional amount of the money if successful, let it not be known only to him what you are after. An American detective would probably be the best, I think there is a record also of all deaths??? there. If you go there and have the records searched, I do not think it necessary to go back beyond the year 1825, for he was alive in 1830, & deposit the money some four years before his death. I sent uncle Toms money back to him, I am now packed up to move to Ardmore, I.T. If you write to me that will be my address [last four lines mostly unreadable]...& will allow you our of my part....if you are successful, my....part of, all expenses. If you do undertake that, I hope....be successful but you must be very *& cautious for it is....to take shrewed work to get it."
"....ell, write soon, Yours Truly, J. R. Seybold