Julia Underhill: "Don't Forget Me"

Born in either 1836 or 1843 (depending on the source) in Maine, Julia Frances Rundlett did not have an easy life.  Her troubles began when she wed Leemon Underhill, a Canadian by birth.  Some sources claim that he was a local teacher.  Some even say that he was her teacher.  Depending on which birth date is correct, Julia may have been fourteen when she married.  Leemon was twenty three.  And her father, Joseph, did not approve of the marriage.  He said that he "sent [her] to school and tried to give [her] a chance to be somebody in the world."  And now, it appeared as if she had squandered the opportunity her father had presented her by marrying Leemon.  Joseph apparently did not believe Leemon was good enough for his daughter and doubted his ability to take care of her.



Nevertheless, the young couple were devoted to each other and began to grow their family.  A little girl, Julia, was born in 1859.  Then, the Underhills decided to move to Minnesota where another girl, Clara, was born in 1861.  Following her birth, the couple moved again, settling in
Menasha, Wisconsin. There, the Underhills lived on Canal Street.  Julia noted that it was a manufacturing town with lots of factories. 

Menasha, Wisconsin, 1870
Little Lake Butte des Mortes is in the distance.

Menasha, Wisconsin, 1870
Main Street looking east toward the Fox River and the boat landing.
Lake Winnebago is visible in the distance.

In Manasha, Leemon worked as a cooper.  Meanwhile, Julia made use of her education by teaching.  She made $1 per day at one of the schools.  She also studied German. (There is a heavy German influence in the Midwest.)

Julia indicated that they had a good life in Wisconsin.  But the family would soon face adversity when Leemon enlisted in Company D of the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery on November 6th, 1863.  After this battery mustered into Federal service the following day, he and his fellow soldiers were sent to New Orleans and thence to Fort Jackson where they performed garrison duty.

Fort Jackson in Buras, Louisiana

And now with her husband away, Julia was going to have to take care of herself and her two girls.  Leemon sent money home when he could.  And wives of volunteers were supposed to receive $5 per month from the state.  But she never received those funds.   Even though she mentioned several times how good her life was in Wisconsin, she indicated in a letter to her husband that things were changing and getting tougher.  People were apt to help a soldier's wife, she said, as long as the woman "tries to do what's right and carry her self straight."  But if a woman was branded with a bad name, nobody would assist her.

And Julia had to deal with strange men.  Her reaction?

"I give them hell every time."

 She told Lemon that every time she went out, there were "loafers" standing around that "eat up every woman with their eyes."  And one day, she met a man in the street who told her that he would like to get acquainted with her.  Julia's response:

  "Sir, if you have nothing to do, you had better enlist.  I don't wish to get acquainted with you.  You are too impudent."

Guess she told him.  Not surprisingly, the man didn't care for her rejection.  "He looked vinegar at me," Julia said.  Even though she was completely innocent, she perhaps worried that standing up to these men could result in false rumors being spread about her and her receiving a "bad name," undeservedly so.

 Not only do these responses provide a glimpse of Julia's feisty attitude, but she further revealed that town life in Wisconsin was getting to her.

  "I can['t] go out doors without being stared to death by a set of bloats (sic).  [D]amn a city or village to live in.  I am tired, tired of it."

She informed her husband of a plan for them to go to Massachusetts after he returned home from the war.  There, they could live with her aunts.  They were among only a few family members who had not disowned her and maintained contact with her.   These aunts had eleven acres, and Julia believed that country life would suit her much better.  She closed this letter to Leemon, dated April 8th, 1864, by noting that she included two postage stamps and that she had sent him $1.75.

Three months later, she sent a letter to Leemon, not from Menasha, Wisconsin, but from Lanesborough, Massachusetts.  Apparently, she could not wait for her husband to return from the war.  But she had mentioned to him a couple of times before about going to Massachusetts.  He had supported her and even suggested that she sell their belongings and move, which she did.

In this letter from Massachusetts, she included a likeness of herself, along with a question for her husband:

"Don't I make quite a good looking boy[?]"

Why did Julia disguise herself as a boy?  What was Leemon's reaction?  Click [HERE] for part two.


*A big thank you to Mr. David for sending me copies of these letters.  They are housed at the Minnesota Historical Society.


Until next formation....rest.