Two Civil War era letters with connections to Westbrook sold for just $23.78 on eBay Sunday.
Westbrook Historical Society President Donna Conley was able to find some information on the letters in books in the organization’s museum on the second floor of the American Legion hall on Dunn Street.
The first letter is postmarked Aug. 27 in Portland, though no year is apparent. “Cap Thomas I feel very grateful to you to take henry under your kind care he is a very good boy very kind I hope you will bee blest in all your undertakings,” reads a letter signed by Lettice Larrabee.
In a brief search through documents on file at the historical society, Conley couldn’t find any references to Lettice Larrabee. She did, however, find a Henry Larrabee, who was born in 1845 and died in 1921 and was buried in Pinegrove Cemetery, an old portion of Evergreen Cemetery in Portland.
That area of Portland used to be part of Westbrook. Conley believes the Henry Larrabee buried in Evergreen Cemetery would have been the right age – 17 in 1862 – for enlistment in the service during the Civil War.
Conley found little information on the second letter, which is signed by “S.L. Libby, Selectman of Westbrook,” and dated Sept. 3, 1862.
The letter is addressed to Andrew Hawes, “Orderly Sergeant of Co. B,” and is giving Hawes an apportionment of 16 men from Westbrook.
Conley said the historical society relies on people donating documents like the letters to build up its collections, but she said many Civil War buffs pay top dollar for documents relating to the time. She was surprised to see a document on eBay with an opening bid of just $14.95, and guessed it would sell for much more.
Messages sent to the seller, who lives in Massachusetts, went unreturned, and eBay doesn’t allow messages to be sent to buyers.
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