this letter was also found in the Indiana State Soldiers home pension files concerning the above telegram -

       Cataract, In.

                                                         12-17-1917

Mr. Goodrich.

Dear Sir:

       I beg of you the privelage of riting you againe as circumstances of late have brought about matters I think you should Kno I herewith enclose to you a short letter I recieved a fiew days since Mr. Canfield, Adgt. of the Home at Lafayette, Ind. together with his answer to the telegram my daughter - in - law sent him from Fredericktown, Mo. Notice the insolent and overbearing answer he gave me when I asked him why he did not give my daughter - in- law my last address.   Now Mr. Goodrich, as I believe and allmost know you are a true and steadfast friend to all of the soldiers of 1861 to 1865 and want to do justice to all of them and as I and my wife are alone included in this case, I will endeavor to give you a true   & full history of our life and treatment in the Home under the present officers of the Home.   In August 1901 my wife was admitted to the Home as the wife of John Bird, late of Co. X 80th Ind. Regiment and remained a faithful member untill her and I were married last March and I was admitted to the Home in September 1901 and have remained a faithful member since up to the present time, working almost continuley for the Home first in one capacity & then another up to Dining room Sargent myself a while & am truelly accquainted with about all the work in the Home & how it is done.   Now, last March I & my wife were maried while in the Home & the Board of Trustees at the behest of the commandant made a rule that if a man & woman got married that bared the woman from the Home for 2 years from the date of marriage but don't effect the man's membership any way. Now when we got married last spring they rulled her out and in the absence of Mr. Kehler last May, he was out to see his mother in Iowa about a month & the board gave the steward leeve to hire my wife as table waiter in the dining room & I was allso working in the dining room & bye the way we were both as good hands as ever worked in tere, not a word of fault or complaint against either one of us any way about our work. Well we worked on untill September & my wife got sick & I went to Col. Kehler and asked him to let me hire a substitute for her for a fiew days till she got better & he would not let me doe that & even forbid me helping her what spare time I had to spare form my work & told me that if she was sick and not able to do the work there was but one thing to doe & that was to get out & let some one else doe the work so I could doe nothing else but take a furlough & take her out & when I went out I wrote to my son & told him where I was & the letter was miss sent and went to the ded letter office & then came back to me.   You will notice how insolent he speaks of me when he says that was my buisness and not theres.   They had my address both at the Lieutenants office & the post office, the order I got from the corperal of Randiolph county Bldg stated just where I was going too and how long I was going for & that order is on file in the Lieutenants office to day, besides I left my address with the postmaster of the Home & they have forwarded several letters from there to me at this place, so when Mr. Canfield said that my whereabouts was unknown to the Home in plain English, he told a lie & thereby deprived me of attending my son's funeral when the Home had my address at 2 different places & could have called up ether place by phone & found out in a minute or two.   I can fully establish every word of this letter & my case is a light case compared to many others that has taken place there in the Home. Please return Mrs. Canfield's letter and the tellegram.   Now Mr. Goodrich I want to know if you can or will order the board over there at the Home to reenstate my wife as a member of the Home if you can & will, we would bee verry thankful to you for it as it is a bad time fore an old soldier & his wife to bee out. My wife lived with her former husband about 33 years & took ceare of him tell he died at 83 years old & he served about 4 years in the army.   I enlisted when I was not 16 years old   & I had 6 brothers and one brother - in - law in the Union armey, that is the kind of stock, I am.   Let me hear from you soon and abilge us. Respectfully yours, David H. McKee

Judith Elaine McKee Burns 

David Henry is my great great uncle