Big Patch may the seventh sixty five

 

New York       Dear sister I will write you a few lines in answer to that of Josaphene which came to hand in due time and we was glad to hear from you and to hear you was well I would much rather sit down and talk to you if you were hear but it seems to be my lot be alone not have any off you to live so that I can visit with you I thought many a time this winter if some of you could step in and see us it would be so acceptable you may depend we had a hard time of it and Jim poor fellow he look like some one lost he says he can get along through the day untill it begins to draw towards evening and then he begins to feel very lonely Jasper is at his granmother [?] at this time he is a very sweet little boy Jim says he wants me to keep him untill he gets large enough to wear pants and then he intends to have him with him may god be with them

 

hannah and [faded] was tolerable well the last we heard I have not seen them for some time when she was here the last time we were talking about the war being over and saying how hard it would to see the soldiers coming home and not see Jasper with them we both said we did not feel as we should not that we were sorrow to have others come but that he could not be with them it seems hard that Jasper [?] cannot come home with them but again on the other hand what they went and died for is gained that should be a comfort to us they are gone the way of all the earth we must live so that we can go to them for they can never come to us poor boys how we loved them we almost got your brother in the notion to come down to the funeral of our much loved and lamented / presidents but it was a bad time of the year for to leave home on account of farming and he gave out he said he would give it out until fall and then some of us would try and come if life and health would permit I want to see you all very bad we got a letter from lucy yesterday she says stuart has gone to pikes peak and little lucy wants george to come and bring her up here to go to school this summer whether he will go or not I do not know george is very unsteady this summer him and his uncle gets along very poorly I wish you would write him a letter and see if you can do him any good and dont let him know that I have said any thing about him to you.

 

we got a letter from anne father yesterday he was well and though he wanted soon to be at home and complained of not getting letters from any of the folks down there

 

tell Josaphene to be a good girl and go to school and learn all she can and that will be worth more to her than any thing else tell etta anne will start to school in a bout a week tell John Duncan to be a good boy and make lots of money and come and see us so I guess I will bring my letter to a close by saying to give our love to all brothers and sisters and keep a share for yourselves and do not forget to write soon and often and tell all the rest to write

 

we are all as well as usual

 

no more farewell for this time

Mary A Cabanis

SOURCES