Nashville Ind Sept 1^st

 

Miss Mollie Wood

Wood Farm

Madison County Ill.

                                   

Friend Mollie

I am all alone at my Farthers house & I cannot avoid regreting my precipitancy in leaving Illinois so abruptly & before learning the fate or wherther the reports about my poor unfortunate husband were all true. But alas regrets are useless & vain now. If John has been wronged again, as he has in a measure I am confident, been misrepresented, why God alone will have to forgive the authors, for I never can. There are persons in this world who profess Christianity & wear its garb who do not possess one atom of Christian charity for the faults of others. I have not heard since I bid you farewell one word of my / husband, & I should have had some intelligence surely by this time; I was hurried off on the morning after I left your Mothers, at an early hour took the St Louis Terre Haute & Indianapolis cars at Alton Junction at 9 Oclock AM, & came through that day—at least I reached Columbus at 9 Oclock that night. Only stoped in Indianapolis about 20 minuets, to change cars. Oh! how miserable I felt & feel yet, the uncertainty of my husbands fate & whereabouts, & circumstances which my own knowledge & judgement teaches me is most miserable. If living, believing himself deserted by his only & best earthly friend his wife. But Oh! Mollie, What? else could I do but seize the first offer of available relief that presented itself & return where at least I could have shelter & food without cost? or being & object of charity, from strangers, & in a strangers land, a deserted woman apparently, without money & without / friends, I was utterly confused & confounded, & was like the blind groping in the dark, knew not which way to turn. I had not even means enough at in my possession to admit my seeking information from those who could[faded] doubtless have informed & told me the truth, my husbands nephews at St Louis. But no the wife of my brother who dislikes John & me because of our political differences, fumed & went off in such tantrums, until my brother almost driven to frenzy, prosed that I should seek my home immediately, he procuring the means & I was not permitted to write to William Cox at East St Louis to seek informations. Since I returned home my Father received a letter from my brother, in which he mentions the fact of there being a letter from William Cox my nephew, to me in his possession, informing me where my unfortunate husband was. It arrived I presume the day after I / left Alton. he did not tell me any of its contents, but said he would send it the next day as he had not time then. I see there was design in it all. I have not received the letter yet, nor do I ever expect to not if his wicked & vindictive wife can prevent it. I have not felt like doing any thing since I returned, hence I have not writen about George's affairs yet but will let him know within this month. I was so utterly confused & oppressed when I left your house that I said & did things which was wrong I forgot to make any provisions for my wash bill, which I am ashamed of I never thought of it until after I reached home & had time to think over what had been done & said. I will send the amount of my bill to tilla Ballenger, to you & you can pay it to her. Oh! Mollie If my husband should come to your house for my sake treat him kindly for he has always been unfortunate & more sinned against than sinning. let him know his Father died the day after we left Nashville while we were yet in Terre Haute & they would not let him know it. If you or James know where he is please inform him of the circumstances tell James Wood or Paul to oblige me by so doing write to Mollie & tell me every thing you know or have heard respecting my husband I will write more next time please give my love to your kind mother & my respects to your brothers & sisters.

                                                           

Your Friend Sara E Cox

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