Rochester April the 3^rd 1864

 

            My Dear Aunt:

                                    It is with the greatest pleasure I now sit down to address you it has been a long time since we have heard from you. I suppos you have been wateing to hear from us, as there was a letter you due. well I have thought of you very offten this winter, wonderd how you were passing the lonley hours away & wished that I could see you. “well,” I will give you a sketch of the way we have passed the winter. to begain with when pa came home from your house I was sick & we all had a little stranger in the familey to introduce to him. yes I have an nother little daughter she will be 4 months old the 11 of this month she is smart & healthy. tiney is also healthy & growes finley. she talks very much she talked when she was a year old. I have wanted to write to you before but now I have tow babys to take care of I have / but very little time to write. Horace has been home this winter for a furlough. he has reinlisted. he wished me to remember him to you & send you his photograph he had some taken when he was home. he had a long furlough it was 30 days & it was extended 11 days longer on acout of his being sick. he was taken sick the day he got home he was attackd with the typhoid fever and was very sick but we broke the fever up so he got up in a short time. then he had the diphtheria and was very sick again but he was quite well when he went back. we have had one letter since he returned. he was well & arived there safe he is now in Newbern N. C.

 

                                                                                                Tuesday Evening April 5

I will now make an nother attempt to write. it usualy takes me 2 or 3 evenings to writeing a letter for the evening is very near spent in getting the babys to sleep. we have had a good deal of sickness this past winter “ma” has had the diphtheria & Hattie Johney Nelia & Lutia was very sick indeede. ma is very much / trobled with lameniss & has been for the past 3 or 4 months. the doctor sais it is paralysis she is some better now than she has been. “Pa” has been afflicted with sore eyes they have been very painfull at times but they are a little better now. he is very well otherwise. we are antisipating very much on a visit from you next summer I do hope nothing will happen to prevent you from coming. I shall try to have “ma” goo home with you to visit Granma. do write what month we may look for you. Oh we will have such nice times when you come ma & I talk of it very much. we will go all over the city to visit all the playces of interest. we have street cars on all of the princepull streets which makes it very conveiant they pass our dore every ten minutes. I had a letter from Hattie Wait the other day she is keeping house but hir health is very poor yet. she has never taken cair of hir baby it will be 7 months / old the 18^th of this month. she thinks she will have it home in a short time if she gets a good girl. we expect she will make us a short visit this summer. well I cannot think of much more to write if I could see you I could talk of many things that I have not time to write about. to tell the truth I do not feele like writeing at all this evening for I have a very heavy cold on my lungs & I feele allmost sick I think I will “nus” up a little & go to bead. give my love to “mary” & hir little boy & allso hir husband I would like very much to see them. do you think they will ever visit us. I rearly wish they would. Pa & ma, Eddy & all the children send their love to you & all the rest. how is little Franky does he grow much. Pa tells us he is a very good boy & I am very glad that he is what a blessed comfort he must be to you. with much love I remain Your niece Nellie. do write soon to tell us when you will come

 

[front margin]

we have a letter from

Cousins Daniel & Betsy

which is yet unsu[?]d

when you see them

pleas give my love

to them & say that

Nellie has not forgoten

theme. how is ther

boy & who does he

resemble his Papa

or his mamma.

& how is daniels

health when he wrote

he had a very bad

cough & sore throte

is he better.

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