Letter: Martha E. Bates to James Smith, February 13, 1871

SMITH, MATHEW, MOORMAN, MORMAN, FLANAGAN, BATES, WAYMOND

Posted By: Beth Johnston (email)
Date: 11/18/2001 at 09:58:19

This is one of several letters to James Smith and his wife Rebecca "Jane" Mathew Smith. James moved from Fountain Co., IN to Marion Co., IA in 1854. On 4 Jul 1854 James married Jane, who was a daughter of John Mathew and Lucinda Moorman or Morman Mathew. The Mathews had moved to Marion Co. from Ohio. James and Jane moved to Union Co., Oregon in 1864.

Envelope: Mailed from Attica, IA. To Mr. James Smith, Summerville PO, Union Co. Oregon

Feb 13 1871

Dear brother and sister I now seat myself to write to you a few lines I have been working to but it seemed like I could not write about mothers death I suppose some of the rest has wrote about it long ago she was taken sick on Thursday and died on Sunday evening the 25 of December last she had been as well as common but complained a little of her throat but eat supper harty and went to bed about 8 oclock and the next morning she could not talk but very little she never said but a few words after she was taken sick that we could understand the Doctor said that it was cold seteled in the tonsils of the throat she was buried here on the place her funeral will be preached the first Sunday in may I will send you some of her hair and some of her cap that she was burried in--father is as well as common except a bad cold and cough the rest of the connections is well as far as I know Thomas Flannagan [sic] [end of page 1] sold out last fall and went to Mousouri he was back her a[t] chrismas he seems to be well pleased with the country

well Jane I have wrote a little about the rest now I must write alittle about my children Bernice can read well in the fi[f]th reader she can write some and is a cipherer now but John L cant be learned much here he cant hear any I have been learning him some this winter to talk on his fingers but I have not sent him off to school yet well I must close for this time I want you to write soon we have had very cold weather for about a week there is more snow on now than there has been all winter there has not been as much cold weather as common but very changeable and dry till last wednesday there fell a snow about 8 inches and drifted like everything

no more at present

Martha E. [Mathew] Bates to James and Jane Smith
write soon

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Notes:
The hair and piece of cap Martha wrote of are with the letter.

Martha E. Mathew married (1) John A. Bates 16 Oct 1859, Marion Co., IA; (2) Edmund Waymond 21 Jan 1877, Marion Co., IA.