E. R. Fawcett - 1856-08-15

Dear Sister
            Your very acceptable favor of the 23rd Ult. came to hand but a few days ago.  I acknowledge that I am to blame for the long intermissions in our corrispondence, but the fact that I have so little other use for my pen is one of my best excuses for my apparent carelessness about keeping up a corrispondence, added to this, and a dozzen other excuses, we live a long way off the road where things go on with a wonderfull sameness, consequently it is very hard to stump up any thing worth sending in a letter all the way to Missouri, but an occurance, a few days ago had got me up to the writing point just at the time your letter arrived.
             You are right in thinking that we are proud of our little ones.  Our oldest is named Frances Scott (after his uncle) he is now over six years old, is as good looking and seems to have as many brains as usually falls to the fortune of boys.  Our little girl is over three years old, one of the most interesting & sprighly little things I ever saw, to judge from present appearances she will out shine her brother in a few more years, but probably she will learn in half the time and forget in a fourth, as is not unfrequently the case with sprightly children.  Her name is Bransonia, after our Dear Brother Branson, She frequently remindes me of you, in her short figure,  short hand with broad palm, and short quick step, there is a resemblance in what is peculiar to the Fawcetts, her temper is very much like our sister Net’s use to be when she was called Betty Brooks a long—long time ago.  I have no doubt you reccollect the original old Betty.  She was the same that made that sage remark, while your beauty was under consideration that “pretty is as pretty does”.  Our little Sissa, as evry boddy calles her, is a great pet but now will have to make room for another brother who made his personal appearance on the 30th of last month.  He is not very large but has good strong lungs, could tickle Willis to death if he is as fond of the cry of a baby as he used to be, when he said that “Since he had learned that crying was good for the childes lungs” it was music to his ear.  I have listened to it at the dark hour of midnight when evry thing else was hushed in sleep, the hour that music is most charming, but in spite of evry thing I must believe our brother was over straining his politeness when he made the remark to the babys mother.  I had thought to call this new comer Robert McMahon, after our friend of that name, but Ann reminds me that we had called our first Elizabeth Roberteen which was intended to please Sister & Bob, this being considered a good reason for passing that name.  Ann proposed and contended that it should be named Joseph Curtis, after our good Father & Brother, it has been so addopted.  His hair is a light red collor, not quite so deep an aubern as our little sister Lucretia’s, his eyes are a deep blue, shine like they had been freshly varnished.  All three of our children have very pretty blue eyes.  Sissa’s hair is very light with a little of the red tinge.  Frank’s is now most white, but is of that kind that turns darker as he grows older, in this respect as well as in other ways he resembles his mother more than the other children.
            I am glad to learn that Niles has returnd from Australia, it must be inhabited by the scum of the world, a large delegation from California, with a good sprinkle of vilians from all other quarters of the globe, added to Botany Bay comes near being a grand mass meeting of all that is mean this side of the blue blazes.  I hope Niles will get to Texas and settle down for life, he may do well there, but a man without capital must undergo a great many privations.  Willis deserves a fortune for his perseverance and he would have made it before this if he had remained at one thing.  Bob McMahon is now rising triumphantly at Gainesville, after having waded through trouble upto his chin.  When he dies he will probably leave a good little fortune to his children.  Old dame fortune ought to favor Bob, if she selects for the deserved.
            In your letter, you favored me with the names of the children of our sisters & brothers-in-law, it is the very thing I have wanted for a long time.  I am up to this time ignorant of the names of Willis’ child, please let me know their names and give me the Fawcett & Keyes pedegree as far back as you can go, let me know, if you can, what country the stock emigrated from to the united states.
            My health is now better than it has been, the ballance of the family are well, but we are subject to attacts of intermittant fevers in various shapes.  About six months ago, Ann was attacted with cold and a fever, which settled in one of her eyes, at one time it was thought she would loose it but after polticing a great deal & lancing several times, it subsided into a small running sore on the upper lid, which has been sometimes painfull but generally remaines at about the same in appearance.  I believe the Doctors are unable to tell what it is.  When the Mobile & Ohio Rail Road is completed it will require but a short times to visit from Missouri to Mississippi, the cars now pass within seven miles of us, in favorable weather we can distinctly hear them going North and south.  Give my love to our sisters and our Brothers McCluer and Gauss and all the little Gauss’ & McCluers’s.  Ann & her mother join me in sending our love to you.

Ever affectionately your brother  E.R.Fawcett

I intended to send “The Richmond Dispach” bit it is missplaced.  I may find it, it contains a glowing account of Stanton and the Va Springs R Roads -- E
 

Note from Bill Fawcett (William Bloys Fawcett, Jr), e-mail, 10-4-1998:
        By elimination this letter was almost certainly sent to his sister Virginia. Frances Scott Fawcett-my great grandfather-was named after E.R. Fawcett's wife (Ann Elizabeth Pride Hill) brother-Frances Scott who owned a huge plantation complex (including blacksmiths, sawmill, tannery, grist mill as well as fields) just SE of DeKalb. I have made contact this his great-grandson, who tells me the plantation house burned in the early 1900s.  Elizabeth Roberteen Fawcett died shortly before this letter was written.  They did later name a son, Robert McMahon Fawcett. Curtis Fawcett was a sailor out of Philadelphia and died in Panama. Niles Fawcett left MO in spring of 1850 and traveled to Califronia gold fields by way of Texas.  His step-grandmother's daughter married James Reed, of Donner party  fame-so he knew about the evils of the northern (Oregon trail) route. He did not find gold in CA so he went to Australia. Returned to MO ca. 1856, then joined brothers, Willis and Benj Keyes Fawcett in central Texas where they herded sheep.  Robert G. McMahon owned the biggest hotel in Gainesville, a major river/steamboat port on the Tombigbee river, in Sumter County, Ala. He did become very wealthy.  E.R. Fawcett showed great interest in his ancestry & wrote the brief history (updated by Carl C. Fawcett) included as intro to my book.  The only other letter I have by E.R. was written on the brith of their youngest, Erasmus Keyes Fawcett, just after the Civil War. It reports the death of Niles at 2nd Manassas. Shortly after the War, E.R. & Ann moved their family to Gonzales County TX-joining his borthers Wills & B.K. Fawcett in sheep business. Within a yr they both died, leaving Frank & Brancie to raise their younger siblings. Willis lived nearby in Yorktown with his second wife (from MA & an abolitionist) but did not assist them much.