[body of letter]
Portland, May 20 1845
My dear little daughter,
I suppose it will be pleasant to you to receive a letter from your father, even though I have time to
write but a few lines. You don't know how much pleasure it gave us to hear from you by dear
sister Mary, and to learn that you had got well under way at school. Hope you will be very
attentive and dilligent at study, and make great progress in learning. Hope also when I come to
Bangor a month or two hence to hear your sweet notes on the pianoforte accompanied by that
pleasant little voice.
How happy it must make you, as you are away from dear father & mother to have sister Mary & Elizabeth and bro William with you, and so much around you that is desirable.
We had a pleasant visit at John's and things looked finely there.
Cousin Julia and Abby Caroline are here now having some dresses made. Julia at Mr. Baker's and Abby at Mr. ?Craian's. They both slept at our house last night and breakfasted with us.
Sister Martha is very unwell and mother staid with her all day Saturday. Her girls run away Friday evening and did not get back until Monday morning. Mother got very tired taking care of her and the children, but rested on the Sabbath and is now quite comfortable.
I expect to go to Boston in a few days and think I shall take your Mother and Martha with me and leave them while I go to New York. I think it will do them both good. Perhaps they will go on to NY with me.
I hope my little daughter will not forget that tho in the midst of friends and enjoyments she is a sinner against God, and must repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or she cannot go to Heaven. You must give your heart to the Saviour and love him above all other beings or you will not be fitted to be with Him forever in his Holy Kingdom. My dear child, we all, your father & mother, your brothers & sisters feel much for you, and pray much for your salvation. We cannot bear to have you left behind in the world of woe. We all hope to go to Heaven, the abode of everlasting joy & blessedness. Will our dear Julia Annah be absent there, go with the enemy and dwell with him in that wretched abode which was prepared for the devil and wicked spirits. O my dear little daughter, give your heart to Christ now while it is an accepted time and day of Salvation.
from your affectionate father
[note on side of first page] Give my love to dear Sister Mary & bro Wm. I cannot write them to
day.
[body of letter]
Portland [ME] Dec 24/[18]46
My precious dear little Daughter
I am happy in wishing you a happy Christmas and a joyfull New Year. May you receive many
tokens of the love, and affection of your dear friends, at the commencement. And may your
conduct, be such, as to prove you worthy of such favors, but may you this year give your heart, to
your Saviour, who died, to purchase all your blessings.
Thus prays your dear mother.
[body of letter]
Portland Oct 27 1853
My dear daughter,
We have your letter of 25th with a line from John. Your mother has been quite sick since I wrote
last, and for the last two or three days has not been fit to be out of her room and has been getting
worse & worse every day. We have administered the most effective remedies. Her cough was
very hard, tight and almost incessant last evening. I had strong fears that nothing would save her
from a lung fever. She used Aconitum during the PM & evening and at seven or eight o'clock I
put her feet in hot water, warmed her bed and she at length began to perspire. Her cough
loosened and today she raises pretty freely and I hope she will now escape a fever.
She is quite feeble however and I do not like to leave her long at a time. I do not know that she has ever had a more severe time with a cold. I have had to watch and nurse her night and day beside doing the work, and taking care of my business which is at this time very pressing, demanding much attention, as I have three books now in process of publication.
The work on the house is nearly through for the present. The painters are there today and I hope to get regulated in a few days. Under all these circumstances, and other considerations which must suggest themselves to your open mind involving our reputation, and yours and Elizabeth's. Remarks like the following are already made. Why does Miss H. remain at Boston when she is sick and needs her so much, and her husband has to stand nurse, cook and housemaid? How can Julia stay away for her own pleasure, when all the impulses of an affectionate heart would urge her home to her suffering parents and especially to administer to the comfort of her sick mother. And how can she retain a sister at such an inconvenience of her mother.
Under these considerations I say I shall submit the question to your own sense of duty, and the promptings of your own affectionate heart. What these dictate to you, that do.
I suppose that in your mother's last letter to you she made a remark or two under a misapprehension which she derived from some remarks in your previous letter to her, the legitimate construction of which was that you found yourself in need of some "fixing up" before winter, as is usually the case with young misses and indeed almost every person, involving the necessity [of] a considerable expenditure and that you would be obliged to work very hard, even beyond your ability, at a certain business in which you had engaged in order to provide the funds. Your mother stated to you that she needed you at home most of the time and that while you remained at home she would allow you the whole of the dollar a week making $52 a year for your own expenses. This I concurred in, as the increase of my business and hopeful prospects I thought fully justifyed me in doing.
Your mother called your attention to another source of means to supply all your necessary expenses which was contained in one of John's letters to her which she knew his noble spirit would fulfill. We knew too much of John's liberal heart and free hand to induce in us any suspicion that he would not be disposed to do even more than he had given you reason to expect.
We have no objection to your earning all that you can by your own industry in any such way as you are now engaged in, or any other respectable employment which you can engage in so far as your health and your duty to your parents will permit.
As to the Thanksgiving visit, I very much desire it, if circumstances will allow. I do not think however that it will do for me and Wm both to be absent at that time. I shall have to go to Boston about that time and if the Rail Road Co. have a half price Thanksgiving excursion, as have to fare, I hope your mother and I will be able to go but it is still doubtful.
Love to you all including little Jonnie of course.
Your affectionate father, William Hyde
[note on back] Friday morning 28th Your mother is better this morning but not able to be down in the kitchen or to do anything yet except very light work. I have the house work to do yet. But I hope now she will be about house again next week.
I notice several expressions in your letter to your mother which I was not pleased with. "John is not made of money." We did not need to be informed of this. I suppose I am somewhat aware of his pecuniary circumstances and although I trust he is now doing a pretty fair business, still he has a family to provide for, and I certainly do not wish him to provide for you. That belongs to me to do, and I am both able & willing to do it as long as my life and business capacities are continued.
But the duties of Parents and children are reciprocal. It is equally your duty, willingly, cheerfully, affectionately and efficiently to render us your services, administer to our comfort in the decline of our life, and especially to find your happiness in depriving yourself of your most cherished personal gratifications, to promptly respond to the calls of duty and affection to us, in nursing and comfprting us when we are prostrated by sickness or by overwhelming cares.
I do not mean by anything I have said to intimate that we are unwilling you should visit your sisters occasionally, and especially if any of them at any time are sick and need your services. It is our pleasure to have you do so. We have manifested it many times, have even let you go when we needed you at home very much, and have never summoned you home again until we found we could do without you no longer.
You say also in your letter to your mother you say "Brother John considers me given to him" This is something that is new to me. I am not aware of any transfer of proprietorship, or any relinquishment on our part of our claim to your services, your confidence or your affection. I have no doubt at all but he would provide for you most freely & liberally if such transfer were made. I know his generous spirit. But I do not feel quite willing yet to give away either of my unmarried children in any other way than that in which I have given those that are married and have no particular desire to do it in that way at present.
You cannot now come home until next week and I will try to get along a few days longer. Probably your mother will then be able to do most of the kitchen work, but it will be absolutely necessary for her to have your help in putting the rooms in order again, which are now in perfect confusion, and must remain so until you get home.
If your mother can spare you again during the winter I know she will do it if Lissies health should require it. I notice one thing in the character of your letters to mother which grieves me much, the absence of any warm hearted expressions of tender affection, such as the other sisters always use. I do not want expressions without feeling but I do like both.
Your affectionate father
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Some other letters to Julia Anna2 (Hyde) Richardson (#5) (there are also some from her husband
under his name)
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[body of letter]
Bangor Aug 16th 1887
My dear Aunt Julia,
By the time you receive this I suppose you may be at home again. I hope the change gave you at
least a rest from your ordinary cares and duties. How I wish you were nearer so that you could
have a share of our beautiful air and coolness part of the summer. It is true that we can be hot
even here on the hill and suffer accordingly but the time of oppressive heat is short and now we
have most elegant weather with nights & mornings fresh and cool & only an hour or two warm
for work or excersise out doors. The fresh things begin to come too and taste so good, potatoes,
apples, corn and cucumbers.
Mary has been away now for quite a vacation and Grandma has been well since the ill-turn I wrote about that I have really had quite a rest. She has dressed & undressed without help for a week and waited on herself in her room as she has never since the sickness of a year ago. She has just gone with my arm to call on the next door neighbors to call on the pretty young woman upstairs and sit half an hour. She went by Mrs. Goodwin's invitation last week with Mrs. Farnharm to the old ladies home. Mrs. Fletcher was at mother's spending the day but she called on several others and enjoyed it very much and was not nearly so tired as either of the others.
I wish I could give as favourable a report of ma but she is very poorly, very faint and much pain in back of head and neck and as Sept. has always seemed the worst time I fear it may be so again. Still she has had no ill-turns and rides out half an hour nearly every day.
Mrs. Crosby has made us a little visit which grandma enjoyed very much. She came Wed. night and went to Sleasborns on the coast this morning. She would be glad to do something for herslef and I I hope may stay here in Bangor where she has many friends.
Dear Mary spent last week in Portland and went from there to Chelsea as they were very desirous to have her and it was so much nearer I thought I better spare her another week to make the visit. I am just letting extras go till her return.
She has a perfect horror of nurses and I tried to take care of her myself with Mary's help but it was too much for me and I don't think it would be possible for me to do it again. My strength is heavily taxed all the time and I have little reserve and Mary less. You need not think of the dear child as doing anything else than helping me care for these aged pilgrims from day to day, keeping them comfortable as may be. It takes all our efforts and the care is constant.
If Mary were not such a reliance I don't know how I could get along for I often fail myself for a day or two, but she is never cross, never selfish, never too tired or sick to do anything if she possibly can and is altogether lovely; however, she has not been at all well this summer, has had spells of nausea when any mental effort was attempted which is quite new for her and shows that she needs no more study until stronger. If I could I should go with her to some place where we could rest & get toned up but as that is impossible I think housework, if not too much of it, is better than many other things.
One little girl recites to her every day and when there is no special sickness we seem to get along quite well. Father D. continues to be very busy and can give little time to anything but "minutes." Ma is better than some summers but has suffered from the cold wet weather when she could not get out. Today is lovely.
Will spent his last recess in Boston, spent the night with Julia Foster, called on Aunt M. & Cousin John. Freeman's family were all away for a little change in C's vacation. He was much disappointed. Called on John Fletcher but did not see C.R.F. or Katie - in fact found several other friends away.
What a severe ill-turn Emma had. It was very alarming. Glad your letter was delayed to say Frank was better for we should have felt very anxious about him.
We were very glad to hear such favorable news from Mr. R. Hope he may be preserved & returned safely. Much love to Annie. Does F wear his spectacles all the time. Such eye-invalids as we have all about us. One of Mary's classmates just F's age comes to see her with dark blue glasses. My mother & sister Nellie have gone to Kennebunk. We felt great anxiety about the trip but she stood it well and the brother from Prov. met them. In all now living, two sisters, two brothers were together a day or two.
With love, E.L.D.
I am glad to tell you we continue in a good measure of health. Of course all have their ups & downs but are on the whole very well. I have had a two day headache this week, not an infrequent occurance but had the house in good order and food on hand so that by getting the big ironing done have been able to get along. Father D is taking his turn of bad cold on his lungs but is able to keep about in the house and had [a] good rest last night after I prepared him a mug of strong hot lemonade.
Yesterday we had a great snow storm and today the wind holds high level. The sunshines & the sky is blue & cloudless if we can see it, but all the air is a blinding sheet of drifting snow. Mary went to school this AM, her father carrying her all wrapped up and with shawl over her head and at noon she rode in the 'bus. The drifts in the driveway are over one's head and Mr. Griffen has just come up, looked the house over front & back &, despaired of entrance, has gone some where perhaps lost in a snow drift.
My dear sister Sue has utterly failed at last. Has been on her bed almost three weeks with little hope of speedy recovery. Nellie takes care of the family has best she can. Mr. Noble is much better and able to help. The only wonder is that she, so frail, has held out so long.
I hope you do not take undue anxiety about grandma's affairs. She is very trustful and so am I. At her age all is very uncertain and she may not need more than she has, which will last till the middle of April. I know that the burden of care and expense has been long bourne by your family and you have been very thoughtful and kind to us all and I know all as far as they have ability are ready to do for her. Above all, the Lord is rich if we are not and we have abundant reason to trust him.
I thought the nurse a great expense to us for almost seven weeks but it was all made up to us in unexpected ways. Aunt M. sent Mary's winter dress, you her flannels & other things, etc. I am able to do with very little help this winter, only the washing most of the time & have my good old Mrs. Mullen who comes in 'bus.
I suppose you received the cards from the west. Lizzie F.R. married Feb 17. Mrs. Goodwin is very attentive, calls most every week for a long call in Grandma's room.
I must close with much love from all to all. Ma has been out to ride twice this week half an hour from 1:15 to 2 P.M. right from the dinner table. With love, Emma.
© 1998 Shirley York Anderson