This letter was written by Caroline (Cameron) Craft (1808-Bef1880), a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. She was married to John Craft and lived in Quincy, Michigan.
Caroline wrote the letter to her parents John and Elizabeth Cameron, both born in 1789 in Scotland.
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TRANSCRIPTION
Addressed to Elizabeth Cameron, Naples, Ontario County, New York
[Quincy, Michigan]
March 28, 1843
Dear mother and sisters,
I take this present opportunity to inform you that we all enjoy very good health excepting John. His health is very poor. He has not been able to labor for two years but a very little. We have had a very warm winter. We have had at most five month sleighing. The snow has been from six to ten inches deep. We were all sick last fall. Elizabeth, William, Charles, and Jenett have all lost their hair. There was four months our beds was occupied. There was two sick all the time and sometimes three. I should have come there last summer if I could have raised money enough but it is well I could not. But I want you should tell Rice that he must send Jane home this summer without fail. We are about trading our farm off and going farther and we want her home before we go.
I have thought I would never see another letter because I expect you have got tired of reading them for we have not received but one letter from any of you in three years and this is the last you will hear from me without you try to write. If you have got above writing to poor folks. Send a line and we don’t trouble you. We have wrote three or four letters and not received an answer. I don’t expect that Jane can write for we have never seen a word that she has wrote, but if she can, I want her to write and let us know if she wants to come home. Her father says if she does and can’t get money, he will sell his last cow to get her home. He says that he never would have left her but he expected that they would send her as they agreed.
The children have all been to school this winter. Jenett and Mary Ann studies geography, grammar, and writing. Elizabeth studies phrenology, astronomy, geography, grammar, and writing and arithmetic. She taught school last summer and I don’t know but she take the same school this summer if her health will permit. Now, I must fetch my letter to a close. But do write if you have any respect for us. We have not forgot you, if you have us. The children send their love to you all. Give my love to all of our friends if we have any and my love to you all.
No more at present, but remain your friend and child, — Caroline Craft
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