1007 West Main St,
Richmond, VA
August 31st
Envelope is addressed to
Miss Xenia M.A. SMITH, Winchester, Randolph County, Indiana (Note on envelope –
answered August 28, 1888)
Postmarked at Richmond,
VA Sept 1, 1887
Dear Miss SMITH:
I really do feel ashamed
of my self that I have not written to you long ere this, but time passes so
rapidly that a year goes by & I find so much left undone that I really
intended to do. We had not forgotten
you by any means, of the promis to write to you & it was in July that I
reminded Jennie that it was time for one of us to write to Miss SMITH. She is but a very poor correspondent & I
knew that I could not depend on her so I knew that if I wrote it would just the
same to you. But before I did your
letter came to remind me of my negligence & now I shall try & write you
a long letter to pay for it. It is as
you say just a year since our dear Mother left us & does seem that I miss
her more & more each day. As far
back almost as I can remember she had been may own particular care, for her
afflications made her seem to one very dependent & pitiful. After I grew older I realized each year more
& more how greatly she loved me & how in all her many sicknesses, necessary
I was to her comfort. I was strong
& could lift her about. I had great
power of endurance & could with assistance always hold out through her
longest spells to nurse & her & it seemed a great comfort to her. I did feel then that I was of some use in
the word, that there was something for me to live for. I know that there have been times that I may
have worried her, but on the whole my conscience tells me that I have nothing
to regret as regards my Mother. Her
last words (I mean during her last sickness) are very precious to me & I
treasure them as a valuable legacy & it was all the reward I wanted to hear
her say, “I love you very much my child you always next to your Father”. I sat beside her with her hand clasped in
mine & watched her as she painfully breathed her life away & as I laid
down her poor tired hand all the light seem to go out of life for me. Of course I feel greatful that she was
spared me so long, but I miss her every day, tho I am learning by degress to do
with out her. I was out of town Sunday
but Allie & Frank went to her grave & carried beautiful flowers &
Monday I went & Added more. I take
charge of her grave & try to keep it always with fresh flowers, tho for
some reason she requested that there would be no flowers used at her funeral.
After Mama died Allie
took the old home & Pa lived on there with him & his wife. Jennie is a lovely character & is as
kind to Pa as possible & I know he is as happy there as he could be
anywhere. I think he has failed very
much during the past year, but has still good health for one of this age. You know he has worked hard all his life
& does not seem to know how to stop now that he is old, altho it is not
necessary for him to do so. He still
takes a great interest in his Church work & that is his only interest out
side of his business & his children.
Allie & Jennie are both well & allie is in a good business. Their boy of course we are all drooled to
& he deserves all the attention he gets.
We had made great plans for his future & we pictured him a great
man, but the good Lord paid his hand on him this summer & now the way seems
dark before us. He had taken the
scolarship at school this year & the prize attending it, which was $50
& as he was looking badly & as a reward for his hard study his Mother
took him to N.Y. for a visit. You may
imagine the pleasure that would give to such a boy, but alas! The day after his arrival there while at
play a little girl entirely accidentally put out his eye with a knife. It was a
week before we could move him home & it has been six weeks in all since it
occurred & his eyes are still bandaged.
At first there was great fear of loosing both eyes, but now we feel some
of one eye & may in time be may see a little out of the other, but at best
he will be disfigured for life, our beautiful bright eyed boy! At first he suffered agonies but now not all
& bears it like a hero. He is pale
& thin now that the Dr. lets him go out he begins to grow stronger. Of course he will not be able to go to
school for a year, but his health to the point in question now. Do you remember my brother Frank? He is the handsome one of the family. He is quite large & is very dignified
& we think very wise looking. He
married before Mama died & has two children, his oldest a boy “Cary” &
his other a girl called “Lucy” after Mama.
We like his wife very much indeed.
He lives two down from Pa & I live just two squares away. So you see we still all keep together.
Dr. Read is still alive
& looks as well as he ever did tho I believe his health is poor &
mentally he grows weak. He is till
pastor of the same church but has an assistant who does all of the work.
Dr. Hoge seems as
vigorous as in former days & preaches if any better than every he did &
stronger still continues to hold the hearts of the people of all denominations.
Miss Nannie, who is now
Mrs PAULLIN lives in ? Ala, but I do not correspond with her. Allie I think writes to her & the last I
heard of her she was well & I believe still teaching school.
Uncle PERRIN lives on at
the old home in West Dedham, Mass. He
is an old man now & greatly broken in health. A few years since he was almost killed by the cars & he never
really recovered from it & since Mama died he has had two shocks of
paralysis. When I was there last
December his mind did not seem clear & it made me feel cread fully to see
him. I feared it would affect him
seeing me, for he was so devoted to Mama, but he did not seem to mind it all
& did not refer to her in any way.
Very likely her death may have helped to weaken him. Both Aunts that you inquire after live near
me. One only a square away. aunt Jennie, she married a Mr. DICKERSON
& has six children. They are
comfortably well off & their two sons have the promise of doing well in
life. Aunt Mary’s husband is very poor
& they live as the great mass of people do. I cannot tell you much of her as I see but little of her. She has three children. No, I have never visited Niagara, but would
like so much to do so. I can imagine
what a grand sight it must be. The most
of my travelling has been north to my Mothers relations. I know but little even of Virginia.
Now I am sure you must
be tired of me by now, but I hope I have answered your questions satisfactory,
but I now what a good writer my Mother was & my letters will seem lame to
you after her. Write to me again when
you have the time & i will always take great pleasure in answering your
letters.
Most truly yours,
Hannah JACOB WEISIGER
Address, Mrs. W. H.
WEISIGER
1007 W Main Street,
Richmond, VA
Newspaper clippings of
memorial notices including:
Mrs. Frank WILLIAMS died
May 31, 1886
Ottilla Ida Schuchardt
died May 12, 1886
Mrs. Matilda ARLINGTON
sister of Mrs. H.P. KIZER of Louisville, KY
Mrs. Mollie WILCOX died
May 2, 1887
Poem “My Mother’s Voice”
by M.W. Frazer
This letter and the newspaper clippings are in the possession of Shelley Cardiel
She is hoping to locate someone from this family, to pass on these treasures.
If you are descendants of the people mentioned in this letter, please contact Shelley.