1846 Letter (Transcription – to the best of my ability; the tape was applied by my grandmother or great-grandmother)
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West Chester Penn Sept. 13th. 1846
Respected Sister,
I sit down to write you a few lines with a deep and heart felt sorrow, such as no language can detail, and indeed I feel myself at a loss how even to approach the subject upon which I am about to address you; that is our family affairs, if we may in any sense be yet ?termed? or family, divided, alienated and disgraced as we are by our divisions in the eyes of all the world. You cannot imagine with what shame and grief, I saw the parts you took in the affair last summer when you were up. You said that after Mother’s death ? my ? Mother ? gave up all for lost. Well now when you gave father the advice you did to give up the farm and move over to Downingtown what good could you expect either himself, or any of his children to derive from that. You knew he had a woman with him who was a wretched creature, who had married him at a time of life when no virtuous and fair minded woman could have thought of such a thing, at least under all the circumstances and that the hope of plundering him and his children of a portion of his property was certainly all that induced her to take the course she did. And when you came there and saw me there poor and wretched, with my poor little son with me, you deliberately advised a course which was to throw me and my little son – and your poor sister out of doors to accommodate the Baldwins and to put your poor old ?father? in his ?failed? and ? in the hands of those ?unprincipled? ?miscreants? the ? I was not living upon, neither did expect or desire to live upon the old man’s charity – I worked all I could and strove to do all I could for his interest and that of the whole family, but alas! His want of principle and of fatherly feeling for me pout it out of my power to do as much as I might have done. I hoped when you came up that time that you would have had the good sense to see and understand how matters stood, and that you would have talked matters over with Rebecca and myself as brother and sister should have talked, and seeing that the poor old man was not fit to manage his own affairs.
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Poor brother there, able and willing to look after all his affairs particularly when it gave that poor brother a home for himself and his son at the same time. I cannot imagine why it was you advised the course you did, ? you feared to trust me there for fear I would make something of the old man – yet it appears you were willing to advise him to go where he has gone, and that too into the hands of unprincipled strangers who have already robbed him of much, and will if they can take all. I never yet in all my life have seen anything to equal this affair – you and ? and Deb urging the old man to leave his old house, to throw your brother and sister out of doors for fear we would get some-thing off the old man – and at the same time you would ? ? ? ? ? ? ? and who was making hundreds of dollars by cheating him out of his rent, and by plundering off the place – ? of the other villain who is yet in the old house in which I lived, and does not, and never will pay the rent. I am informed to-day, that the old man is about to sell the farm, if he has not already done it, and that at about half price, and that to one who I have therefore considered a friend to the family – that is to Ned Shields – who has been running after Deb for some time upon the same principle that Jossy Darlington went after little yellow half witted patty ? ? know the old man is neither fit now to buy or sell property – and if I live – if God spares one life and strength – I will endeavor to make it a very dear ? ? ? ? ? who ? to take ? of his weak?, to rob the family – mark these words. It seemed so strange that you should have started ? to have the old man “make a change” and leave his old home, as soon as I went there – had I ever wronged him or you? Or any of the family – who dare charge me with such a thing.
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There are ? of Phebe ?Persy? and the children and legal representatives of Joshua ?Persy? died. ? I give and bequest to my beloved wife ? did and to my three daughters Rebecca ?Marty? the wife of ? they are Zeruah Beaumont wife of Jabez Beaumont and Deborah Newlin are the ? of household furniture in the parlor cupboard of my ? to be divided away ? in ? ? ? they may ??? my six ? ? and new ? silver tea spoons [written above] there ? said table spoons I give and bequeath to my ? daughter Zeruah and the remaining three ? the ? ? silver tea spoons I give and bequeath to my daughter Deborah the ? above devise and bequests to my beloved wife Lydia to be ? – ? in full ? and in lieu of her ? are my estate I ? I give and bequeath to my Deborah two ? ? and two new coverlets and other bedding sufficient for said beds all to be of her choice two large tables in the parlor her ?Bureau? and ches? ? upstairs all her house made and domestic linen and other household articles in said bureau and ?drawers? a large looking glass in the parlor the brass ? and shaver and ? ? ? ? ? ? chains. ? in order to enable my executors to pay debts, legacies, and funeral expenses my ? and ? hereby ? and ? that all my real estate ? are ?Laila? Bon? Of West Chester be paid by my executors or their survivor of them within two year after my decease either ? or ? ? they may think ? ? to my estate the whole or any part thereof they are authorized to sell in ? ? ? ? the ? sheets and ? to ? as near as may be the ? and ? of said Bon? And those lately established ? the ?
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Cent he could get. And as a final winding up gets the old man to build the saw mill which cost him a large sum – then ?Saul? built a house, and he has out off about half of the timber upon the barrows, and leaves the old man to pay all the interest upon the debt there created upon his account, and they will if the old man live a little while longer have all the timber wasted, and I expect the saw mill will by that time be a heap of ruins. I feel certain that the old man is at the last five or six thousand dollars the worse off for ?’s bad conduct and he never has done much for me. And after all my work there last ?????????? but gave ? four and
Which I worked had to ? and clean up, several little pigs ? ? – Now if you could by your influence prevent the old man from sacrificing and throwing away the place, if indeed he has not already done it, I think it would be well for you to go and see him as soon as you can. I have no doubt that our cousin ?Lewis? ?’s old playmate who lives with him will urge him to sell and then – if he does depend upon it – all will be gone – he will yet have to live upon charity should he live a few years. It had seemed to be ever since the death of father that we were a doomed family – there seemed a want of ?affectation? in ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
I am myself family changeable with a want of brotherly or parental affection ?on? ?kinship?/?kindness?. I should like to know of it. ? ? ? ?[name]? has done me most shameful wrong he got a watch, a cow, a stove, and an overcoat of me and would never even talk about it since, thus robbing me – or wronging me in a way just as bad, now as a consequence of all this bad conduct of the old man and his evil advisors you may expect, should you and I live a few years, to see Ned Shields, and heaven knows
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Who else in possession of our old home – bought at about half price – and that half price squandered amongst ?Mangers? – and in addition making a fortune out of the property that ought to come to yourself and your brothers and sisters, by cutting it up into lots and selling it out.
My God! My God! These things well might drive me mad. Why could you never advice with me about the family affairs as became a sister? By putting our heads together as our hearts ? to have been we might have ?????? and the family name ? at ? which to me does not appear inevitable. I have written under the pressure of such feeling that I can scarely know what I have said. I feel however that my paper is full.
Farewell
Zeruah Beaumont Jn Newlin
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