(Approximate Years 1860-1870)
Letter Between my great great great grandparents

It’s an odd thing, acquiring the family heirlooms of pen and paper. The meaningless counting of chicken eggs, notations of the weather, and once-private correspondences of love. Do you have paper heirlooms too? What are they?

They died over 100 years ago, their graves mossy and worn. But, in these letters, once new, my great great great grandparents are the same age as I exist now. As they write these letters in the past of their present, and in the present I know their future looking into the past. I know their coming joys, triumphs, and failures. I’ve read the diary pages they’ve yet to write and I know which one becomes the widow[er].

Despite the relative oddity of that, I’ve decided to translate the letters and diaries into a more readable presentation. For personal catharsis dealing with the passing of my own grandfather (and giver of these letters) and for a type of preservation and sharing.

The letter is transcribed exactly as it is presented in the original document.

My Dearest Will,

Please don’t blame me or feel bad because I haven’t come with Sammie today, I can hardly resist the temptation to come to you, but I must not indulge myself for I know it is best for me to stay where I am for a while, But oh! how I do long to see you & sometimes I feel as if I can not endure the seperation I know you think that because I love & remain away as long as I do.  That the seperation is not as hard for me to bear as for you, but I believe you are not more lonely than I am without you. But I shall not remain away very long; our folks are coming to Short Tract again soon & I will come with them, I hope the time will soon come when we shall not be seperated ever for a day [futile?] then we must make the best of everything. I would come to see you to day & [return] with Sammie if it was convenient I dread coming back I am so unwelcome. I would never come to that home again if it were not for you, I know it is my duty to be with you, perhaps I am doing wrong & if I am dear Will forgive me, you are not in my position & cannot understand my feelings, but if there is any thing that is gall & [wusonwood] to my native it is being where I am not wanted, I cannot bear it & if it were not for my great love for you I would not remain in that house a single hour. I want to hear from you so much my own dear Will if you have not already written to me please send me a line by Sammie & will you please to get my old dark blue [paeque] which hangs in the close & send it, there is a blue [Sasahalch] there also don’t mistake that for the [sagne], & in the drawer where your cloths are I believe I left the [key] of a [sack] which I wish to finish send that too, & also that little spool of dark brown silk you will find in my thread bag on the window I haven’t time to write more my dear but remember I think of you every hour & especially when night comes for this having such a dear living buy as I’ve got to sleep with & there sleeping alone ain’t what it is cracked up to be, your boy grows finely & send his regards to his Pa Now ain’t I silly? But you must [farm] this nonsense as soon are you read it.

Sue.

Original Letter and Envelope: UnknownDate-Letter-VanNostrand

Do you know any of the [unknown] words mentioned above? Let me know in the comments!