If I could come home in reality as often as in my dreams, I should visit you pretty often, Kimber Letter 14

The Kimber Letters are writings exchanged between the Kimber sisters and their mother, Keziah (Bennett) Kimber. The letters found their way to the sister’s descendants. I treasure them and am grateful to the late Edna Raymond for giving me transcriptions.

In today’s letter, 3^rd Great Grandaunt Sarah Bethia (Kimber) Mackney writes to her parents, Benjamin and Keziah Kimber, and sister Abigail in Orange County, New York from Troy, Pennsylvania Sept. 25, 1855. 3^rd Great Grandaunt Jane Eliza (Kimber) and Uncle Moses Seely were Troy residents as well.

Grandaunt Sarah tells her family about the happenings of the people in her life, their crops and some pesky grubs. Uncle William Mackney is so busy working he hasn’t had time to begin building their house. The price of groceries is always a favorite topic for Aunt Sarah.

Despite her last sassy letter, Aunt Sarah’s writings echo disappointment. She’s discouraged by her poor health and writes:

   “I did not feel like writing and would think every day that tomorrow I shall feel better but I find that every tomorrow brings its own bad feeling”.

I know from Kimber Letter 12 Aunt Sarah had been trying electric shock treatments but doesn’t mention anything more about it.

She’s brokenhearted because she won’t be able to go home and see her folks. Uncle William asked her to wait until next summer because he doesn’t have any money to spare.

In a recent letter, Great Grandmother Keziah broached the subject of moving to Troy and asked for their thoughts. The Kimber Aunts would very much like to have Great Grandparents Benjamin and Keziah nearby. But neither Aunt Jane Seely nor Aunt Sarah has a place for them right now.

Uncle Moses Seely says he would welcome them if he can get a large farm with 2 houses. That’s all Aunt Jane needed to hear. She’s “at him every day” about it.

Letter 14

Troy, Bradford County, Pa.  Sept the 25th 1855

Dear Parents and Sister

I take my pen this morning to try to write a few

line to you, i expect you are looking every day

and wondering why you do not get a letter.  I

am ashamed to say that we have neglected it, not

through forgetfulness but because we did not sit

right down and write    we have talked about it

every day.   Jane and Mary have been having

rather more to do than usual    Lewis Marsh is

here laying the celler walls    he had got

through with Moses and now he is at ours and

they have him to do for   and I have put it off

because I did not feel like writing and would

think every day that tomorrow I shall feel

better but I find that every tomorrow brings its

own bad feeling,  my health is about the same

as it was when I wrote you last    I have not

been feeling quite as well for a week past   my

side has been worse, but I suppose it is

overdoing that caused it    using my arm to much.

   William and Mary are at work as usual and Moses

family also, we received your letter nearly

three weeks ago and were so glad to hear that

you were all enjoying your usual health and I

feel this letter may find you all well    it is

generally healthy around here and has been the

season though one of our neighbors little boys

is laying quite sick now with the bilous fever.

Elizabeth Van Etten has got a young son born

last Sunday,  Jane was there    she is very smart

indeed    there has been more babys born in and

around Troy since we lived here than I could

begin to enumerate    it is a fruitful place

especially for that kind of production    we had

a frost the 18th but Buckwheat and corn was

generally out of the way of it   Potatoes are

rotting very bad around here    some have lost

their entire crop    our do not rot very bad yet

   William says they are to mean to rot    they are

not a very good potato for table use but still

they are a good deal better than none and have a

strong taste   Potatoes were so scarce last

Spring that we couldent get hold of any good

seed to plant, we have some very nice turnips

and we should have had an abundance of cabbage

and squashes if the grubs had not cut them off

William and Moses tried hard to save their

cabbage    thay had planted three or four times,

but it was all of no use    the grubs cut them

all off    they just turned the sod over in the

spring and planted right on it and the grubs had

a fair chance to work, but next season it will

be nice if we all live the sod will be rotted

and it will be like a garden    the ground is so

rich and mellow.   William has not commenced

framing his house yet    he has so much to do

that he dont know how to spend time to do his

own work    he work night and day almost, if he

continues to work as he has this summer he will

soon wear himself out    i dont like to see him

work so hard but he feels as if he must do it

O I think if I had my health to work too we

might get it done without his working so hard

but I have little hopes that I shall ever have

it any better therefor    I must not murmer or

complain for my Heavenly Father knows what is

for my best good.   Nearly everything is on a rise

here except flour    that is lower since harvest

   butter is 20 cents a pound    William bought a

whole firkin last week    it is ordinary butter

but not as good as we got last faIl for winter

use.   Milk in 4 cents a quart, and groceries I

never knew so high    common brown sugar that we

paid 6 cents a pound for last fall we now have

to pay 4 cents for and syrup is 6 Shillings a

gallon,   this is the third morning since I

commenced my letter and I will try to finish it

today if nothing happens    the first day I wrote

until I got so tired I had to quit and yesterday

there was a carriage sent after me to go a

visiting and so of course I had to go and had a

very nice time    Jane was invited also but could

not go for she had to stay home to bake pumkin

pies here and Mary, one of our neighbors moved

away yesterday, and she gave us a whole pail of

milk and we thought we would improve our chance

to have some pies    they are the first that we

have had    we have very nice pumkins but no milk

   I used to often dream last winter of being

home    a fool gut I thought I was so tired when

I got there that I could not talk    If I could

come home in reality as often as I come in my

dreams I should visit you pretty often    I had

flattered myself considerable that I should

visit you this fall but I dont expect now that I

can    I don’t hardly think that I could stand the

journey and William thinks I had better wait

until next summer   he thinks I would feel

better able to come and he could better afford

to let me come as he is building he will need

every amount of money that he can get    I want

to come very much but I will have to give it

up and hope it is all for the best    I expect you

will feel a little disappointed but I think I

can come next summer if we all live and you dont

come out here    I wish some of you could come

out at the time of the fair which will open next

Monday at Elmira    You could come very cheap

the fare would only be $4 and 25 cents from Port

Jervis to Elmira and return    the tickets last

good for a week    I expect Moses will be out

this fall sometime after his horse and wagon and

if he does he will come and see you.    Mother

you wished us all to write first what we though

about your moving out here and whether we

thought it would be for your best    I can say

that we all would like to have you here very

much but whether it would be the best thing for

you to move here we hardly know what to say    if

you was situated here just  as you are there

without the expense of moving and rents were

reasonable    here you would do well here as there

but you never could pay the enormous rents they

ask here    William says if he was only able he

would put up another house on his lot and he

would have you out here right strait along but

it is impossible for him to do it at present

our wills are good enough if we only had the

means    Moses dont think now that he will build

his house this year    he thinks of trying to get

a farm    Jane nor him either dont like this way

of living    he says if he can get a large farm

with two houses on it he would like to have you

come and live in one of them    there is now and

then such a farm to be got if only he can have

the good fortune to get one    farms are quite

plenty to rent and I dont think there will be

any difficulty about his getting one if he only

looks out in time    he has not looked around any

at all yet for one but Jane is at him every day

   he will be able to know something more about it

when he comes out if he comes    I hope there

will be some plan fixed so that you can come and

live near for I know you must feel very lonely

there    we think a great deal about you but we

will all keep good courage and hope for the best

but I think I shall have to bring my letter to

close for I am getting very tired    I think if

Erastus could come out this fall he could find

farms here to suit him first rate either to buy

or rent    Abby you wrote that the medicine

helped you    I wish you could have it to take

all the time    I think very likely if the Dr

could see you that he could help you very much

I have not been taking much medicine for three

or four weeks past    I take a little occasionly

when I feel the worst    the Dr kept telling me

this sumner that he thought I would yet have my

health so that I could work and I flattered

myself a good deal but I dont know why I did for

I dont think that I shall ever have such more

strength than I have got now and that is but

small    if I could have a new constitution I

might have hoped but that of course I cannot

have    Abby I am knitting me a tidy for my

rocking chair if I ever get it done    I get

along rather slow with it    it is very tiresom

work for me    I am going to work Mary and myself

a lace collar as soon as I get my tidy done

Mother we have got a few flowers and they remains

me of home every day    the large double mary

golds and small ones and double ones china

asters    three or four different colors but I

expect the frost will soon spoil their beauty

we covered them up the other frost we had and

saved them    I have so much to say I dont know

where to stop but I must stop    how I wanted to

see you all    write to me as soon as you can

no more but I remain your affectionate Daughter

until death    good bye

William and Sarah B. Mackney to Benjamin and

Keziah and Abby L. Kimber

Wild Astors, 1889

Dennis Miller Bunker