Father and Mother, Now is your Time to Come, Kimber Letter 20, August 31, 1856

Kimber letter 20 reflected urgency about the well-being of Keziah (Bennett) and Benjamin Kimber. Keziah must have written her daughter Sarah and husband William Mackney letting them know the matriarch and patriarch were not happy in their new home.

Keziah’s letter galvanized the family in Troy, Pennsylvania. As soon as William and Sarah Mackney read it, they sent word to Moses Seely and wife Jane Eliza Kimber. Moses and Jane came to the Mackney home that evening to discuss what could be done to help.

It was unusual for the sons-in-law to write, but each of them penned a letter to Benjamin and Keziah inviting them to come live with them and pledging to help. The Kimber daughters, Sarah and Jane Eliza, sent words of encouragement too.

Sometime in 1856 4^th Great Grandparents Keziah and Benjamin left Orange County, New York behind them. I didn’t know where they were living. I got a clue when William mentioned Mark in his letter; the only Mark I’m aware of who has a family connection is Mark Congleton, husband of Mary B. Kimber. Mark and Mary lived in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania and I suspect the Grandparents had been living with them or nearby.

You can read the letter for yourself or listen to my narration by clicking below on the YouTube video.

Letter 20, page 1

Letter 20, page 2

Letter 20, page 3

Transcripts provided by the late Edna Raymond, Town of Minisink Historian.

  

To The Memory of our Beloved Daughter Ethel G. Doty

Thank you, Brandie Stacey, for sharing Ethel G. Doty’s memorial card with me. When Brandie sent me the card, I didn’t know who Ethel was. The baby only lived six weeks passing May 7, 1898.

I was curious, so I snooped around and located a death notice in a Middletown, New York newspaper. Much to my surprise I found the baby girl was the daughter of my Great Grandparents Lewis Penny Doty and Emily (Wight) Taylor.

Death Notice from

Middletown Daily Argus, Middletown New York

Monday, May 9, 1898

Ethel had died three years before my Grandfather Frank Leroy Doty was born. I recall no one in the family talking about her and imagine this little girl’s loss was too painful for the Great Grandparents to discuss.

When we see the precious blossom,

That we tended with such care,

Rudely taken from our bosom,

How our hearts almost despair!

Round the little grave we linger,

Till the setting sun is low,

Feeling all our hopes have perished,

With the flower we cherished so.

New Teacher on the Ridge above Westtown, Kimber Letter 19

A new correspondent, Pamela P. Bennett, writes to Aunt Keziah (Bennett) Kimber June 1, 1856, from home in Unionville, Orange County, New York. Her father is David Bennett, Keziah’s brother.  Keziah is the matriarch of the Kimber family and my 4^th Great Grandmother.

Pamela begins the letter chiding her Aunt because she hasn’t heard a word from her. In earlier letters, my 4^th Great Grandparents Keziah Bennett and Benjamin Kimber were looking to leave Orange County, and it’s happened.

Pamela recently began teaching school on the ridge above Westtown and wanted to tell Keziah how much she liked it. It might surprise you to know Pamela was only 15 years old. She mentions another acquaintance teaching in Centerville who just happens to be Keziah’s grandson, Benjamin Kimber Jones.

You can read the letter for yourself or listen to my narration by clicking below on the YouTube video.

Pamela P. Bennett’s letter to Keziah (Bennett) Kimber

Page 1

Pamela P. Bennett’s letter to Keziah (Bennett) Kimber

Page 2

Transcripts provided by the late Edna Raymond, Town of Minisink Historian.

Cousin Lucretia writes Sarah in Troy June 1, 1856, from Unionville, NY, Letter 18

Cousin Lucretia Bennett joins the Kimber Ladies Writing Circle June 1, 1856, when she writes to Sarah (Kimber) Mackney in Troy, Pennsylvania. She pens an interesting letter filled with daily news and family doings. You can read the letter for yourself or listen to my narration by clicking below on the YouTube video.

Lucretia’s father, David Bennett, and Sarah’s mother, Keziah (Bennett) Kimber, were brother and sister. Let me acquaint you with other family members you’ll hear about in Lucretia’s letter. She writes of a visit to Willing Bennett in Chemung Co., NY. Willing must be family, but I don’t know how he’s related. Uncle Josiah was Great Grandmother Keziah and Uncle David Bennett’s brother. Bennett and Millicent Kimber are from Aunt Sally’s branch in Susquehanna, PA. Aunt Sally was a sister of Keziah, David, and Josiah.

‘Will’ is Sarah’s husband, William Mackney. Erastus Elston’s remarriage must have been a surprise for the family. It’s remarked on several times among the Kimber ladies.

Lucretia sends love to Cousin Jane Eliza Seely and tells the news of her sister Pamela.

 

Transcripts provided by the late Edna Raymond, Town of Minisink Historian.