Waterford [2]
July 5th 1863
[2] Dear Cousin it is with pleasure
that I sit down to answer your
kind letter that I received in due
time and I was very glad indeed to
hear from you I[t] always does me
good to get a letter from one that I
love I got one from Elijah last
night and he was not very well at
the time of his writing he said that
he had to work so hard that he did
not have any apetite to eat he
thinks that he will get a furlough
and come home on a visit this sum
mer but I dont look for him the
24 of June he got 2 months pay and
that is all that he has had since he
enlisted he was going to send me
some but the postmaster advised
him not to at presant on account
of the Rebles being in Pennsylvania
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we are well with the exceptions of colds
the children have got perty hard colds
you asked me if the boy seemed like my
own I answer that he does I think that
I love him as well as I do Della I have
had him ever since he was one week old
but he is not a very healthy child and
sometimes I think it doubtfull whether
he ever lives to be very old he will be
4 months old the 16th of July and I weighed
him today and he weighed 9 ½ lbs
tell me in your next whether Lyman
has enlisted or not I heard that they
were enlisting the drafted men there
is one consolation to you and me
and that is that we shant have to face our
trouble about our boys being drafted
in the first nor second draft lige
is still on point Lookout I am afraid
his health will always be poor
when Lyman gets home come down and see
us all tell Mr Lows folks to come and
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see us and uncle and Aunt also give my
love to all of them tell Clay that
Hatty is alive and well and that I have
been looking for him and her for some
time dear Cousin you wrote that perhaps
I thought that you was a Christian I
acknowledge that I did but if you are
not I hope that you will be one some
day and I firmly believe that you will
as you say that you desire to be one
for Christ has promised to all that
come unto me shall find rest I know
it by happy experience Dear cousin
I have seen some very hapy hours in
believing in Jesus and now I often
mourn over my own backwardness in
the perfoformonce of Christian duties but
I feel as though I could see the star
yet though at a greater distance than
it was sometime ago let us trust in
the Lord and all will be well in the
end for he has said that all things shall
work together for good to them that love god
[Page 4]
Sunday evening
Dear Cousin will you excuse me
for not answering your kind
letter for I have set a number of
times to write and some would turn
up to hinder me my boy is quite trouble
some and grandmothers health is poor
and that leaves the hardest of the work
for me I have 3 cows to milk and take
care of and I have got 10 fleeces of
wool but I dont intend to work only one
half of that and sell the rest I would
like to work it all if I could but that
is impossible and take care of the boy
lige is very anxious to have me keep
him and I want to if he lives
mary we have our own [funn?] with
the bees we have had seven swarms
come off today and it was the third time
that it come out it come out yesterday
to [hald?] the fourth and went back again
and it came out this morning and this
afternoon and there is 3 more
about ready to come off Mary please
excuse my poor writing and mistakes for this is the second
letter that I have wrote this afternoon and I am tired
from S J Foster to Mary E Foster yours
truly
[3] the dipthera is raging here at presant but there has not been
any deaths in this neighborhood my sisterinlaw has been very sick
with it and I have
been there a good
deal write again
soon