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Title: Stewart, Frances to Atwood, Annie, 1866
ID4775
CollectionRevisiting Our Forest Home, The immigrant letters of Frances Stewart [J. L. Aoki]
Filestewart/57
Year1866
SenderStewart, Frances
Sender Genderfemale
Sender Occupationhousewife
Sender Religionunknown
OriginDouro Township, Newcsatle District, Upper Canada
DestinationGore's Landing, Ontario, Canada
RecipientAtwood, Annie
Recipient Genderfemale
Relationshipfriends
Source
Archive
Doc. No.
Date
Partial Date
Doc. Type
Logunknown
Word Count698
Genrefamily life
Note
Transcript1866: October 9

To Annie Atwood, Gore's Landing, Ontario

Douro Tuesday
9th Oct'r 1866

My dearest Annie,

Your letter gave me a very pleasant surprise as I had no idea you had
come up to Lakefield much less that you had been so long there without
my having heard of it. This gave me some pain, which has decidedly
been increasing ever since from each day passing without any of
our party being able to go over to see you. Kate Brown had arranged
with Annie Stewart to go to spend a good afternoon with your dear
Mother before you had come, & since that they have had different days
named for going, but always one thing or another came in the way. You
who have only two children & a very small establishment know some
of the difficulties of leaving home even for a few hours, but you can
hardly imagine how almost impossible it is for either Bessie or Kate
to leave such a tribe of young things together, 7 of them under 9 years
old & 4 older but not wiser, & myself requiring care & assistance, I
am sorry to say unable to help even in nursing now as I have constant
asthma if I exert myself in the least, & then the housekeeping is double
& everything is so crowded up that much more care is required. But
dearest Annie I do thank you for your letter & I do indeed grieve that so much of your visit has passed on without our meeting. Our last
meeting was so very uncomfortable too, now nearly two years ago, at
least it will be in a few months. At Goodwood we had more possibility
of seeing you on your way, as you could make it a resting stage. But I
do hope I may live (DV) to see you & Clinton & your dear little ones
at Goodwood once more. If you come up again in winter, or even next
summer though I can hardly venture to look forward so far. I knew you
were to be in Douro in Sept'r & we were talking of you that very day
& saying we wondered if Mr. A. had got his crops in, &c, when in the
evening your letter was brought to me & we were all so vexed to find
you had been there so long & now a fortnight has gone over & none of
us have yet been able to get over to see you. Believe me it is not want
of inclination dearest Annie. I hope nothing may again prevent Kate
from going tomorrow. She has had many days settled but always some
hindrance came in the way. I hope your little cottage may be made
quite air tight & comfortable for you & that it may be quite dry before
you venture to return. Our new home is not ready for us yet which is
a great disappointment to us all. We have been ten months living here
crowding up dear Kate, but they are so kind they never let us feel that
we are in their way...,
Bessie desired me to tell you that she did not expect you to write to
her. We all know by experience how one feels after having been burnt
out & being unsettled for months after. I have not been quite well
today and felt very dull & uncomfortable with asthma & now I find it
was caused by this change in the weather. I have excellent health for
which I am indeed most thankful. Asthma is my only ailment but it
don't seem to affect my general health tho' it exhausts & wearies me &
makes me awfully sleepy so that I can sleep at any time of the day if I
sit down quietly for a few minutes. This & being deaf makes me very
stupid. And now dear Annie as I begin to grow sleepy I must conclude.
Wishing much that I could give you a loving embrace & kiss, ever your
affect' Grannie,
R Stewart
Love & kiss to dear Kate & Mr. A. when you can give it.