Transcription
CATALOG NUMBER HF 3024 I
OBJECT NAME Letter
DATE January 25th 1837
AUTHOR Julia H
RECIPIENT Anne, Mrs. Nicholas, Rev. L.L. Whitman (envelope)
MEDIUM Paper, ink
DESCRIPTION Letter starts in middle of page with no greeting attached.
PEOPLE George, Emma, Spencer, Anna, Ogden, Charles, Julia, Elizabeth
PLACES Belvidere, Prairies, Goshen, Chicago (Illinois)
EVENTS Death of Judge Josiah Hoffman
KEY WORDS
* Original spelling retained throughout work; content appears exactly as written.
[PAGE 1]
We have heard of you dear Emma in roundabout / ways through the Gillmans and Morris’ but nor one line from yourselves / to tell us of your welfare and now it is so long since you must have / arrived at Belvidere that I fear we will have to have wait for the / Spring sun to melt all snow on the Prairie before we have letters from you / Pa is I think very ill for three weeks past be has had what has seemed / to be a very bad cold which did not yield until this last week when / he gave up all stimulant, the consequence of that has been a complete / prostration of strength which I believe is not unusual in such cases / the Doctor is afraid to order stimulants again to raise him for he things / the coats of his stomach are in such a state of irritation that he fears / bringing on inflammation
Wednesday, Jan 25 1837
I began this dearest Sister yesterday week and now it is my / painful task to tell you of our father’s death, which took place / yesterday morning at ten o’clock he had been better since / I began this until Saturday be seemed stronger and too more / nourishment and I hoped would recover entirely but on / Saturday about twelve o’clock a dreadful weakness came on / and increased so that be the afternoon he could scarcely / speak intelligibly, be evidently was alarmed himself and / murmured “I am a very sick man, write to Ann, when will / George come, Where’s Ogden.” in the evening the Doctor came / and he [had inserted] revived by that time so much that he spoke clearly / and much stronger and the Doctor did not think there was /
[END OF PAGE 1]
[PAGE 2]
Any cause for immediate alarm though he seemed to hear it / was the wearing out of the constitution and not any disease that / could be contended with, on Sunday morning he was much / the same but by the afternoon he appeared better and in the / evening still better his voice clear and strong and I felt quite encouraged at half past ten he sent me out of his room / and wanted Spenser & Elizabeth for he was under the influence / of medicine just I before I left him he said “have you written to Anne.” About twelve a violent spell of coughing came / on with a great raising of phlegm and extreme coldness / and weakness we put hot water to her water to his feet and / warm flannels about him and he seemed to get warm and we hoped better, but the dreadful cough continued and the / weakness increased so that the phlegm would rise in his throat / and settle there but he had not strength to raise it, this / was awful he had violent spells of coughing and made incessant / efforts to speak but could not so that we could understand / him all we could distinguish was “Anne, Ogden, George'', and once Emma at about 1 o’clock on MOnday [inserted: afternoon] nature seemed / to make no more effort the coughing ceased and all conscious - / ness left him, and he lay breathing easily the rest of the / day and all night until ten o’clock yesterday when he expired / with just one gasp without any struggle or suffering. Charles and / I the only of his children with him, Ogden had gone up to / Goshen a few days before not dreaming of any danger, and George to whom I had written to come home last week, because / Pa wished it not that I was myself alarmed, did not reach / here till several hours after his death. He had spoken of you / often during his sickness and said he missed you very much / and the names of his absent children were the last words he / heard, there seemed to be an intense anxiety to send messages / to you and his brow would work as if with great mental /
[END OF PAGE 2]
PAGE 3
Effort. On Sunday I read the bible to him all day I proposed / it and happened to enjoy it much and early Monday morning / too he contrived to say with difficulty “Julia read” and while / he lost consciousness I read to him and it seemed to soothe him / and calm him. Elizabeth has been a treasure to see in this / trying time Pa was very fond of her and I don’t know what / we would have done without her she and Spencer desire to be kindly remembered to all of you. Give my love to the dear / girls. I can't write any more now but will as soon as I feel / better able and tell you what arrangements we will make / as yet of course nothing has been done.
Ever your attached sister
Julia Hoffman
[END OF PAGE 3]
[PAGE 4]
Addressed to
Mrs. NIcholas
Care of Rev. S. S. Whitman
Chicago
Illinois
Postmark New York Jan 27
[END OF LETTER]Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
