Transcription
CATALOG NUMBER HF 3041 F
OBJECT NAME Letter
DATE spring/summer 1837 (warm season after first winter in IL)
AUTHOR F. C. (Fanny Colden) (Frances Wilkes Colden?)
RECIPIENT Emma Nicholas (Maloney)
MEDIUM Paper, ink
PEOPLE Julia Hoffman, David Colden, Josiah Ogden Hoffman (death), Phil
Rhinelander, Jr., Mary Rhinelander, Mrs. (Maria Provoost) Cadwallader Colden, Anne ??, Charlie (pet?), Matilda Hoffman Whitman, Henry Wilkes,
PLACES Manhattan Gas Company, Belvidere, IL,
EVENTS hardships in IL, death of Josiah Ogden Hoffman, Panic of 1837,
My dear Emma - Julia has sent me / word I can write by a private hand / to you, and I am only sorry the per- / son who is going, has no room in / his trunk for a few trifles I should / have been glad to send. I thank you / my dear Emma, very sincerely for / your kind + excellent letter _ I was / pained to find all the hardships you / are undergoing, and I hope the future / may be brighter and make you amends / for this sad beginning/ What a com - / fort your arrival must have been to / Matilda! That will console you for must that you have gone thru’ and / have still, I fear, to encounter _ You / were not surprised, I daresay, at your
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Grandfather’s death _ tho, I believe, just / at last it was rather sudden _ Julia / will tell you her plans better that I can _ she looks thin but bears her loss / better that I expected. I will only / talk to you o four concerns, for / you have so many correspondents / in that branch of your family, that / I should be repeating what you / already know, if I speak of them. / David has been appointed President of / the Manhattan Gas Company, which / gives him an income of two thousand / dollars a year and a respectable / standing among his fellow men. / He is very much occupied as he is / new to business, but he is perfectly / well, and very thankful for his a - / mended prospects. There never has been / such ruin + misery among the merchants / as there is just now _ failures every day /
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And those of large banks that involve / multitudes _ every body is our of spirits / and you hear of auctions and dispossession / of families daily _ among the mechanics / too the suffering is beginning to be [?real - / ly] felt for houses are stopped building / + debts to the builders etc. are in many / instances not paid _ in short, these / [are?] of “hard times” _ which we have / often heard [^ without it has been said much cause ] seems now to be in all / mouths and little [unrecovered? ???able] prospect / of a remedy _ but you will hear [?many?] / of it + I ought to spare you such a / dull subject _ Julia says Phil Rhinelander / talks of paying you a visit _ I hope he may / with all my heart. Mary looked bright / + well when I met her a few days ago / + talked with great affection of you _ Your / Aunt Colden rooms opposite to Henry / Wilkes in this street in May, so that we / shall be very near _ and the year after / we mean to take possession of our house / next door _ we cannot afford it yet. Mrs. / Colden sends a great deal of love to you + / yours _ She is very much
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Out of health and I fear is not likely / to recover entirely, but I hope she will / be better soon and able to enjoy a to - / lerable degree of comfort. She is dining / with us to - day [sic]. + has been taking a ride / and now that the weather is really / warm, I have great hopes she will gain strength _ improve in spirits/ Anne begs to be most kindly remem - / bered and hopes you feel enough interest in Charlie to be glad to hear / he enjoys the warm weather too. / and has a prospect of living to see you / again + receiving a kind pat. I enclose / $15, dear Emma, as I cannot send / you the articles of dress I wished to / send _ [crossed out] I thought money would be / of much less use to you, as I suppose / any shopping without a long journey / is not to be found, but I have no choice / + must beg your acceptance of this trifle / good bye, my dear friend, rely upon me / whenever I can be of use to you _ tho’ I / my not write often /
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Believe me, I shall always feel a strong / interest in you + a desire to be useful / as far as [?is] in my power, yr affectionate
Cousin F. ColdenTranscriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
