Julia Hoffman to Ann Hoffman

Name/Title

Julia Hoffman to Ann Hoffman

Entry/Object ID

HHV 008.105

Description

Box 31

Subject

death of Judge Josiah Ogden Hoffman, debt

Subject Person/Organization

Julia Hoffman (1810-1861), Ann Hoffman Nicholas (1790-1840)

Context

April 13 1837

Collection

Hoffman Manuscript Collection

Transcription

Transcription

CATALOG NUMBER HF 3024 H OBJECT NAME Letter DATE April 13 1837 AUTHOR Julia H RECIPIENT Mrs. Nicholas (envelope), My Dear Sister (Anne?) MEDIUM Paper, ink DESCRIPTION PEOPLE Mrs Jones, Mrs Colden, Em, Ogden, George, Caty, Mary, The Duers, Charles, Spencer Elizabeth, Charles, “Father”, Mrs Nicholas Belvidere, Mr Herbert PLACES Fishkill EVENTS Judge Hoffman’s Death KEY WORDS Post Office, death bed, debt *Original spelling retained throughout work; content appears exactly as written. [PAGE 1] April 13th I received your welcome letter last night/ my dear sister when I returned from Mrs jones I found too this letter of/ Mrs [Colde’s] to Em which I enclose. You have indeed had a winter of/ trials but I hope now that the Spring is come things will wear a brighter/ aspect, the loss of your box is really too provoking, but the want of weeks/ will I trust only be for a short time longer your Western affairs must/ prosper and the boys I think are likely to succeed well and you know/ you have a sister claim on them. I am sorry that the Post Office/ is in such a state you must have lost many of our letters as to our/ plans I will tell them to you again. We found it necessary of course to/ sell our furniture to pay the debts as far as would could at once the [torn]/ Ogden will take upon himself for the present at any rate. My future home/ will probably be with George but the summer I am to spend at Fishkill from/ whence I have had the most pressing invitations for Caty Mary has promised a/ comfortable room and board for $1.50 a week quite near them, for the last six/ weeks I have been staying with the Duers, they were very urgent to have/ me and we found we could not afford to keep house conveniently. Charles/ has a very comfortable room at cousin Emma’s so that I can leave him with/ more [satisfaction] than if he were in a common boarding house. Spencer Elizabeth/ and Caty are still in 17th street the two former did all wish to go to a place/ at once for the two years at 650. Elizabeth has written you a long/ letter and will be sadly disappointed at you not getting it. she was/ delighted to receive yours./ I feared you might receive a paper before my letter it must indeed have/ been a dreadful shock to you the scene keeps constantly rising before me now/ it was a more painful one that I can tell you, I never forget those two/ [END OF PAGE 1] [PAGE 2] breakfast and Spencer is waiting for it and John goes tomorrow/ early so that Mrs Jones is in a hurry to pack him up-/ Love again to the girls Ever your attached/ Julia H-/ (Envelope) Mrs. Nicholas/ Belvidere/ Mr Herbert Illinois/ long stormy days when Charles and I watched by that death bed listening/ so eagerly to every sleigh bell hoping that it was Ogden or George who/ alas reached us but too late. It is a consolation to me that I was there/ to read the bible to our Father at the last thought it seems to me now/ that I ought to have proposed it before, but at the time I had so thought/ of his being near death, and his illness had rendered him so irritable/ that I feared to propose anything to him. I thought we had an unhappy/ home but I feel sad enough at parting with it, even the old furniture/ with which are connected all my associations I cannot bear to think/ must go to strangers. I must stop for I have been writing this before/ [END OF PAGE 2] [END OF LETTER]

Transcriber

Kathryn Alexander

Language

English

Other Names and Numbers

Other Numbers

Number Type

Former Number

Other Number

HF 3024 H

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Mrs. Wilton S. Burton

Notes

Former owner

General Notes

Note Type

Curatorial Remarks

Note

Letter creased from folds.

Note Type

Department

Note

Library

Note Type

Transcription

Note

*Original spelling retained throughout work; content appears exactly as written. [PAGE 1] April 13th I received your welcome letter last night/ my dear sister when I returned from Mrs jones I found too this letter of/ Mrs [Colde’s] to Em which I enclose. You have indeed had a winter of/ trials but I hope now that the Spring is come things will wear a brighter/ aspect, the loss of your box is really too provoking, but the want of weeks/ will I trust only be for a short time longer your Western affairs must/ prosper and the boys I think are likely to succeed well and you know/ you have a sister claim on them. I am sorry that the Post Office/ is in such a state you must have lost many of our letters as to our/ plans I will tell them to you again. We found it necessary of course to/ sell our furniture to pay the debts as far as would could at once the [torn]/ Ogden will take upon himself for the present at any rate. My future home/ will probably be with George but the summer I am to spend at Fishkill from/ whence I have had the most pressing invitations for Caty Mary has promised a/ comfortable room and board for $1.50 a week quite near them, for the last six/ weeks I have been staying with the Duers, they were very urgent to have/ me and we found we could not afford to keep house conveniently. Charles/ has a very comfortable room at cousin Emma’s so that I can leave him with/ more [satisfaction] than if he were in a common boarding house. Spencer Elizabeth/ and Caty are still in 17th street the two former did all wish to go to a place/ at once for the two years at 650. Elizabeth has written you a long/ letter and will be sadly disappointed at you not getting it. she was/ delighted to receive yours./ I feared you might receive a paper before my letter it must indeed have/ been a dreadful shock to you the scene keeps constantly rising before me now/ it was a more painful one that I can tell you, I never forget those two/ [END OF PAGE 1] [PAGE 2] breakfast and Spencer is waiting for it and John goes tomorrow/ early so that Mrs Jones is in a hurry to pack him up-/ Love again to the girls Ever your attached/Julia H-/ (Envelope) Mrs. Nicholas/Belvidere/Mr Herbert Illinois/ long stormy days when Charles and I watched by that death bed listening/ so eagerly to every sleigh bell hoping that it was Ogden or George who/ alas reached us but too late. It is a consolation to me that I was there/ to read the bible to our Father at the last thought it seems to me now/ that I ought to have proposed it before, but at the time I had so thought/ of his being near death, and his illness had rendered him so irritable/ that I feared to propose anything to him. I thought we had an unhappy/ home but I feel sad enough at parting with it, even the old furniture/ with which are connected all my associations I cannot bear to think/ must go to strangers. I must stop for I have been writing this before/ [END OF PAGE 2] [END OF LETTER]