Circa 1908 Letter1
from Phebe CAMPBELL Hoyt
Uncle Joe and family are well.
Grace
and her family were at her father's all last week. Grace has four
children. Aunt
Call is well. Uncle
Allen and uncle
George are getting to be old men, must be eighty. Aunt
Jane is not as well as I am well. Christmas will soon be here
, the girls2 are planning for it already. Frank3
is at Charlie's4, is helping him with his musickal [sic] charts. will be home Christmas.
We are as well as usual.
Well must close.
We all join in sending our love.
I wish you a merry Christmas and happy new year.
1. We don't know to whom this letter was written, but it appears to have been to one of her nephews or nieces (or perhaps to their spouse or child). Because she refers to several of her siblings as 'uncle' or 'aunt' we can rule out their children or grandchildren. And those who died before 1907/8. Some possibilities might be Mary CAMPBELL Shipman, Kate CAMPBELL Horton, Tommie Campbell, Wm. Clayton Campbell, Emma CONGDON Buck, Ed Congdon, Charlie Congdon, Jennie CRANE Bosard, Laura BOSARD Mourey, Ann BOSARD Owlett, Herb Hughey, Stella LOOP Hooker Wilbur, Will Selph or Jennie SELPH Cady. The latter seems unlikely because she lived in Nelson.
The existing letter is a single sheet of paper, both sides filled. It is possible that instead of being the entire letter the surviving sheet is merely the last sheet of a longer letter.
2. Phebe's granddaughters, Jessica, Elizabeth & Isabelle Hoyt.
3. "Frank" may have been Frances GOODRICH Hoyt.
4. "Charlie" may have been "Professor" Charles Blackwell Campbell. He was a musician and music teacher. But I don't know Frances Hoyt would have been able to help him with his sheet music --- if that's what the "charts" were.
Transcribed by Phebe's great-grandson, Wm. Thompson, Nov. 28, 2014
Copyright © 2014 William B. Thompson. Commercial use prohibited.