Letter from E. H N. to Varnum Noyes
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from E. H N. to Varnum Noyes
Subject
Death; Family; Wives
Description
In this letter from Elizabeth Hunt Noyes to her brother-in-law Varnum, she writes about the passing of her husband, Josiah. She wants Varnum and Augustus to have his clothing, but remarks that his best suit was buried with him. She hopes her in-laws will visit her while she still has the house, and concludes by apologizing for her writing mistakes.
Creator
Noyes, Elizabeth Hunt
Source
Loose, The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection
Publisher
Unpublished
Date
c. 1871
Contributor
Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant
Rights
Format
PDF
Language
eng (English)
Type
Text
Identifier
noyes_c_cor_929
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Friday Morning.
My head felt so badly last night
that I could write no more then,
but this morning as the letter
remained unsealed I thought
of a few things I wished to add.
My dear husband's clothing I wish
you and brother Augustus to have,
not on account of their value a-
side from their being his. I never
could persuade him [--to--] to allow
himself hardly decent and com-
fortable clothing-. His best suit
we dressed him with, as we wished
to have him appear as natural
as possible, as it was the last act
we could do for him. My Sabbath
School class presented a large
crown and cross of sweet flowers
and a large bo^[u]qu^[e]t of roses, and
I made a ^[wreath] from the choicest of
my house ^[plants] which he so much
loved. Every thing was done that
could be, to show the love and
respect of the people toward
him, as you have learned before,
by the paper which I sent you.
I should be so happy if you and
your wife, and brother Augustus
and his wife ^[could] come and visit me
while I yet have a home, and
divide the cloths, but if that
is impossible, I thought I would
pack them in a box and send
them to brother A. he being the
elder, and let him divide and
trnsmit the remainder to you.
I hardly know as you can read that I have
written I have made so many blunders, my
bad head is all the excuse I can make.
Your affectionate sister E. H N.
My head felt so badly last night
that I could write no more then,
but this morning as the letter
remained unsealed I thought
of a few things I wished to add.
My dear husband's clothing I wish
you and brother Augustus to have,
not on account of their value a-
side from their being his. I never
could persuade him [--to--] to allow
himself hardly decent and com-
fortable clothing-. His best suit
we dressed him with, as we wished
to have him appear as natural
as possible, as it was the last act
we could do for him. My Sabbath
School class presented a large
crown and cross of sweet flowers
and a large bo^[u]qu^[e]t of roses, and
I made a ^[wreath] from the choicest of
my house ^[plants] which he so much
loved. Every thing was done that
could be, to show the love and
respect of the people toward
him, as you have learned before,
by the paper which I sent you.
I should be so happy if you and
your wife, and brother Augustus
and his wife ^[could] come and visit me
while I yet have a home, and
divide the cloths, but if that
is impossible, I thought I would
pack them in a box and send
them to brother A. he being the
elder, and let him divide and
trnsmit the remainder to you.
I hardly know as you can read that I have
written I have made so many blunders, my
bad head is all the excuse I can make.
Your affectionate sister E. H N.
Original Format
Letter
Collection
Citation
Noyes, Elizabeth Hunt, “Letter from E. H N. to Varnum Noyes,” Letters from Harriet Noyes: Missionaries and Women's Education in Nineteenth Century China, accessed May 19, 2022, http://noyesletters.org/items/show/1018.