Willets, Hannah. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Title

Willets, Hannah. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.

Creator

Willets, Hannah

Contributor

Post, Amy Kirby, 1802-1889

Date

1826-07-17

Description

Handwritten letter from Hannah Willets to Amy Kirby Post, July 17, 1826.

Is Part Of

Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Rights

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Identifier

442

Location

Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Transcription

(Page 1)

                                      Skaneateles 7^th Mo 17^th 1826
          My affectionate friend
                             Pardon, my dearest Amy, the long
silence of thy friend H, I am conscious I merit thy cen
-sure yet trusting to thy good nature I venture to
seek thy forgiveness and will now endeavour to make
amends for all past neglect. If thou art sensible
how well I love thee, thou wilt not , when my pen
happens to be dormant a few weeks, attribute it
to forgetfulness or want of affection, for I will
not own myself such a fickle creature as to love
one friend for to-day only and to-morrow banish
her from my remembrance and place my af-
fections on another. No dear A in thee I fondly
trust I have found a friend who will always
claim my nearest sympathy in whatever trials
thou may meet with through the checquered [sic]
scene of life. and I look forward with delight min
gled with sadness to the time when I may clasp
thee in my arms and greet thee a welcome visitor
at Skaneateles,. I say delight mingled with sad
ness, because I had hoped in times past to meet
thee here under far happier auspices but how
soon are our fairest prospects blighted and our
fondest hopes cut off. how transient how unsta
ble are all our earthy pleasures and yet how
alluring to the unguarded youth. I [obliterated] own

(Page 2)

weakness my own instability every day of my
life, Oh that I might be enabled to wean my
affections from these subliminary enjoyments
and place them on that which will be a support
in the hour of affliction and a consolation
when nothing else gives comfort, –---
          When I last wrote thee my little broth
er was dangerously ill and I concluded thou
would feel anxious to hear how his disorder
terminated. therefore wrote with the intention
of sending by cousin R Willets but he left one
day sooner than we expected which was a dis
appointment.. by them I conclude thou hast
heard of his recovery, he is now in usual he
alth and attends school. –-- Dear brother
Jacob’s business is yet unsettled and when it
will be settled ‘tis impossible to tell., his House
Lot, Furniture, Horse, Waggon [sic] &c ^&c^ have all been
sold by the Sheriff, most of which TL’s Agent
bought. Father and LP Mott succeeded in buying
the furniture but nothing more. Arthur Mott
has exerted himself to save what he could from
that cruel and unfeeling monster has spent
most of his time this summer endevour
ing to assist J. – TL has sued him and he has
sued Timothy, the trials to come on in the 9^th &
10^th months, we feel very anxious about the
decision as they are entirely on brother’s [side?]
co[obliterated] it been in his favour his

(Page 3)

property what little he gets must be owned
by some one else and if he ever does business
again it must be in another’s name for
T…y can come at any time and take what
little he may accumulate as he yet holds
the bond against him. he has not known
what business to go into having nothing
to begin with but knew it was necessary
to do something to support his family at
one time concluded to go to Lockport about
140 miles to the West and go in the Sash bu
siness as he could do that without much cap
itol [sic] that was exceedingly trying to us[obliterated]
we gave it up thinking perhaps it would [obliterated]
for the best, he now has a little prospect of hi
ring a farm within sight of us. if he could do
that it would be very pleasant for them and
us he is yet undetermined. Esther is yet at
her fathers brother expects to set out to-mor
row after her how happy should I be couldst
thou accompany him and spend the fall and
winter with us thou cant [sic] imagine how glad
we should all be to see thee. –-- IB Spalding has
spent the summer with us and has been de
lightful company for me she expects to leave
in about 4 weeks and I shall again be lonely,
          I would gladly turn my sheet and fill it
the other way but my time is so short I
must hasten to a close, do dear [obliterated]

(Page 4)

soon dont be ceremonious but write whenever
thy inclination prompts thee to do so I can
hardly account for thy long silence do write
immediately by mail. I am anxious to
hear from thee hope thy health is better than
it was last summer. – mine is now good
though I was very ill a few weeks ago with

(Continues below with line beginning “an inflammation”.]

[Text in center of page, written upwards]

Amy Kirby
          Jericho
                   Long Island

[Text normal, on the bottom of the page]

an inflammation in my head so that I
was confined to my bed and in a great deal of
distress. the inflammation settled in one eye
which has been very painful but is now
better. – give my love affectionately to
your family and to cousin M Robbins when
thou sees her and & accept a large share thyself,
the last accounts we had from Scipio your
friends were well thy sister, husband, and
children lately made us a very pleasant
visit [obliterated] cannot stop penning my thoughts

[Text continues sideways left-hand side, overlapping bottom text]

for the present for thou
wilt surely thank me if
[obliterated] so thy [head?] must
[obliterated] before thou gets [thro?]
[obliterated]ving so I will bid
thee adieu with wishing
thee again to write me
soon and subscribe my
self thy attached and
affectionate friend
          H Willets

Tags

Family; Personal

Collection

D.93 Isaac and Amy Post Family Papers

Citation

Willets, Hannah, “Willets, Hannah. Letter to Amy Kirby Post.,” RBSCP Exhibits, accessed November 22, 2024, https://rbscpexhibits.lib.rochester.edu/items/show/2740.

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