Mary (Chapin) Burt - June 15, 1862 - Van Wert, OH
Van Wert June 15/62
Dear Father, Mother, Marcia and all of the rest
I am going to write a company letter as you know I must write to Father & Mother so I thought I could say the same to Marcia.
I received your letter that was sent to Newark. Mother Burt & Josephine are still living there. Josephine forwarded it to Van Wert, where we now reside, but how long I cannot tell. We are not settled yet. Will stay here until Tommy has more permanent business. Have been living here a little more than three weeks. I cannot tell how I like it here. Not knowing whether the place is to be our home or not I do not think much about that part of it. We are all well now. Willie has had the ague some this spring. When he has a chill he often takes a fit with it. Lizzie & Nora are well and would like to come out to Ill. very much. I think if we live so near, you may expect to see me out there again some time, (Providence permitting). I would be very much pleased to have you come here and see us. We do not live in very good style, nor have an abundance of room and funiture. We sold all our things when we moved here and have not bought any since, but when you come will have things fixed up for you. Your letter gave me the first information of Oscar’s being in the army. You may judge my surprise for little did I think he was in the south fighting for his country. Nobly done, for my brother, he is engaged in a good and just cause, May our Heavenly Father watch over and keep him from harm in the hour of danger, and when this war shall eease, may he return and relate his adventures to his most interes-ting listeners. We hear from Welling every week but his letters are first sent to Newark and the news are rather stale before the letters reach us. The last account he was encamped near Monterey but that was before the evacuation of Corinth and where he is or what he is doing now is hard to tell. His health was good then and they had plnety to eat, but the water was very poor. There was con-siderable sickness in the regiment. Several of the officers were sick and excused from duty so it made harder work for the other officers
Did I write that Phine was learning the Milli-ners trade? She likes it very much. The spring work is up at the fourth of July then she works no more until the fall trade commences. O, you do not know what a great big fat girl Phine has grown to be. O, I am getting so sleepy that I do not know how or what I am writing so I think I shall retire and finish again Monday afternoon. Tommy has gone down on the railroad to measure up fence and pay off hands. He is engaged in building fence along the rail road. If he has lumber to work will be done in two or three weeks. I was sorry to hear that Mr Carle’s house was burned. Such a nice house too. How does Margaret feel about it? Where does she stay now? Do you tihnk that Mr. Carle will rebuild it? Did any one have a spite against them? I suppose you heard that Lib has moved to Utica Ohio. She is boarding now but does not like it extra well Leonora C. Glover has two children of her own now. I do not know much about the Coshocton folks now so I cannot tell any thing about them. We are away from all of the Burt family now except Uncle Daniel’s They live there. They have built a very nice brick house It is all papered down stairs. They have not furnished it yet. The Burts” are pretty well scattered now. I wonder if they will ever all be together again? Mother Burt had a severe spell of sickness when I was in Newark. She is recovering from it slowly. I left Aunt Matilda with her when I came away. She had been there for six or seven weeks I do not believe that Phine and I could have got along with Mother at all if she had not been there. She had never been so sick and she did not believe she would ever get well. so discouraged and low spirited and every thing troubled her. Father was away too. The doctor said she should have called a phy-sician sooner. It would have saved her a great deal of suffering. Her disease was Neuralgia and her lungs were affected. Give my love to Hannah McNeil if you see her and kiss Loesa for me. write as soon as you receive this and perhaps I can tell you more when I write the next letter yours aff. M. L. Burt