Marcia (Chapin) Christy - July 10, 1879 - Coal Creek , KS
Coal Creek Kans.
July the 8 1879
Dearest Mother
How I wished I could talk with you instead of writing for I am not sure you will get this letter it may go like the rest I received all of your letters and have answered them all and wrote others besides I wrote you a long letter and sent it to Oakwood the I sent one to Edwardsville after Oscar was hurt and I wrote on eto you and Maggie and sent it to Danville I expect you have got that one by this time hope so I hope you are all well we are well only tired. The reason is this we have had the fourth in our settlement and of course the bigest part of the work will fall on willing hands at such times we had our first celebration half a mile west of us at Mr Perrigos George and Mr Perrigo built a shade of brush and polls we carried our tables and chairs with us we had a good time Oscar and family were there Katie and me were on the Table Committee so she went home with the head ache Oscar had all the ice cream he could eat and lemonade to drink, he has got well again but his leg is stiff he will allways be a cripple Richard went over and helped him stack his Wheat It has been a wet harvest there will be a good deal of wheat lost it looks like Rain today there has been awfull storms around) us but none here great distrcution of life and property and dear Richard has been so afraid that it made him about sick. I must tell you about our trip up to Brother Richards our preachers, we went up Saturday to attend quartly meeting, Sunday come home and left Richard up there to tend meeting Sunday night O Mother if you could only see him and hear him pray he is the happiest man on this earth, every body likes to hear him pray. Come west and and enjoy life with R and me. Oh! I forgot to tell you that we have an Ox team Alferd has gone to break prarie for one Ox and pa has to work to pay for the other that is what the Brothers have done for us, Richard says all come west and build on his farm if you cant get land any where ells there is no Goverment land near here. July 10 1879, Well Mother since I commenced this I had to go a goose-berring with some folks so I had the luck to get poisend as usall. My face is swelled my right eye is most shut it is better tonight I went a Raspberring twice got poison both times. We got 6 quarts of berries and you can guess how good they was we had peas and new potatoes for supper we have cucumbers beans beets onions we have a good Garden and I have 50 young Chickens so come over we will have fried chicken will have squashes in abundance if nothing happens to them our prospects are good, at present. R is writing to Lease for we have had a long letter from them they sent two stamps, one was for me to write to you. Now Mother it will be best for, Maggie and her Husband to come west tell us how she cam ot marry Compton. I have not told Oscar and Kate nor the boys I shant tell the boys atall if she has gone astray if she does right now it will right I think as Richard does he ought to be shot and he says if he was there he would have to leave or die he is the one that ought to suffer. Jane has a girl born in February calls it Eva Jane Benton she says it looks like me Rose says it looks like me and is a beauty it has blue eyes
I shall Look for Oscar and Family they said they would come O dear to think that you and I were never so long apart before come as soon as you can if we had money you would soon have it where is D and H are they dead and where do they live George is a going to take school land if he cant do any better. Love to all and may God bless you all and may we meet in Heaven above where there is no more sorrow sickness nor death if we are not permitted to meet on earth now Mother dont wait so long before you write tell Maggie to write sometime we have stamps Yesterday was Mrs Halls Birth-day so Mrs Perrigo and myself went to her house today was Mrs Watterings so Mrs H Mrs P and myself was to her house had a pleasant time
Mrs W was 30 years Mrs Hall was 31 years
From Marcia F Christy