Nelson, Pa.,
March 27, 1925.
Dear Cousins:
April first is fast approaching. Those two words are borrowed
from a composition written by Uncle
Joe Campbell, when he was very young. I found it among some papers
of my mother's, and of course
Uncle Joe wanted it and I gave it to him, and now I have forgotten
it
It seems to be that this has been an eventful year in the history of the Campbell Clan - so that no one need to keep silence for lack of news.
Most of you know that I had a vacation last fall in October, when I visited at Marshalls Falls, Pa.1, Madison, N.J.2, Maplewood, N.J.3, and New York City4. As I had never been out of Nelson, that is very far out, you can imagine what the trip meant to me, and it has been a great comfort to me all winter. I have not been away from home since I returned last fall, but I think now if Ann Owlett ever gets settled again, she will stay here and let me take another short vacation.
I have not seen the girls5 as often as usual this winter. The roads have been bad, and are still almost impassable6. How good it will seem to get all the letters again. To hear from all the cousins great and small.
Some of you may not know that Charlie Blackwell has a granddaughter, Caroline M., daughter of Enoch and Cora. This is quite an important event, being the only girl ever born in Uncle Enoch's family7. Three grandchildren already8, and they are fine, too.
I am wondering if Charlie Congdon has settled in California9, or will he walk in some day soon? I can not think of any important events in my life lately. Aunt Eunice10 and I have survived the long cold winter. She is feeling fine, but I am pretty well used up this spring. Think I would like to join the Florida friends another winter.
1. Marshall Falls, the summer home of Cousin Charlie Congdon, was the site of the previous fall's "Cousins Dinner."
2. Madison was the home of Cousin Geo. L. Buck.
3. Maplewood was the home of Cousin Will Selph.
4.Both Will Selph and Charlie Congdon had their office in NYC. Charlie lived there when he was not "on the road" for his school music publishing business or at his summer home
5. Her daughters, Eva HOOKER Hills and Treva HOOKER Hazlett.
6. Most roads in the US were unpaved back then. So Spring rains turned them into deep seas of mud, in which cars would sink to their axles.
7. Stella isn't counting Charlie Blackwell's adoptive daughter, Ruth Sarah BAILEY/BLACKWELL Partridge. It was quite common back then to exclude adoptees from list of people children. Consciously or not, many seemed to think that only "blood" relatives counted.
8. I'm not sure about the 3 grandchildren Stella was referring to were. One was Enoch Delivan Blackwell, a son of Cora. Another was Lockwood Preston Blackwell, who died later that year, before he was a year old. But I don't know of a third born before Mar. 27, 1925, Perhaps another died in infancy. Cora later had a second daughter, Mariam Frances BLACKWELL Bliss.
9. Charlie Congdon's daughter Bernice convelesced for more than 2 years in AZ and CA, accompanied by Charlie's wife and by Bernice' sister, Louise.
10. "Aunt Eunice" refers to Eunice LOOP Smith, sister of Stella's father.
I have not had a detailed account of Cousin Ann's trip yet. So you see I have that pleasure in store. I expect to take a back seat, but we are all so glad that she could have such a nice vacation, even though sorrow and suffering11 filled several weeks, and we know that it was a great comfort to Mary and Florence to have her with them.
Well, we can not look into the future, but the past has been wonderful, and we can trust Our Heavenly Father to "lead us gently home".
With love to all the cousins,
11. Anna was there to help with the illness of her sister-in-law, Jennie CRANE Bosard, who died while Anna was there.
Utilizing Sandy Buck Garrett's 2012 transcription.
Copyright © 2013 William B. Thompson. Commercial use prohibited.