Nancy Kennison Stevens
b. 9 July 1802-----d. 27 August 1876
m. Samuel Stevens on 3 July 1827
Born Kennebec, Maine
Died Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Married Morgan County, Ohio
|
Nancy Kennison was the sister of my GGreat Grandmother, Belinda Kennison.
Belinda and Nancy married two brothers, Thomas and Samuel Stevens. Both the Kennisons and the Stevens had come to Morgan County, Ohio from Kennebec, Maine. Nancy and her husband Samuel moved to New London, Henry Co., Iowa first it appears. Some of the other family members followed later. Samuel died in the Civil War in Memphis, Tennessee. This letter was written to her children on 10th of June, 1874. |
Dear Children
I will try to answer your kind letter, for which I am very
thankful. I have been very sick all winter with a very bad cough, but I am better of that now. But I have had the heart disease all winter and have it yet but not so bad as I did through the cold weather. I was so bad that putting on my dress would make me faint. I was here by myself and Daniel come to see me and wanted me to go home with him, but I was not able so he said he would come the next week. He came twice before I was able to go. He met me at the depot with the sleigh and took me to his house. I staid there five weeks and your Aunt Thurza, James, Pattee and wife and child came and I went home. They staid five weeks and then went back to Farmington for they come from Kansas to Farmington and then from Farmington down here and then back to Farmington and back to Ohio. They had a team of mules and a light wagon. Thurza is feeble and Belinda thinks she is weakly. Guess they don't any of them work much. Thurza said Aunt Polly had a very bad cough & thought real hard of me for not writing to her when I was so well, but when she came and found me so feeble, she wrote to Aunt and she told Nancy Elen and she wrote to (?Samuel D. Cran mer?) he came the first of April, he wants you to write to him he is at work by the month and comes home Saturday nights. He says if I get able to go to Sidney he will take me this fall. He has his team on pasture. I must rest a while. well my dear children words cannot express my longing to see you, but I am not able to come and now and I could not raise the money to come with for I have been ill so long that I have to run in debt so that my means are spent before I get it. It is very hard times here and theso many that work by the day they can hardly make a living for their families. I rent the old house for three dollars a month they give me half of all they raise on the lots. They are very poor but they are kind to me. They do a great many chores for me and pay the rent sometimes in a pound of butter or something of that kind which does well as they can.I am in hopes that I shall get better of the Heart Disease. I am a great deal better than I was last Winter. Mrs. Cox is dead. She died the fifteenth of April. She had been smarter than she had been for a good many winters, she took the cramp and went into fits. She lived 36 hrs after she was taken sick she died at Rachels in Mt. Pleasant. She went there on a visit. I was to sick to go to the funeral. Julius Cox married to a dutch girl by the name of Huldah, she is about sixteen. Rebecca Cox is married in Oregon. Give my love to all the children for I want to see you all if you could come to see me I should be so glad.Write as soon as you get this and tell me all about the children and write a letter to Samuel D. Crammer for he thinks his folks don't care anything about him nor more at present.
Remain your affectionate mother
Nancy W. Stevens
|