Abbot/Bowditch Family Letters

Ellen Abbot to her sister Elizabeth (Abbot) Bowditch, 6 March 1853

[From Ellen Abbot in Beverly, Massachusetts, to her sister Elizabeth (Abbot) Bowditch in Tarboro, North Carolina. She talks about the weather; says they'll send pictures of themselves to Elizabeth; describes a visit with sisters Ellen (Bridge) Lovett and Mary (Bridge) Libby; says how she likes their new furnace; talks about her music lessons and songs she likes; describes current fashion styles; mentions the 15 Negroes Elizabeth has charge of; talks about a new servant girl they have; and talks about the activities of various family members and friends.]

I am afraid you will not be able to read this, but answer what you can & a good long letter I shall expect. You will see I have changed my name but every one calls me by that name & I call myself so. Good bye.

E.

Beverly March 6th, 1853

My dear sister,

I received your letter which I assure you was gladly received, for not having had one for so long I began to think you had forgotten you had a sister. But as we have begun to answer each others letters I shall expect to hear from you often, once a fortnight certainly.

I was very glad to hear of your good health & hope you will continue to be so. How I would like to see you all. I suppose we shall soon see Joe Henry.¹ I expect he is in N. York by this time. I wish he had come one week sooner & he would have seen George.² He looked remarkably well this time, & we enjoyed ourselves too. We were right sorry when he left & miss him terribly.

We have had three or four splendid sleigh rides, but the weather is unusually mild for the season. Yesterday it snowed all day & by night there were 7 or 8 inches of snow on the ground, but today is so warm that it is melting fast & will soon disappear.

You will not think I have improved in writing since the last, but I am in a great hurry finire cette lettre before I go to church. I still continue to go to the Academy, though I have not been for the last two weeks.

You said in your letter to Martha³ that Nat⁴ couldn't write yet. Can he read writing. If so I will write him a little note, & when he can write I shall expect to receive one from him.

You asked us to send our daguerreotype by Joe. We shall have it taken & I am thinking you will think us much changed from when you saw us. I am as tall as Martha was then, and she has run up taller still. Fred⁵ has grown considerable, but George² thought I had grown the most.

Last Sunday eve I made a call on Mrs. Ellen Lovett⁶ & Mary Louisa Libby.⁷ I had a remarkably pleasant call. Mrs. Lovett looked very prettily, much more so than Mrs. Libby. She invited us both to make her a visit in Albany where she had a house, which I assured her I should be most happy to do. She staid but two nights, sent her love to you.

You talk of taking off mourning this spring. We are not till fall on account of so many summer dresses. We should if it were not for that.

Martha wrote you about the furnace. Such a change in the house. Every part is warm, so different from a stove. We are all delighted with it, as Joe will tell you when he returns.

Fred is to go to Dancing School this summer, which I hope will improve him & make him stand erect. I do not take music lessons now, but intend to soon. I have learned to play pretty well, so that we have a little music once in a while. By the way, how do you like "The Old Folks at Home."⁸ It has had a great run here and is entirely worn out, but there are many more to take its place. The principal one is "Lilly Dale."⁹ It is beautiful & very easy. Do either of the children sing or play. I expect they will when I see them again.

Do you remember those two old houses next to Mr. Lunts.¹⁰ Well Mr. Adams¹¹ who lives in the Stickney house has bought the land & removed the houses & is to build a splendid house there, which in all probability will be the handsomest one in town. You see Beverly is looking up. We have also a Ship Yard here & they are building a Brig & Schooner.

Do you remember Mr. George Abbot¹² of Boston. He is dead. He has been sick a great while, & three or four weeks since he died. Quite a loss to them all, but they are perfectly resigned to his death.

You asked what the fashions were this season. I have not heard particularly, but they say that plain dresses & capes of the same will be worn. Large Plaids have had a great run all winter. The plaids were so large that 2 or 3 would completely cover a dress. Even gentlemen got to wearing such large ones on their Pants that ladies complained about it.

Mr. Lefavour¹³ is married to one of his old scholars¹⁴ & lives in Thorndike St. I believe he is very happy. George Strickland¹⁵ is also married, to one of the Misses English,¹⁶ & lives in the house over the store.

Charles Giddings¹⁷ has gone to Havanna for his health. He sailed in the ship Pettrhof. They have not heard from him yet. It is his last resort. If this does not cure him he is to give up as being incurable. I hope it will for he is a good smart fellow. If he feels better when he arrives at Havanna he intends to go to Russia & pass the summer, & to come back in September.

I have just come home from church after hearing what Martha³ calls a "Corkscrew." He was I confess a very dull preacher. His name is Mosely. The walking here is nothing to boast of, for it is horrid, all water. Very few have been to church & it is rather dull here.

Sarah¹⁸ has been writing you today so you will have two letters from us in one day.

Louise Lovett¹⁹ has been in town since I last wrote & has gone to Cincinatti to live. She writes that she wouldn't live in Beverly for all the world again, so I should think she must be very contented with her lot.

I was very sorry to hear Ga²⁰ had the Chicken Pox & glad to think she was so well with it.

You asked me in your letter where George² had gone. He has gone to Hobart Town & Singapore. From there he will either go to Calcutta or Manila, it is undecided which. He expects to be gone from 15 to 16 months. The ship was named "The Sooloo," not a very good one. He was very much pleased with his cup, thought it was very handsome.

We have had two letters from John²¹ since I wrote. He was very well & had been ever since he left & expects to be at home by the 1st of April. He gave me a very handsome writing desk when he was at home, which comes in play often. He sailed from Manila the 14th of Dec. If he does arrive in April he will have a good passage.

I think you must have considerable to do to take care of 15. I hope they are good Negroes & suit you all. I expect if I did come to Tarboro it would make me open my eyes as much as it did Miss Gardner.²² I have heard nothing from her since she called here & can find no one that does.

Martha³ is to leave school in June. I should not think she would want to, but she is bent upon it & I suppose she will.

Tell Sissy²⁰ I will make her a bracelet for her dolly if she wants one, for I should admire to those bracelets were all the go in the summer & I thought of nothing that I could send you.

Grandma²³ & Grandpa²⁴ are pretty well. I don't think Grandma is very well. She is failing I think, but she says she is nicely.

We have got an excellent girl, the same as when Jo¹ was here. She can do every thing & anything & we have been remarkably fortunate in our help. You thought wrong when you said Mary²⁵ was convinced that Mariano²⁶ was a human being. She did not think him any better, nay not half as good as the monkey. I hardly think Mariano would have staid as long as he did had we kept Mary, for she fretted him to death. But Joanna has made up for it. She sat at the table with him & treated him just as he should have been. We miss him much, for he saved us many steps.

I went out yesterday in the snow & shovelled off all the planks so you may know I am not sick, nor very lazy.

I find I am coming to the extent of paper & will close, not without sending a kiss for Nat,⁴ Sis,²⁰ & last but not least dear little Abbot.²⁷ Oh if I could see them I would as you say kiss them all away. Tell them I will send a present to each & the daguerreotype to you, so they will have a chance to see how their Aunts & Uncle look. With much love I remain your aff sister

Nell

 

Copyright Charles Towne. Usage of this work is licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0
Compiler: Charles Towne

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