About these letters

Samuel Andrews saved his letters. Copies of some letters came to my sister Linda Sanders and I through the good graces of Marian Andrews Edward about a dozen years ago and she is currently sending the remaining letters and she and her brother have given me permission to post them online for all Andrews researchers.

Transcriptions and some original images of letters written by Andrews and Carrick family members to one another are in this collection. Somehow they were saved, either by Samuel or just stored at his home, and passed down to us today. The images online are small but if you click on an image it should enlarge to a readable and printable size. Enjoy.


Who are the people in this photograph?


DeLight Birchell Andrews sent the photo and the names a few years ago and said that this reunion was held before 1898 at the home of John G. Andrews, brother of Samuel. John lived in Campbell township, Ionia County, Michigan at that time.


Front row l to r: Mr and Mrs. S.A. Watt [friends or relatives??]; James C. Andrews; John G. Andrews; Samuel Andrews and his wife Amanda Catherine Wiles Andrews; Anna Newton Andrews and her husband Edward Andrews; David Johns [friend of the family].


Back row l to r: Henry Culler and wife [probably friends of the family]; James McFarland [cousin] ; Martha Andrews ; Carey Andrews and his wife Dazy Perry Andrews Harvey Andrews; Amos Otis Andrews; Mr and Mrs Henry Wills [friends of the family].




Sunday, November 18, 2012

1905 11 01 Martha Andrews to Samuel Andrews










Seneca, Mo Nov 1st 1905
Dear Uncle,
           I suppose you are at
 home again and I will try to
 answer your letter but I cant
 begin to tell you how disappointed
 we feel by your not coming
 to see us and we don’t feel as
 though we could give it up yet.
  We had planed and hoped so
 much for it.  don’t you find
 some way that you could
 come yet? if not let me suggest
 that you get busy and arrange
 your affairs some way so you
 and Lloyd wont have to just
 kill yourselves for – well for
 what!  When I think of the way

[page 2]

 Pa used to work and expose
 himself to all kinds of storms
 and work when he ought to have
 been in bed and of how fast he
 was breaking down and now to
 see the excellent health he
 enjoys and does not have to
 work only enough to keep him
 in exercise it makes me so
 sorry he did not make the
 change years ago.  And if one
 could only hear you had decided
 to take a little more leisure
 during the few years left you
 I would be so glad.  Your children
 always seem to think so much
 of you I wish they would stop
 to consider how you are killing
 yourself and then help you
 to find some way to live a
 little easier and longer.
 Of course I know it means
 a whole lot it did to us but

[page 3]


 I am satisfied it has added
 years to Pa’s life and that is all
 I care for.  his good health
 still continues and he is getting
 fat again he lost 9 lbs this
 summer and I think now
 he has more than got it back
 for of late when he puts on
 his coat he says “I don’t see
 what ails this coat it don’t
 [stip] when I put it on”
but he is just so fat he cant
 hardly button it when he does
 get it on.  Oh Uncle I do
 wish you hadn’t got that off
about  the yellow fever.  did you
  really  mean that you people
 were scared about it or were
you joking? we hardly think
 you meant it.
Well we talked quite a bit
 of going to Ohio as we could

[page 4]

 get round trip tickets from here
 to Butler for $22.00 good for
 30 days but we felt sure you
 were coming and before we
 found you were not coming
 the time was past  I don’t
 know for sure that we would
 have gone but we would liked
 to.  I don’t believe I ever told
 you Pa and I took a little
trip up to Baxter Kansas
 in Aug to a soldiers reunion
 drove up started from
here about day light got there
 at noon and started home
 after dinner next day and
 got home at 6 pm. some
 friends of ours were there
 in camp and we staid
with them  we had a fine
 time I tell you and the
 Indiana camp meeting is

[page 5]

 no where for crowds  there were
 thousands of people there and
 from all over the U.S. they
 have the reunion every year
 and if there is no yellow
 fever down in New Orleans
 we want you to come and
 go with us next year if we are all
 living and well.
We have had fine weather here
 this fall but we had a frost
 two weeks ago that killed
 vines and about that time
 it began to rain and has been
 rainy most of the time since
 but wheat needed it so I
 suppose we cant have rain
 and sunshine at the same
 time and one is as essential
 as the other.  it is pretty
cold nights now frosts every
 few nights last night it

[page 6]

 froze ice on a tub of water
  as thick as window glass.
  but some of the kids were
barefoot by noon.  farmers
 have their fall work about all
 done and hay and corn is
 pouring in  corn brings [..] cents per bu.

We had a letter from one of
 the old neighbors in Mich
 Sat she said they had a
 snow storm the 10th of Oct
 and it had been quite wet.
I guess I will close as it is
 ten oclock I have written one
 other letter tonight  I am getting
 the family complaint and don’t
 write till my letter pocket gets
 full but this time it is badly
 running over and I must keep
 at it now till I get it emptied
  today I received a couple of large
 pictures from Mich that were

[page 7]

 back in John Cools field
 where deep gullies had washed
 out  I saw them a year ago but
 last spring they washed so
 much worse   they are just
 grand and the day Mr.
 Burleighs barn was raised
 this summer they took the
 pictures and one of our
 friends sent us two different
 views but they are on such
 a large scale I can scarcely
 make out who any of the
people that are in the
picture are.  Now Uncle we
 want you to write us all
 about your trip  let us know
how the Ind people are.  we
 have wondered a good deal what
 Anna would “be on” it was so
 late she would have her pickles
 all made, her plums all preserved

[page 8]

 the threshing all done and
 let us know what was the
 rush.  and how is poor Aunt
 Becca  how I would like to see
 her.  does she look much more
 frail do you think.  and how
 is Uncle Horace Tucker.  Oh
 tell us all about them and
 let us know how Lloyd is
 feeling.  do you think he still
 suffers from the effects of the
 diphtheria  I am afraid that
will always hang to him.
  Now write soon I would
 have written before but
waited till you would get home.
  give our love to all from
                                                                        Dott                                                                                         

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