Saturday, November 18, 2017

Transcribed letters of Christiana Elizabeth Howard Smith


Christiana Elizabeth Howard Smith

Once again I want to thank everyone who has taken the time and interest in my family. Many of you have asked for my 3rd great grandmother's letters to be transcribed for easier reading. I have, with the help of my 12 year old daughter, finished transcribing the letters. I am so glad I did, as I have found information that I didn't even know I had! I have done my best to retain the spelling and grammar of the original letters, so they are still a bit tough to read and understand. 

If you want to read more about Christiana and her family, you can read a previous post here

Without further ado... here are the letters with their transcriptions:




Levy County Bronson Fla
August the 2 1877
My dear Brothers ire seived your dis
stressfull letr of the deth
of our por old father i hav laust my las
t best friend inn this woorld i 
see nothing but truble in this world
i hav to work in the field to keep
up my plase i hav got a hard time
i make plenty to do see i hav five
boys and three girls one of the girls
is marid my suninlaw tends to my
stock my boys is ... (?) i am giting
old mity fast sum times i am nearl
y blind i cant hardly rit i dont kno
whether you can read this or not
right to me about your mother and
all the rest i want to no if you and
lumus(?) is marid i love to hear from
you all por...(?) your to right to
me oftin i have a near feling for you
all but ...(?) like you might right
to me oftin my Dear brothers plese
send me your picturs and fathers
age i wod be so glad to see you all
this leavs us all wel hoping thers few
times wil reach you all the same blesing
right soon your loving sister un
till deth

C.E. Smith



tel sisters to right to me sister
Emely youst to right to me but she
hasant and hit wont be all
ways that wee can hair f(ro)m each
other i dont kno that you can rede
this my mind is all ways confuisd
crops is not vary good this year
hit is ben to dry i hop to hair
from you all soon please rit to
me my loving brothers



                              Bronson Levy Country Fla
                              May the 14 1878
Dear Brother i take my pen in hand to right
a few lines my family is not wel som of them has
got the favaer i hope this will find you all
in good helth my crop is a (?roing) for rain
hit has bin the wet ist spring i evr saw i
think and now it is mity dry i hant got
nary letr from you in along time i think
i had rother you wood sell my part
to the hyiste bidder for cash and hit give
all afair chanche the is too many bad
placis in noats hit is a haird matr
to collect them i dont want to fool
what my por old father give me for
well do in provity is haird to get


C E Smith

*The "favaer" she mentions here could be from the yellow fever epidemic of 1878.*




   Levy County
           Florida
   No the 16 1878
My dear brother i will
try to right you a few lines
to let you no that i received
your letr i hav bin vary
sick with the fever all the
rest of my family is wel
as corn hare was mared the
first day of september and
hit seames like i am ruined
i hav bin a trying to kep
hit from maring for the last
year but i cud not i am
in a heep of truble tha
say he is a smart man he
has got a plase and a horse
and a crop and sum catle
but he is not worth
ny as much as she is
she has got three nice

mairs be sids other things



and money out on
intrust but i am trubeld
in mind so bad i cant rig
ht hit seames like i am
ruind since lara left
me i have got five boys
and one lit girl living
with me and i am nearly
blind and my helth is
bad i hav a heep to see
too william smith is
got the same disease
that bryant dide with
he is agoying a bout for
his helth he is staying
at sedr keyes i hav made
avary good crop my dear
brother i wod beglad to see
you cum to see me one tim
in life i want you to
right to me ofin you ant
like me cant right i hav to

serack(?) right soone C E Smith



Bronson Levy co Fla
June 2 1883
Dear Broth I received
your letter a few days since
i was glad to hear
from you and to hear
you was all well this
leaves all well at
this time hopeing it
may find you all (ind...?)
the same blessing
we ar standing in
need of rain very bad
if i get sum
soon i wont make
mutch come the most
of my corn is in
silk and tussel
i want to no if all

the mony has bin paid



over to the managers
of the stat yet. I 
want to no if you have
got your part of the
state yet. if they
have collected the mony
wont pay over its not
going according to the
will I want my part
of the estate as well
as them it was my
father request for each
every one to have shears
and shears a like, they
promiced to do right
by me as I was away
and if they dont they
will have to abide the
consiquece, i wil do nothing
more at pesent right



Soon i remain as ever

C E Smith to, J.J. Barnard



Bronson Fla
May 4 1885
Me C.C. Howard
    J.J. Barnard
       J.S. Howard
Dea Brothears
    I recived
your letter and the
package of money on the 2
day of this month they
was $2.45.00 in money in
package and a note for 85(?)
which make $3.30.63 I will
keep the note untle I hear
from you all again I dont
understand wheath it is
ballance dew on the land or
not or wheather it is

intrest or what



ps I wood like for
some of you to send
me fathears
picktears if you pleas
C.E.S

all I want is my
wright
Crops is very good
considers dry weathear
will have not no
hear in some time
cows is doing veary
well considering I
hav not lost veary
meany this year that
I now of if my oringe
dos well I will send
you all A preasent
this fall this leaves
all well as comon
hoping this will
reac you all in the same
health
yours truly

C.E. Smith




Bronson Fla
April 8 1888
Mr. C.C. Howard
Georgia
           Dear Brother
your letter received some
time ago I have ben sick
with rheumatism for some
time but am some better
at present and could
(?) a delay in writing
i think it must be a
family disease with all
of us the rest is all well
as common hoping those
few lines will reach
you all the same blessing
it is most a distressful
time here it has ben so

dry that the cattle is lag
ing and the people have
to follow the woods and 
pull them out. all the
ponds have dryed up
and we have to dig them
water holes. it is a bad 
chance to get crops up here
is it so with you?
I can feel oranges will be 
a failure this year with 
all the cold and dry 
weather has cut them 
back. I have not seen a
bloom. we raise pleanty
of Peaches when the cold 
dont injure them. They
are no turpentine farms
a round us but in a






bout 30 miles away there
are plenty of phosphate
diging in a bout 5 miles
of me they dig holes
about 30 feet deep and 
about 25 feet wide. They 
drive teams down to
the phosphate and haul 
out. some men get $2.00
per day to get and
bors(?) the hands.
write me if old Rachel
is living yet.
write soon and let me
hear from you all.
excuse haste.
I remain your sister
ever
C.E. Smith

the last work I done
in Georgia was make
you a flaniel shirt

*the phosphate digging that she mentions in this letter is referring to the phosphate that was discovered in what would become Newberry, FL. Newberry was founded on the phosphate boom in the late 1880's*



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2 comments:

  1. I sure that in the one letter it says...injoying the same blessing.

    ReplyDelete