Aug the. 16 [10?], 1891
Dear sister it has been so long since I have written to you I have
forgotten whither I wrote you last or you me it is sabbath
afternoon the rest have gone to sunday school Mr Gibbs is the
superintendant dont make a very good one I have the head ache did
not go so am trying to write to you well Sally, John and Call did
come and make us a visit when I heard they were in St Paul I could
hardly wait for them to come up it did me lots of good we enjoyed
their visit and I guess they did the same with us Ed and Em come up
with them we went out to long Lake a fishing had a little picknick
of our own went to the congregational Church went out to the
cemetery I tell you it made me feel sad to see Dans grave John
thought it was a nice place where he is buried I want him to have a
monument some time we went to John athinson [?] & took dinner
there parted with them there should I never see them again I never
will forget that parting no one knew my feelings but my self but this
meeting and parting will soon be over with us all have not heard from
them since they left St Paul must be home by this time
and will tell you all, our Crops are coming on nicely never had
better Mr Drake cut one piece of oats yesterday it is loaded
heavy did you have a big yield of berries we had so many
strawberries we could not take care of them all have had some heavy
storms, am thankful the visit we had from John and Call but am just as
home sick to see some of the rest John thought that Joe and Dollie
would come out this fall write and tell me how you all are getting
along, [something] is Saturday Morning one week has passed since I
commenced this letter. Hannah is going to town with the butter I
tell you now our butter is a help to us we have a splendid cellar
now it is not quite finished yet but it keeps the butter so nice,
Ben came out and helped us pick the bones of the prairie chickens and
ducks I tell you they are nice eating, tell John or Call to write
and tell us all about their trip after they left our house They
visited so many friends probably will never take the trip again,
good Morning would like to step in and take breakfast with you all
sister Lib
* * *
Letter writer Elizabeth CAMPBELL Hughey (1838 - 1904), was a dau. of
Joseph and Ann Clinch Campbell. Not sure whom the letter recipient
was. It's strange -- these letters seem to make little mention of the
recipient's spouse of children. Because it was given to my mother by
Myra BUCK Seiders, from the papers of Emma CONGDON Buck, I would suspect
Sarah CAMPBELL Congdon (1824 - 1892), a sister of Lib But Lib mentions
a visit from Sally, which is what Sarah Congdon was usually called. The
letter implies that the recipient lived in Nelson or was in frequent
touch with the family members who did still live there.
"Mr. Gibbs" -- no known significance.
"Sally, John and Call' -- As mentioned above, Sally may be Lib's sister,
Sarah CAMPBELL Congdon. John and Call are easy. They are Lib's
brother, John Harper Campbell (1836 - 1899) and wife, Calphurna J.
Bottom, various spellings, (1842 - 1910). "Call" was pronounced the
same as "Cal".
"St. Paul" -- At that time, Cousin Charles Harris Congdon (1856 - 1928)
had left Brainerd and was Supt of Music for St. Paul, MN, schools. He
was a son of Sarah CAMPBELL Congdon, and brother of Emma CONGDON Buck,
recipient of many of these letters.
"Ed and Em" -- Emma and Charlie's brother, Thomas Edgar Congdon (1850 -
1929) and wife Emma E. Vaughan (1854 - 1954).
"long Lake" -- I mentioned that Lib lived in Long Lake Twp. Roger may
want to comment more about Long Lake, he's very familiar with it and the
Hughey residences. And hopefully he'll mention it if he notices any
errors in my annotations.
"Dans grave" -- Daniel Hughey (1826 - Feb 13,1891), Lib's husband. As
you can see, he hadn't been dead long.
"John athinson" -- (At least that's what it looks like to me.) Perhaps
Roger Hughey or Irma Taylor Anderson will recognize the name -- or the
correct variant.
"Mr. Drake" -- Presumably a neighbor.
"Joe and Dollie" - Lib's brother, Joseph D. Campbell (2839 - 2909) and
wife Dollie V. Bottom (1840 - 1920). Dollie's sister, Rebecca A. Bottom
(1843 - 1889) m. Robert Samuel Lugg (1835 - 1893), 1st cousin to Ann
Clinch and Mary Blackwell. Don't know if Dollie was related to Calphurna.
"Hannah" -- Hannah Jennie Bixby (1863 - 1956), Lib's daughter-in-law.
"Ben" -- If this letter is written to Sarah, this would probably not
refer to her husband, Benjamin Docray Congdon (1820 - 1897). It could
refer to his nephew, Benjamin Franklin Congdon (1852 - 1925), who moved
from Nelson to Brainerd. A number of BFC's desc. still live there.