📄 Letter, John Tone to Mary Manahan, Dec 4 1832
On the outside, the letter is addressed to "Miss Mary Manahan, Ledyard". This is probably Ledyard, NY, which is in Cayuga county. The sender and recipient are not completely certain but it seems likely to be from John Tone (1799-1861) to Mary Manahan (1780-1874) (see notes below for more on this).
A note added at the top by a prior reader is harder to read than the letter itself. Best I can make out is "I think this is Thomas unreadables letter"
The bottom right corner of the letter is missing, which results in several truncated lines. This is reflected below in "[missing]" notations near the end.
Bergen December 4th 1832
Dear aunt with respect I take this opportunity to inform you of our health at present. James and his family is well. Emily is there and is quite sick & that she is confined to her bed the most of the time . She has a pain settled in her hips and we are afraid it will be a feaver [?] save that we hope not. She has been sick about five or six weeks. Wm. wife has been sick but she has got better. My health is good at present but my family is not. Unreadable [starting with C or E?]s health is quite poor and our babe is sick that we have not mutch hopes of recovery. He was taken with the inflammation on the brain and has been sick a week to night and there is not mutch alteration since. But aunt the lord has laid his hand of affliction on us he has taken from us a mother and you a sister. He has taken one who was our friend in trouble and in these afflictions she is greatly missed.But we learn from this that the arm of flesh cannot save mother is gone home and we believe that happy home where she finds rest when the howling winds unreadable not chill unreadable where the unreadable storms does not disturb her repose. She has gone with thy unreadable and she is no more and I can say let her go. When I think of that rest for saints I can not wish her back. Mother was in her sickness a sight to behold. Her face was swolen that we could hardly unreadable her and she could not see for five days and she could not talk nearly the same time her throat was so sweled that she could hardly swallow. When she Made the attempt it would all run out of her nose and she allmost suffered want of drink. I think that her throat sweled so [missing] it stoped her breath she grappled with death for [missing] days but when the breath left her she hardly s[missing] She has left the world of troubles-- I think she w[missing] of can fully unreadable fit for her unreadable use and n[missing] us examine [?] our selves and see if we are prepared to [missing] put my trust in the lord, come life or come death [missing] reffuge out babe is so unreadable that I must [missing] but I remain friend and fellow traveler in the land [missing] find you well may we meet in immortal glory.
Notes:
- The comment that "he has taken from us a mother and you a sister" plus the 1832 date suggests that the death described is Margaret Manahan (1769-1832).
- Because of the above, this is potentially from any of Margaret and John A. Tone (1768-1825)'s children. Margaret had a sister Mary Manahan (1780-1874) who is presumably the person named on the outside of the letter.
- The only of Margaret's children who I have record of having lived in Bergen are John Tone (1799-1861) and William Tone (1807-1850). Of those two, John seems more likely to be the author simply because he's an ancestor of mine and I eventually inherited the letter.
- "Emily" mentioned in the letter may be Emilia Tone (1803-1879), Margaret's daughter.