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George Wayne Nash Jones writes that Charlotte did not learn to read or write until after she left Canada. And. like most people that have a limited knowledge of spelling, they often wrote like they spoke. At the risk of seeming presumptious, I am going to try to decipher what she was saying to Samuel.( I will add punctuation because I can't do it otherwise). "October 25, 1922" "My dear son and daughter and granddaughter. I am send you a few lines. We are keeping pretty good. My dear son I hope you are all keeping well. I think you will be so surprised to have few lines from your mother. I have been staying a long time for Henry to fight (?). This have been a long strike 1 april. This is scab mines here else it would have been settled before now. Henry only 3 half days work in several months (????). Your brother Dan have got very poor health." |
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"He haven't been able to work for two years. He have got heart trouble and asthma. He haven't breathe so bad. Our Sam's son, Bill, was here in summer. He was here ten days. He is a nice young man. He was so glad to see me and Uncle Henry. He is very sturdy. Dear son I have been very sick but am better now. That rheumatic it made my heart so bad at night I got to get up too much and sit in the chair. Henry will write soon. (?) I shall be 76 the 12th of May. Dear son I can't write much so goodnight and God bless you all
from mother and family"
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One thing that is very startling is that Charlotte says she will be 76 the 12th of May (according to my calculations that means she would have been born in 1846). The record in England that Harry Culbert Nash was kind enough to share with us records Charlotte as being born on May 21, 1849 which means that she was actually 73 years old when she wrote this letter. Her letter reflects a woman who was caring enough to learn to read and write for no other apparent reason than to write to her children. Given her age and educational disadvantages, her mark would have been sufficient for legal documents even in 1922.
You can detect her English accent in the way she spells certain words..."Helce" for "else"; "Henerey" for "Henry" (everytime I read that I think of the song, "I'm Henerey the Eighth I am") and "bean" for "been"...she was very obviously English born and bred. There is nothing in this letter to indicate where she was living with Harry. In the 1920 census for Cle Elum, Kittitas, Washington, she was living with her son Daniel and his family. On a personal, rather sad note, Charlotte's great-granddaughter, Betty Jane Nash, the eldest child of William Arthur "Art" Nash and Dorothy Goodpasture was born October 16, 1922, just 9 days before this letter was written...chances are she never knew anything at all about Betty's birth. Any comments, suggestions, insights into this letter are welcome... |