May 10, 1899 letter to Oscar & Mary Ann Keith from Herbert & Altha Keith

May 10, 1899

To: Oscar & Mary Ann Keith

From: Herbert & Altha Keith, Charlotte, MI

General news of the family.

1899-05-10 Herbert & Altha Keith to Oscar & Mary Ann Keith

Charlotte Mich May 10^th 1899

Dear Parents,

Your welcome letter recd last night and will write a few lines to day as I have to go to work to-morrow. Glad to hear you were all reasonably well. Have you been to the Dr to see what he says about your eyes? You had not better not put it off to long I suppose. Mrs Randall _____ to look old by this time. She could not see Ina a great deal could she!

Geo Havens wrote me the day after his Mother died of her death. He felt very bad as he did not seem to expect it.

I am still working nights and will be for about a month. Hope I will get settled again sometime.

The boys[1] have lots of fun outdoors these days and both are about as black as they can well be. Did I understand Father[2] to say that he was going to raise some beets for sugar? Is the same man on the farm this year? Glad to hear the crops were looking well. Yes Mr Basnight got his permanent appointment and was married a few days ago to a young lady of Charlotte.

Donald said he would have to put an other leaf in the table when Ina comes. He says she is going to come and stay all summer.

I would not worry about Glenn.[3] He always has something in the string and if he is successfully vacinated there is not much danger. If he had been specially exposed they would have have him quarantined.

Allie[4] is commencing to clean house. She hopes to be able to do nearly all of it alone. Well I must close now and move out a stove for her.

Good by love to All

Hurbert[5]

—

Wednesday 10 o’clock A.M.

Dear Mother & Father

Herbert has just finished his letter to you and I will write a little. I tell you it is a pretty looking house to sit down in. I am cleaning. Herbert has just gone to get a man to help move the stove out so I’ll stop a minute. As Herbert goes away to morrow I am going to make dumplings for dinner. Wish you were coming to spend the summer with us. It is so shady & lovely here now. Am glad you enjoyed your visit with Inas Grandmother so much. Well I hope Ina is still enjoying her work. Wish she could come to see us. We feel real sorrow for the Havenes. Poor Jack wrote us along sad letter on Sunday when his mother lay in the house a corpse. I wrote right back and Herbert wrote soon as he came home. He also sent up a special copy of the obituary. We did not get the news in time or we would sent of flowers. Well I am needed to wait on the men so guess I will close and write more next time. Soon as I am through cleaning you answer.

I was real worried as it was so long before you answered my last letter.

Good Bye now

Love from Allie

——-

[1] His sons, Donald and Robert Keith

[2] James “Oscar” Keith

[3] His brother, Glenn Noah Keith

[4] His wife, Altha (Struble) Keith

[5] John Herbert Keith

This letter is among several which were loaned to Jim & Ruth (Stankey) Keith, probably back in the 1980s, by Ella Nola (Curtis) Eaton, whose husband, Clifford Eaton, was the great-great-grandson of James “Oscar” & Mary Ann (Batey) Keith. This is a photocopy of Ruth’s handwritten copy of the letter. Note: Jim Keith is the great-grandson of Charles Luke Keith Jr., who was James “Oscar” Keith’s uncle