Letter from Ellen Milliken Barker to her daughter Susan Barker FitzSimons, Boston, 21 February 1858 (page 1)
Book 1, Page 61 ·1858
Transcription
A handwritten letter in brown ink on lined paper. A circular embossed seal is impressed at upper left. Across the top, in pencil in a different hand, an identifying annotation has been added by the compiler.
[Pencilled annotation across the top in a later hand]: Ellen Milliken — Barker & her daughter ↑Susan Barker Fitz Simons. (my grand mother) — A.F.W.
Boston 21 Feb '58
My dear child
Of course I was very anxious to hear of you, but really did not wish to hear from you, knowing how much more you would have to occupy you on your return home at that time. I rejoice at your being able to supply all Baby’s wants, & the more so as 'tis an indication of health & strength in yourself. But I am also glad to hear is quite well again. I heard that you had a cold, but as you say nothing of it hope it has disappeared. We went to town on Tuesday 16 — saw G Mother then, looking thin but bright in spirits & health. She took cold the next day, from a sudden cold change while out driving. She is better but still in bed yesterday when Thomas & Sue Gné left to come up here after dinner. Sanford was in town & is taking care of her. Mr Owens is away & ye Father would not go on Saturday to town — we hope to go on Tuesday tomorrow he is to start his “Wilkinson Gins.”
I made a visit at Mr Kings & at Margarets & Mrs
AI Notes
Page 1 of a handwritten letter dated 'Boston 21 Feb ‘58’ (1858) from Ellen Milliken Barker to her daughter, opening ‘My dear child.’ A pencilled annotation at the top of the page in another hand identifies the correspondents as Ellen Milliken Barker and her daughter Susan Barker FitzSimons, the compiler’s grandmother. A circular embossed seal is impressed at upper left. Ellen reports on a visit to town on Tuesday 16, the grandmother’s brief illness from a cold contracted while driving, and mentions Thomas, Sue Gné, Sanford, Mr. Owens, and a planned trip to start the Wilkinson Gins. She has just begun a round of visits at Mr. King’s and Margaret’s. The letter continues onto pages 062 and 063.
The “Boston” dateline is Boston plantation on the Cooper River, not Massachusetts — Ellen Milliken Barker (1807–1874) wrote from the family’s Lowcountry seat. Her daughter Susan Milliken Barker (b. 1827, d. 1900), the addressee, had married Dr. Christopher FitzSimons (3rd) and was at this point the mother of two infants, Kit (b. Jan 1856) and Sam (b. Dec 1856); she is the compiler’s paternal grandmother. “ye Father” is the archaic shorthand for “the Father,” meaning Susan’s father. “Sue Gné” appears to be a written abbreviation/nickname; the letter closes on page 063 with a small key naming the family members mentioned by their initials.
Letter continues on next page.