Typed letter from Seaman Sinkler FitzSimons (Eutawville, S.C.) to his sister Ellen M. FitzSimons, April 29, 1918

Scanned page 442 of Book 1 — Scan of original. Open full size →

A single typed sheet on cream paper, neatly typed on a manual typewriter with the date typed across the upper right and the salutation flush at the left margin. Signed in dark brown ink at the foot.

Eutawville, S. C. April – 29 – 1918

Miss Ellen M. FitzSimons, Charleston S. C.

Dear Sis;

Your letter just received this A. M. and I hasten to write to you that I will be more than glad to exchange my entire lot ~~for~~ or any portion of the silver that you would like to have. I mean this and I want you to do just as you want about it. I rather you have it than any one that I know of because I believe you will value it more. I also received a letter from Huger this morning saying that he was going to ship the silver to me today., and I am writing him by this mail that if he has not already done so not to send it until you have made whatever selection that you desire. All well and send their love.

I was glad to hear of the boys ~~busst~~ but you did not say what Huger’s Sam was doing. I am too sorry for Gillie I wish that I could persuade him to bring Ellen and pay me a visit.

Your Affectionate Brother Seaman

AI Notes

A single typewritten sheet of cream paper, headed in plain typescript “Eutawville, S. C. April – 29 – 1918”, addressed to “Miss Ellen M. FitzSimons, Charleston S. C.”, signed at the foot in dark ink “Seaman” (full surname not written; identification confirmed by the salutation “Your Affectionate Brother” and by family charts on pp 271 and 441). The letter discusses arrangements for dividing family silver between the writer and his sister, with a reference to a third sibling “Huger” (W. Huger FitzSimons) who was about to ship the silver from his own keeping. Light typewriter strike-overs reproduced where visible — the one struck-through cluster after “lot” appears to read “for” overtyped to “or”.

Typed punctuation includes “today.,” (a comma typed after the period, an idiosyncratic Seaman habit) and “writéng” (a struck-through accent). The strikeover after “the boys” reads as “busst” (over-typed start) for “but”. Identifications: Seaman Sinkler FitzSimons (m. Henrietta Gaillard, son Christopher = Kit, d. Waycross 1898 — see p030); his sister Ellen Milliken FitzSimons (b. 27 Nov 1862, d. 9 Jul 1953, the “Aunt Ellen” of the album); W. Huger FitzSimons another brother; Gaillard Stoney FitzSimons (“Gillie”) another brother, m. Susan Lockwood, father of Amy FitzSimons (Mrs. James Pickens Walker, the album’s compiler). “Huger’s Sam” is Samuel FitzSimons, W. Huger’s son. “Ellen” in “bring Ellen and pay me a visit” is Gillie’s daughter Ellen Stoney FitzSimons — i.e. the compiler’s sister, the niece named for Aunt Ellen.

The signature is a flowing ink autograph and reads only as the first name. The letterhead and salutation, together with the family chart on page 271 and the photograph chart on page 441, identify the writer as Seaman Sinkler FitzSimons (brother of Ellen Milliken FitzSimons and of W. Huger FitzSimons and of Gaillard Stoney FitzSimons). “Huger’s Sam” is W. Huger FitzSimons’s son Samuel; “Gillie” is the third surviving brother Gaillard Stoney FitzSimons, and the “Ellen” he is asked to bring is Gillie’s own daughter, named for her Aunt Ellen.