Closing page of a letter from Theodore G. Barker to Miss Ellen M. FitzSimons at Spartanburg, inviting her and 'Gaillie' to visit
Book 1, Page 491 ·1900–1910
Transcription
here to welcome you or Gaillie. You will not find us the same as you have been accustomed to know us, in health and strength, and we would rather [caret-inserted above the line:] you [end insertion] be with us as we are now, than where we become more feeble and tottering, and deaf &c &c
[A second caret in the left margin keys to a parenthetical insertion:] (At my Expense (of course))
Let me hear from you by Telegram or letter saying that you will come and name the nearest time for your coming so that we can meet you or have you met at the Train, as soon after you receive this letter as practicable —
Yrs affectionately Theodore G. Barker
Miss Ellen M. Fitz Simons Spartanburg
AI Notes
A single sheet of letter paper containing the closing page (apparently page 2 or 3) of a longer letter, written in a sloping cursive in dark ink. The body implores the recipient and a relative referred to as ‘Gaillie’ (i.e., her brother Gaillard Stoney FitzSimons, the compiler Amy’s uncle, who lived in Spartanburg) to visit, asks her to wire when she will arrive at the train, and is signed ‘Yrs affectionately / Theodore G. Barker’ followed by the address line ‘Miss Ellen M. Fitz Simons / Spartanburg.’ A caret beneath the word ‘rather’ inserts the small word ‘you’ interlinearly, and a separate caret in the left margin keys to the parenthetical insertion ‘(At my Expense (of course))’ — the writer’s offer to pay for Ellen’s telegram. Letter relates closely to the Adams Run letter of Oct. 12, 1905 on pages 492–494, in which Minnie P. FitzSimons refers to having read ‘Uncle Theodore’s letter to Sam.’
Theodore G. Barker was a prominent Charleston attorney (1832–1917) and family connection; ‘Gaillie’ is the family nickname for Ellen’s younger brother Gaillard Stoney FitzSimons (b. Oct 1864), who lived in Spartanburg — the compiler Amy’s uncle, and distinct from her father Samuel Gaillard FitzSimons Sr. (b. 1856). The previous page(s) of this letter are not mounted in the album; the surviving sheet picks up mid-sentence with an invitation to visit Theodore and his wife while they are still in reasonable health. The companion letter from Minnie P. FitzSimons on pages 492–494, written October 12, 1905 from Adams Run, refers to having read ‘Uncle Theodore’s letter to Sam,’ suggesting the present letter may be of similar date.