Letter to 'My dearest Ellen,' 12 October 1940 — describing her own 'funeral' (page 6)
Book 1, Page 542 ·1940
Transcription
[Page 6. Continued from page 541.]
descended. I denied that there was any such person and that the great Christopher and Caterine [sic] were the parents and grand parents of all those up who slept in the Cottage Cemetary [sic]. This is the issue which you are to decide. Let me know.
At first I felt like I had been given a greivous [sic] shock and cheated into attending a funeral, which I seldom do. But the grief of loosing [sic] you for two hours and
AI Notes
Sixth sheet of the six-page Judge Hammond letter (pages 537–542), numbered ‘6’ in pencil at the top. The writer denies any such brother and asserts that the great Christopher and Catherine FitzSimons were ‘the parents and grand parents of all those who slept in the Cottage Cemetery,’ and asks the recipient to settle the question. The page ends mid-sentence (‘But the grief of loosing you for two hours and …’); the closing and Hammond’s signature are not preserved with this album opening. ‘Cottage Cemetery’ is the family burial ground in Charleston that the FitzSimons surrounded with cottages, often referenced in this album. A small interlinear ‘up’ appears above the line between ‘those’ and ‘who slept’; the misspellings ‘Caterine,’ ‘Cemetary,’ ‘greivous,’ and ‘loosing’ are all Hammond’s, preserved sic in body.
The letter ends mid-sentence at the foot of this sheet; the closing and the writer’s signature are not preserved with this album opening. Internal evidence — the Augusta law-firm envelope on page 535 and the pencilled cover note ‘Letter from Judge Hammond telling Ellie he had been to her funeral!’ on page 540 — identifies the writer as Judge Henry C. Hammond of Augusta, Ga., a FitzSimons kinsman through descent from Christopher FitzSimons the emigrant.