Trinkets and Treasures - No. 2

The last item I showed you was a trinket, but this one is a real treasure, at least to me. I'm pretty sure the genealogy enthusiasts among you will appreciate it, too. It's the oldest thing I own--an original letter written in 1858 to my great-great-great-grandfather, Abraham H. Hetherington, by his brother, Isaac.

The letter came to me when my grandmother died in 1988. It was stuffed in an envelope with other family history documents. It was sealed in plastic then and remains in the same plastic today. Unfortunately, even in that protective environment,  a portion of the letter has separated from the rest along a fold line.

Here it is, front and back:

In this letter Isaac addressed the problem of moving his and Abraham's parents from where they lived then to a better place, and declined without much of an explanation to do the job himself. Here's a typed transcript of the text (blank lines denote illegible words):

          Brandonville, VA. May 17th, 1858 

Dear Brother, 

Yours of 30th Ult. came duly here. 

We are well. I was glad to hear you all enjoy 

good health. You write concerning Father & 

Mother. You think the matter of attending 

to their removal devolves on me. You will 

understand me, that I feel as you on this 

subject, but how under the present cir- 

cumstances I can go, I cannot see. I com- 

ply with your wish in informing you 

thus. If I could at all do it, I surely 

would attend to this duty without delay. 

I hope you or your son will proceed 

to attend to getting them out & that they 

may reach there in safety and that 

the Almighty may spare them long. 

It is heartrending to hear of their suffering and we 

well blame ourselves. I remember of sending the old 

folks some years ago five dollars. I believe this was 

when I lived in Selbysport. Since then he was 

here with us but a good many years ago. 

When he left here, I presented him with such 

articles as he could carry with him for their 

comfort. He was surely welcome and would 

have been to more, but he declined taking 

what I had in fact to force upon him. 

Since that time my circumstances have chan- 

ged so that I have not means to assist 

him at my command, otherwise Brother 

Abraham, they should not suffer. And if I 

could go and attend to them now I would 

go without delay. Well may you say this is 

a serious matter. We owe to Parents debts of gratitude 

we cannot repay. With regard to course of travel 

to their place, I can give you little or 

no information. You are surely aware of the two 

routes by rail, that of Balt. & Ohio and that 

of Pittsburg & Connellsville, or better perhaps by 

water from Pittsburg to Brownsville & then by 

coach to Cumberland. Or you could stop this 

side of Cumberland. Should you or your 

son come in after the old Parents & travel 

by the Balt. & Ohio Rail Rail, you could 

stop at Cranberry Summit 18 miles from 

this place & come here, Or if Boat from 

Pitt. to Brownsville you could stop at _____- 

__________ 12 miles from here & call here. 

I hope you will do so. You say you can 

not well send a constitution (the last) of 

Iowa. I am well aware you would if you 

could accomodate. I inquired of you 

concerning Bro. C. in my last letter. You 

must have forgotten to say something on 

this. Write me very shortly & inform me 

what you are going to do concerning 

the old Parents & when you intend to 

go or send for them and when we ex- 

pect you or your son here to see us 

on your or his way there, inform me al- 

so all you can about Christmas, in each 

particular, and ________ here & intended 

removing to one or the other of the two 

states, which you prefer, yours or Iowa. 

With the best wishes for your prosperity 

and that of your family, 

                           Your Brother 

A.H. Hetherington          I. Hetherington 

Henry and Margaret, the "old parents," were 87 and 65 years old, respectively, when this letter was written, so it's easy to understand the brothers' concern for their well-being. Isaac, in the letter, seemed to acknowledge that he was the logical choice to help Henry and Margaret move, but his reluctance to do so left me wondering how the problem was ultimately resolved.

I've never learned how Henry and Margaret were relocated or who actually tackled the job of moving them, but I was thrilled to find out that both of them were still alive at the time of the 1860 U.S. Census. (A misspelling of their last name had kept that fact hidden from me until last year.)

So where were Henry and Margaret in 1860?  In Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

And who was the only other person living in the household with them? Why, it was their son Isaac, the shoemaker and former buck-passer.

I love a story with a good ending.