Wayne County, NC - Anna Maria (Rhodes) Hill Letters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wayne County Vernon Dec 10, 1844 Dearest Elizabeth I returned last night from a visit to Genl Whitfields & am sorry to inform you thay expect to move to Florady in January. Alice spoke often of you & vary affectionatly. She regreted she did not see you befor you left, said she would write you soon. I only received your welcom letter last night & you see how promt I am to reply to it, though the day is so cold. You know I told you I should not write untill you did. We have heard from our beloved friends three times since you left us, all well, your Pas still improving. I feal truly thankful for that & that I can say all of us are in usial health hear. I regret excedingly the return of your coughf & I shall feal vary ancios a bout it till you write me you are well of it. I do not wish you to write me unless it is so. Alwayes say exacly the truth of it & if it should continu say to Mr. Germain pleas to write me if he thinks their is a danger that the climate will be too cold for your constitution. In that case I would send immeuatly for you. It is your Pas particular request I should do so. You can read this sentence of the letter to Mrs. Germain. If you have not a warm dressing gown aske the lady, Mrs. Germain, to have one made as soon as posable & if your Pa has not remited your funds & thay seem unwilling to let you have what you need, write me & let me know & I will attend to that matter. I entreate you, my beloved child, to take care of your health. Keep good warm shoos & stockings & dry feet as that is vary important to all girls & espesely one of your constitution. Ware plenty of flanel & when the weather is wet & cold keep within doors. Now I am don with advice, I will scold you a littel. I had hoped my Dear that my conduct to you had been such as to preclud all such unpleasant doubts & fears you speake of in your letter, but I know you do not Doubt my love for a moment, only when you want to cry & then you set your fertile brain to work to conjure up something to make you feel unhappy, to aid you along. I know it is constitutional with you. My Dear Child I love you too Dearly to encourage that romantic turn of mind you posess. Believe me if you do not bring all the powers of your mind & all your good natural sense to combat with it, It will prove a grate bain to your happiness through life. My Dear girl let me entreate you to make it a Subject of Prair to your Heavenly Father that he will give you wisdom that will enable you to controle your fealings properly & happily. I expect to come to Philadelphia with your Aunt in the Spring, Febuary perhaps. Your Cousins Ann & Lou went with me to see Cousin Alice & oh how we did wish for you while their, so you could have been back by Monday. As that could not be we consold our selfs the best we could, hoping you ware doing better then to be with us. I believe their is nothing new since you left us, only the mariage of E Finvill & his Sister Caroline. Eliza Wright sends her love to you all. Your Uncle sayes you must learn all you can to pleas your Friends & be among them. I will conclud as I want to say something to Ann & Amanda. Now Dear fair well. May the Surpream Being bless & protect you is the prair of your affectionat Aunt My Deare Ann & Amanda I am glad you have thought of me at last. You know my love for you both makes me alwayes glad to hear from you & espesely from under your own hand. I am also pleased to find you study more then you did in Greensborough. Now dear girls I hope you all feal the imprtance of a good education & will try to think less of home & bend your minds on your studyes. It is probably the last opertunity you will ever have of improving your Education. You must trust your Dear friends to the goodness of God. Commend them in your prairs to his divin goodness & he can & will do more for them. You can if you give all your studyes to them. You shold remember it costs a good deal of mony to keep you their & if you ware to fret your eyes out it would do them no good & you cant learn unless you do give up thinking so much a bout home. Your Dear Mother is in tolerable health. Your Brother is mending, he has a cold at this time, hope he will be well in a few dayes. Dear girls I hope you will attend to the directions given Betty a bout warm dry feet. If you do not you may lay the foundation for diseas that may hurry you to a premature Grave. Your Mother sends her love to you all & sayes tell Amanda if she dont studdy less a bout home & here she will leave her their when she returns home as punishment. Tell her to studdy hard & she will cary her home with you. Dear Amanda I feal for you. I know it is hard to think less of your Dear Mother, but you must try, it will be best for you. You must all be smart & do your best & console your selfs. Febuary will soon be hear when I hope we shall have a happy meting. Oh how I should like to have you all hear Christmast. We missed you so much when you left us. Your Mother had letters from the Dr. & Edward, all well. Your relations are well hear so far as I know. We have nothing new hear. I forgot to tell you Gatsy died weake befor last. Now Dears be kind to one another. All wayes remember it is safter to depend on each other then on strangers, for if you are not kind to each other strangers will say directly if thay cant do for each other their must be something rong. I do not say this becaus I think you need it now but to prevent you from fealing any indiffernce toards each other. You are in a cold climate but I hope it wont make your harts cold. Your mother & family send their love to you all their. Now I must say adieu untill we meet. May Heaven bless you all. Believe me ever your affectionat Aunt, Anna M. Hill P.S. Every time you write say how Bettys coughf is. Dudley, NC Dec. 12th Miss Elizabeth J. Rhodes Burlington New Jersey ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sloan Spence Mason ___________________________________________________________________