Wayne County, NC - Anna Maria (Rhodes) Hill Letters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wayne County, Vernon Jan. 31, 1855 My Dearest Anna, You see I do not take as long to anser your dear letters as you do min. However I do not complain for well I know your time is much more in demand & that you are constantly employed. Indeed I fear you over work yourself, Or in other words you do not pay attention enough to your health or the improvement of your mind, both as regardes your self & your dear Children. You will need all the expansion of mind & knowledge you can obtain to bring them up properly. I know you are fully alive to that matter & I know not why I write thus except the fear you may merge the time you should give to cultivating your mind in labour for their bodily wants which is not half the importance as of a well stored mind with useful reading & the other Perishes with the use. Trust though in the Lord, he will provid for his Children. It is unnesary to saye I am perswaided you know that vary well, but I do rejoice you are going to Dear Betty. Pray my Dear Child that God may give you grace & boldness to speake for his honer & the glory of his holy name & make you an humble instrument in bringing about her conversion. Me thinkes I can devin your thoughts, you think ah Dear Aunty if you knew what a weake Christian I am you would never expect me to do any good in that way, but remember God is able to make the weakest of his Children strong & he sayes so, by all waters cast your seed to the write & left & wait patiently in Prair & he will surly give the increase. My daily prair at the throne of Grace is that this vessel may be Profetable & pleasant to your soles & Boddes. A may you be blest with the seet joy of hearing her give her testamona in fovour of our Lord Jesus Christ. She sayes she wants to believe but can not, but God can make her feal & believe. That he may speedily do, it is my prair & your Dear Pa lies much on my mind. I much fear the Lord will punish him severly of this world. I believe it to be a grate sin in the sight of Omnipetence to place our affections so much on the things of earth. It is violating his word, for he tells us to seek first his kingdom. I fear I have tired you, but this is a so fruitful subject & never ending theme I hardly know when to stop. Your letters are always read with deep entrust by me & every little detail of your thoughts & fealings & domestick concerns find reads simpatha & entrust in my hart. How does Jimma come on learning his Bookes, dose he say his prairs yet. Dear Joda, is he restored to health & dose he continu to be a good boy & say his every night. Ah how I wish & pray your Husband could be brought to the saving knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, then you would have the necessary help to train them up for the Lord, but do not despare. Do your duty as a Christian Mother & leave the event in the hands of the Grate & good God in Faith & you will see the travil of your sole in the judgement day. You must expect trial & troubles while in the flesh, all have them. It is good for us or our Heavenly Father would not send them, but with them he will always send Grace to his Children to bare them with profet to their soles. As St James sayes, troubles are good for us thought greveous at the time yet they will afterwords yeald the peaceable fruits of wrightousness. I refer you to his Episel. Kiss Dear Bucky & my darling little Anna & tell them all Grandma loves them vary much & prayes daily if she never sees them on this earth she may meet them & their loved Parents in Heaven. I hope their cloths fited. You know it was all gess work. Have you bought or hired Betsy HILL. I did not know you had her last year. I hope the dear girls will come next summer & as many of the family as can. I want vary muc to see my dear Brother once more if it should be the will of my Heavenly Father. How I ramble on & have said nothing of our self. Well to begin with the dr. is again confined to bed & has been for three weakes & I do not think he will be much better tillt he weather gets settled & stedly warm. It is his old enema, the Rumetism or Gout. He suffered a good deal but dose not suffer so much now. I hope it may be sanctified to him. I am through the goodness of God in my usial health also. Sister HATCH sends her best love to you all, also the Dr. sends his love. Joseph has moved back to his place in Duplin. Mr. John SMITH died vary suddenly the other day. Him & his wife was wriding a long the road in his usial health & he droped down in the foot of the carage & she had to drive a mil or too befor she came to a hous or could get any help. That was in the afternoon about ten miles from home. He died that night about 12 o’clock. Miss Bab EVERETT was married on the 9 inst. To Dr. ARINGTON. Their was a sad catastrophe happened at Mrs. SNEADES school the other day. One of his schoolers was sent home disgrace. She was discovered to be in a family way, ti is said by one of Cowen HERRINGS sones w ho has been recently married. Alas how common this sin is becoming in the higher walkes of life. It is melancolly to think of it. I have forgotten the girls name, she lived in the up part of the state. I fear you will be plagued to read this scrawl. It is vary cold & pen dose not perform its office very well, so I will conclude by wishing you every blessing in lif & that which is to come. Give my love to all my relations & espesely your Husband & except a large shair for your self & believe me yours most affectionately. Anna M. HILL P.S. Carolin beges to be remembered affectionately to you & the Children & her love to her Brother & all the Servants, also Mary & Haner. I forgot to tell you I have a new Cooke & a vary young one, Harriet. She is only about 15 years old, so you see I shall have some of your troubles. I hope to make her a tolerable coocke. I wish you would get Conna to try Hamton Vegetable Tunture. I believe there is grate verutes in it for diseases. It will do her not harm. I am sure for I have known it taken by many. The Dr. & my self have just commenced taking it this morning. It is not bat to take. I will enclose the paper. There is another paper but it is too large to send. In that he sayes there is nothing better for females in their situation. It will bring on a regular cours of nature when obstructed & cure the Asma & coughf. Tell Dear Conna to try it for my sake & go strickly by directions. Ever yours A M. HILL ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sloan Spence Mason ___________________________________________________________________