Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Ella Hall to Annie Carlisle April 12, 1880




Fox Lake April 12th 1880

My dear Cousin,

I will now try and answer your letter. I was real glad to hear from you. I did not know as you would answer it seeing as it was so long since you wrote to me before I answered it but I hope I will be a better correspondent in the future. I am going back to Uncle Wirt’s in a couple of weeks I guess so if you will wait until I get settled & write again you will know where to write to me and perhaps who to for dear Cousin. I expect to change my name in the course of a week or two and if I do I will go to Minnesota in the fall but I will be in Eau Claire this summer but wait until I write again and see

Page 2

what the name is that you write to.

Oh how my head aches today. I am as near sick as I have been in a good while and have not done anything but sit around or lie on the lounge to day but I have just had me dinner & feel better so I will finish this now. I don’t know when I will have time again if not now for I must go to sewing this afternoon any way headache or no headache.

I went down to Herman’s yesterday afternoon and had a splendid visit they are all well now. Elizabeth’s little girl is here has been since last Thursday. Elizabeth is coming out later this week after her but will not stay long.

Well this is a nice writing is it not but I am in a hurry

Page 3

I don’t know if Martha will write any now or not. I thought I would because I want to go to town tomorrow.

Deette’s name is Bullen so if you have not heard from her yet I will send you her directions it is

Mrs W R Bullen

Poynette

Columbia Co

Wisconsin

Well I guess I have written all there is except we are all well as usual.

Write when you can if you can in two weeks after that I will not be here.

Ever your Cousin

Ella Hall


Ella announces her imminent marriage but tells Annie nothing about him! I don't believe this was her Iowa farmer. She also doesn't provide the first name of Deette's new husband but Deette will provide that in the next letter.

Uncle Wirt was her mother's brother, Marshall Wirt Wisner. Her brother, Herman Hall lived in Avon, Lake Co, IL at the time of the 1880 census. Her sister, Elizabeth Belden, lived in Waukegan, Lake Co, IL and her daughter, Hermia was four years old at the time of her visit.

For more see:
Carlisle - Wisner Letters
Family of William Wisner
Descendants of Maryetta Wisner
Descendants of Sarah Ann Wisner

Hall, Ella L (Fox Lake, Illinois) to “My dear Cousin” [Sarah Ann Camfield Carlisle]. Letter. 12 April 1880. Digital Images 1-3. Privately held by Apple, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Snowville, New York. 2008. [Carlisle Family, Box #1, Correspondence, 1880, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan]

2 comments:

Randy Seaver said...

Hi Apple,

I've been enjoying your series of letters between cousins. I appreciate your comments in every post about who people are. It helps put them all into perspective.

Don't you wish that you had Ann Camfield Carlisle's letters too in order to see her side of the extended conversation? You might want to check the historical societies where Ella and Ann's other cousins lived to see if they have a similar cache in their collections.

Cheers -- Randy

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...

Hi Randy,

I would love to have the letters that Annie wrote to her cousins. I am trying to get in touch with descendants of Ella and DeEtte so they'll know of the letters and to see if the other end of the conversation was saved.

There are letters written by Annie to her mother after her marriage. I will be starting on them after this series, hopefully in July.