Monday, November 19, 2012

Amanuensis Monday- Letters From the Past-Part 3

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.



 On the 23 of August 1914  William A. McManus wrote to his daughter Etta Daughrity. This is the third of three letters that I found in the Daughrity family Bible.
I have transcribed it just as it was written. I did not change any spelling or grammar.






Envelope from 23 August 1914 letter
W.A. McManus to Etta Daugherity


Envelope is addressed to
 Mrs. Etta Daugherity
710 Church St.
Sumter, SC

The stamp has fallen off but it looks like the postmark was from Lucknow,SC.


Page 1
   Page 1                                                                     
                                                                                      
  Bishopville, SC
  Aug. 23th  1914
 My Dear Children I am
  writing you theas few 
  lines in answer to your ever
 welcome letter which I received
some time ago and was glad
hear from you and to hear
 that you were well theas 
 leaves me well trusting 
 that they will find you
 boat the same
I th would have wrote to 
 you before now but I
 thoat that I would wait
 untell I moved and I moved  
to the poor farm thursday
and I am writing to you
today  Etta you asked
me if I had  paid that


Page 2
Page 2

five dollars that Davied
owed Mr. Halloman no I
have not paid it yet but
will if Daived hasent paid
it
Ella you asked me if I 
was mad with you and
that you onely asked me
to board jainey some
whear els that did not
make me mad but 
Etta my Dear Child I
am 60 years old now
and I have spent 20 years of that for you
and you no that my wife
left me on your and
jaineys acout and
Emmie turned janey out of her house and
then for you to do
the same thing


Page 3
Page 3

 Why you no that
 it hurt my heart more
over  Etta you are the only
 one that knows how I had
my money in the Bank
and I told Daivd
to tell you what I would
do if you turned jainey
out of your hous so
you was not going by
what other popel said
but that you was going 
to do what you thout was
your Duty so if corse 
I am satisfied if you are
           Now Etta
you know that was
going to make my
home with you
and Daived and I have


 Page 4
Page 4

decided that you would 
 do that to keep from 
being Bothered with  
me in my old age but    
my Dear Child what  
I have dun fore you  
I dident do it for eney  
 selfsis notive but    
what I thoat was my    
Duty to you and my     
god so I onely ask you   
to thank god that he   
gave me helth and  
strength to work for 
you and never give    
me a thoat eney more in 
life for I am not wortey
of even a thoat 
 your father
  W.A. Mcmanus
  Bishopville, S.C.    
R..F.D.2.4.                                                         

                             This is such a sad letter. Again there is the mention of the mysterious Jainey. It seems that she is the source of some contention in the family. According to the letter, two family members have asked Jainey to leave their home. The first was Emma McManus, W.A. McManus' daughter-in-law,and the second his daugher Etta. What the relationship between Jainey and the McManus family was is still unknown to  me but clearly she is important to William (W.A.) McManus.
                        William McManus died on the 13th of September 1914, only a short time after this letter was written.  I don't know when it was mailed or how long it would have taken to get to Etta. Did she get it before her father died? Was she able to see or write to him again and resolve what ever was going on or did he die with it still between them?  I really hope that she did but I doubt I will ever know.   Perhaps the answer is in solving the mystery of who Jainey/Janey was and her relationship to the McManus famly.


Previously transcribed letters from W.A. McManus to daughter Etta.
Letter 1

Letter 2


                                            
                                                                                                      




                                          



                       

Letter Transcribed 11 November  2012 by Cheryl Hudson Passey
From original letter found in Daughrity family Bible
Original letter in  possession of Cheryl Hudson Passey archived in Daughrity Family File

                             

                                                                                                               





2 comments:

  1. I am struck with the sentence "my wife left me on your and Jainey's account." If Jainey is Ben's wife, there must have been some big dispute between the two families. Or continual arguments between Jainey and his daughter?

    In any case, my heart goes out to this man. He has gone to the poor house, he will pay the $5, he isn't asking his daughter to take care of him, he is just glad that he had the strength to care for his daughter . . . oh, my goodness! (I take him at his word, but if he is in fact trying to make his daughter feel guilty, it's certainly working on me. So sad.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Worked on me too! Thanks for comment and for reading my blog!

    ReplyDelete