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| Etta Daughrity Letter Envelope |
This letter was written in 1934 by my great-grandmother, Loretta "Etta" (McManus) Daughrity (1894-1936) to her daughters Loretta Geraldine (Daughrity) Dennis (1919-1959) who was a few months from her 16th birthday and Frances Elizabeth (Daughrity) Hicks (1916-1989), aged 18.
In this letter, Loretta is lovingly called by her nickname "Pete."
The girls were visiting friends and family in Camden, South Carolina.
The letter is transcribed as written with no spelling or punctuation corrections.
Wed. Aug. 8, 34
Dear old "pete" and Francis,
Pete your card came to hand
Tues. was sure glad to hear from
you all, and to know you were
well, and having a fine time,
We are all about the same,
and every thing is the same
old thing nothing new, going
on, only Mrs. Cole took (9) nine
kids out to Pocallo Tues. p.m. for
an after-noon swim. Azile and
"Rene" were in the crowd, she sure
had a brave heart to take so
many. of course Annie Mae went
along with J.W. and Frankie.
If you all are coming home Sun.
and they will spend the day, drop
me a card, so I will know Sat.
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| Etta Daughrity Letter pg. 1 |
what are you doing Sat? having
a good time I hope. But mind
what you are doing, and be a
good girl, the two or you, not
only one. Oh! yes, Billy came Tues.
and stayed a long time, you
were not home Ha! Ha! He
passed here a little while ago.
Oh! Boy, don't you wish you were
here? Know you do in a way.
We had a good rain Tues. p.m.
and again today, it is nice
and cool, down here now.
You must come down to see me
some time. What is Allie doing?
hope she is feeling fine, she must be
to have you all up there to cook for.
Ha! Ha! Tell her to hurry up and run
you home, how is Earle, Jeff, Mack,
and Evelynn? Guess they are all fine.
Well I'll close with love to all, tell
them to come see us, and write some
time. You wouldn't write pat. that's ok.
Mother
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| Etta Daughrity pg. 2 |
Others mentioned are:
Mack, a Dunlap cousin whose wife went by the name "Jeff" and were living in Camden.
Azile, joining with the group swimming is my maternal grandmother Azile Juanita (Daughrity) Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009).
Billy, the boy their mom was teasing about not seeing may have been William Austin Hicks (1912-1994) who Francis married in 1936. Although, daughter Charlene does not remember her father ever being called "Billy." The name at the end of the letter may be "Pet" and not Pat as it looks. Willie Etta Dunlap (1877-1960) was kin to the family and lived with Etta and helped take care of her girls.
Connections to the other names have not been made yet.
My favorite part of this letter is Etta's use of "Ha!Ha!" when describing an event to her girls. It gives me a hint of her personality.
Letters from the past can be a boon of information. Clues to names and details about activities can add flesh to the bones of an ancestor and family.
Do you have letters written by an ancestor? What did you learn from them?
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,
