Mrs E Cullum
American Fork
September 19 1879
Dear Brother and Sister
I was very glad to receive a letter from you all so to hear you are
well I hope you will forgive me for no writing before. I have been very
busy we raise a good deal of fruit and it makes a lot of work we have to
dry it in the sun and then we can sell it and get what we need we have
not had scarce any rain all the summer so we have not raised much in the
garden.
Since I wrote to you last I have changed my name again I have been
married over a year and I have got a good husband he is very kind to me
he has got three children to boys and a girl. His wife died in the same
month as William did he has not been in this country quite two years. He
is a engineer he works at the steam saw mill so he is away a good deal
of his time the mill is 10 miles from home.
William's daughter Anna is married she was married in July I went to
Salt Lake City in July to see Margaret's girl she was well and she is growing
quite a big girl. Her stepmother has children very fast so that she cannot
come to see me as often as she used too. She says she cannot do without
her she is a good girl and very quiet. Her father is a painter he makes
a very good living I expect to go to see them the 6 of October and stay
there or four days. We have a large meeting twice a year in Salt Lake City.
The place we meet in holds about fifteen thousand people and it is crowded
every day. The meeting lasts three or four days we go on the train
there are a lot of people live there that used to live in Hempstead so
we have a good time when we meet.
I am sorry to hear times are so bad where you are. Are you working at
the tannery? Now I hope to hear times are better when you write again.
You wanted to know if the house is my own. It is and I do not have to pay
anything but taxes. I neither have to bother about rent day and I expect
you wish did not. I hope all the children are well give my love to all
of them. I expect in the next letter to here that Charlotte is Married,
I hope she will have a good man.
I should like to see you all perhaps I will some time but I do not
want to come back to live only to see you all. I am very happy where I
am, plenty to eat and drink and clothes to wear, and a good house to live.
I am never sorry that I left England to come here with the Later day Saints
I have sent you a card with what we believe in it, I hope you will read
it
so no more at present
from your loving sister
Elizabeth Cullum
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Mrs E Cullum
American Fork
August 29 1885
Dear Niece and Nephew
I am almost ashamed to write after so long a time since I received your
letter but is the trouble for me to get started. I was real sorry to hear
of the death of your Mother more so as I did not know she was sick, what
was the matter with her? She promised to send me her likeness I would very
much like to have one. I do wish your father had his taken so I could have
them both. Have you got that likeness of me and my sister where she was
platting straw? Margaret gave it to your father after I left home. I was
telling her daughter Lizzie about it. She came to see me about two months
ago, she said she would like to have one to see how her mother looked when
she was younger. Would it cost much to have some taken from it? If
you have it she has been having hers taken but she is living in service
and they have gone away for a month. She says she will send me one when
she comes back. I will try and get two so I can send you one. If
I can get it she seems quite a good girl that's one comfort. I would like
to see your Lizzie as I expect she quite a big girl now and I hope is a
comfort to you both. I would like to see all of you very much I don't know
if you would like this place as well as Chicago, some people get along
well where I live.
The land has all been taken up but if one has money he can buy as there
are always some that will sell land as some like to be on the move to try
to better their way of living. My Husband is thinking of going two or three
hundred miles to take up land as we have not got any land, only the place
we live, on three acres three quarters. That is not enough, as man needs
to raise pretty much all he wants to be independent. That is one thing
I like this country for, when a man once gets a start and raise what he
needs he can work for himself and build him a home and keep improving as
he go along. This is not much of a country for renting houses as everyone
tries to get one for themselves. It is ever so poor to save paying rent
that is in country places of course, in the town it is different. If we
move we will go into a place where there is but few people as there is
plenty of land to take up and they will allow a man to take one hundred
and sixty acres of land. By time he gets that in cultivation he would get
plenty well off. I don't suppose I shall go for a year or two so you can
write to me as usual I will let you know when I go if I do go, it is hard
to tell what one will do in the future.
I have had a time since I wrote last. I have not been at all well but
I am better now. We have been very busy trying to save our fruit trees
as the caterpillar go after them. If we had not worked hard we would not
had any fruit, but we have quite a lot now so we are very busy with drying
fruit, but the weather has been very stormy so we dot get along very fast.
My husband is away from home just now but I am expecting him home this
week as business is very slack that why I say it is much better to raise
what one wants. It seems to us that has been raised to work for other people
but if you have live here a while you would see the necessity of it as
all through the winter months there is not much done, only round on own
place but I would not come back to England to stop for anything. I came
here because I felt it was right to come, not to get rich but because it
was just as necessary as it was for in older times for Noah and his family
to save themselves by going into the ark.
As we have not talked in our letters about any religion I am going to
ask you have you ever heard the Latter Day Saints preach the same Gospel
that Jesus and his disciples preached when he was on the earth. I used
to think when I was a girl how I would like to live in those days, but
now I am thankful I heard the Gospel now, as it is the same that it was
I expect you have heard all the stories about us as a people, but we are
trying to do what is right and wish to do good to everybody and nothing
would please me better than to see you try and find out for yourselves
whether it is right. I know it for myself, I am well satisfied with it
and it is almost thirty years since I joined it. I would not leave it for
anything in the world as I what I have embraced if I live a life according
to it will safe me in a world to come and that is everything to me. Is
there ever been any of our preach people in your town? Men are often sent
out from here to go to other countries without pay like our Savior sent
his Apostles without purse or scrip trusting in the Lord to look after
them. Now you must not get cross with me for writing this way as it is
for your good or I would not write about it I can assure you.
With very best wishes and praying you will receive it in the spirit
it is wrote I remain your affectionate Aunt
E Cullum
Give my love to all your sisters and brothers and all the children I
would like to see them all.
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