Otego March 14th (1879)

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Dear Brother

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It has been a long long time since I wrote to you and a good deal longer since I have received a letter from you. Brother George wrote us last fall that you had written to him but it is over two years since I had a letter from you. It seems like a long time since I have seen your familiar writing. I take fits once in awhile that I want to see you so bad I don’t know how to give it up. It has been over four years since I saw George, sixteen since I saw Mary, and fourteen years since I saw Ade. So the world goes - families are scattered to the four winds of heaven. If it is amongst the number of possibilities I shall go and see George next fall but I don’t expect to go to see the girls yet awhile for when I go west I expect to go to stay and I can’t do as well there as I can here. I have work the most of the time. I moved over 500 yards last year, I have wove 70 yd since the first of Jan. - shilling a yd for stripe, 10 cts for hit or miss, so you see I’m earning a little. We have had a pretty cold winter and lots of snow. The snow is mostly gone now and people are talking about making sugar. What good times we used to have making sugar and eating it. You know our farm and Ezekiel’s have gone back to the Lansings Zekes. Till a year ago last fall the owners rented it till Mrs Lansing died. The heirs have divided it. Whiting took Ezekiel’s and the Sutherland heirs took ours. Well Whiting put a man on his and bought lime load after load and put on his and hired a man to drain the swamp. They commenced about the middle of the swamp to ditch and crooked around and finally run it into that river just above our line fence and did not properly fix the drain where it went into the river and when there was a freshet it washed out a big gully. Well I don’t suppose you will care for this kind of talk but I thought perhaps it might interest you to hear about the old place and the neighbor’s places. Burr Houghton is studying for a doctor - he has been to N.Y. attending medical lectures all winter. He has just got home. Marietta Hyde lives in Denver Colorado. She is living with her son. We are all well as usual with the exception of colds. Please write soon. You would write very often if you knew what a rejoicing there is through the whole family. God bless you and keep you from all harm both here and hereafter.

 

yours T Chase