Otego May 18th ‘78

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Dear Brother

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I have been sadly negligent about writing to you. I think every time I write it shan’t be so long again. A good deal of the time I don’t feel much like writing and in the spring of the year I’m so hurried with work I don’t have much time. Every body wants their carpet just now, but bye and bye I shall have a chance to rest and write for I don’t have much through the fall and winter. Last winter there was four months that I didn’t earn a cent but I had a good time to visit.

Miss Lansing, the one that owned our farm is dead and Mr. Livingston has our place. He has had the whole thing surveyed and divided up into three lots and is going to sell if he can find any body that will pay the price he asks but he will have to wait awhile I think before he finds a big enough fool to pay what he asks. We had a very warm April, things were very forward. The apple trees were all in bloom about the middle of May, then we had a week of cold weather, frost almost every night. The fruit is injured some, we think. I hope we shan’t have any more cold weather. Elvira is here but she has not had a great deal of sewing for there is no tailor in the place to cut clothes. She works at the tailor’s trade now you know. She used to be a milliner. She likes the tailor’s trade the best. Well I don’t know what to write that will interest you. You have been gone so long and there has been so many changes here that one don’t know what to tell. Old Mrs. Northrup is dead - she was ninety four years old. Avery and Elmina are living alone. You remember Cynthia Tracy - she was buried last Sunday. I can’t think of any one else of your acquaintance that has died since I wrote to you before. Mrs. Marietta Hyde that used to be -- lives at Denver with her son. She and Jonas parted a number of years ago. He was so ugly she could not live with him. She has only one child living. Albert Hyde lives in Hamilton, Edwin, Charles, Sylvia and Augusta are all dead. Dear brother, how would my heart rejoice if I see your face in the flesh once more. I have always thought I should and I have not given up all hope yet but every year weakens my hope and I don’t know but I shall have to give it up. Our friends here are all well. George and the girls were well the last I heard from them.

Please write soon.

T Chase