Marion NC.
Nov the 8 1896

Dear Aunt &d Uncle,

It is once more that I am permited to address you one more time in life. Dear Aunt, excuse me for not writing sooner. You know what they is to do in the fall of the year and but one to do ever thing, I havent felt like writing for I will have so much to write about Mother. but it has ben so

long since I got your letter that I thought that I would answer it to night. this leaves us all well. hope these few lines will reach you in dew time and find you all well. Pah has got his wheat & rye sowed and has his corned gethered but we havent shucked yet. the weather is geting tolable cool up here. to day has ben the coolest day we have had this fall. you asked where my other Brother was. he is married I thought I had written to you about his marrige. he married Susy Mc_____ last may he stayed at home all summer. they are going to move next week. I can go up stairs in our house and see his. he will live about 400 yards from our house on the same place. Lum has certainly got a nice and smart little woman. Dear Aunt you asked if [p.1] _____ was at home when Mother died. no mam, he wasent. I havent saw _____ since last August, was a year ago. he was to far away to come to see Mother unless he had the money. he lives in Georgia. I got a letter from him the other day he said they was all well. all of Mothers Children stood around her death bed but _____.

Dear Aunt, you asked me to tell you all about Mother. if I was with you to night I could tell you for I am a bad hand to write and tell anything but I will try and tell you all the perticulars. Mother mouth first got sore in side that was about 19 months before she died. her mouth stayed sore about a month and then they come a lump in the thin part of her left Jaw about as large as a small marble. it dident hurt her any for about 2 months. it commenced to hurt; it dident hurt all the time it took it by spells and ever time it give her pain it grew larger. it kept geting larger and larger till she couldent open her mouth wide enough to eat to do any good and about 9 months before she died she couldent move her jaws any more but one time. one evening when she was trying to eat her supper she moved them and [p.2] that was the last time poor Mother ever moved her jaws. Dr Morphew was treating her and did on as long as she lived. they was a man by the name of peoples lived down below Marion and Dr Morphew consulted to Mother to try him. Mr Peoples claimed to be a cancer Dr and last April Mother and Pah Willie and Mr Peoples and Dr Morphew met at Dr Morphew drug store and Mr Peoples said he could cure Mother and they all agreed to let Mr Peoples try to cure Mother. that was on monday April the 20 and on Wednesday the 22.

Mr Peoples came to our house and put a plaster on Mother jaw it stayed on 48 hours and then he put on another plaster and in 11 days that lump fell out but it dident get well but her Jaw got better and then her chin rose and that inflamed her Jaw and it rose her chin a Jaw broke seven times and was lanced 5 times and it kept on runing. the first of August it commenced eating and eat through to her swallow on Friday before she died. Dear Aunt I cannot tell you how it looked nor how much Dear Mother suffered. Dear Aunt, if you could have come to a seen her and to see how bad she had [p.3] to suffer you would know what a fix she was in. I think the last bite of bread she tried to eat was the first of June. she lived on whiskey, milk, wine and Lemonade about on to 50 days. Dear Aunt, when I think of Mother when she would walk into the dining room and sit down to the table and try to eat, the tears streams down my cheeks. Dear Aunt, I have sheded more tears in the last year than I have in 20 years before Mother took sick but Dear Mother is siting at Gods table to night singing and praising God while her lonely Child is greiving and [p.4] trying to write to her, Dear Sister. Dear Aunt, your letter does me good to read it I read it ever once and a while it sounds so much like I have heard Mother talk. Dear Aunt, if it is Gods will that we should meet in this world I will tell you all about Mother sickness. I would be glad to visit you this winter Uncle Bird Ricketts is geting better. I will close hoping to see or hear from you soon.

Write soon.

your neice untill death Ella Whetstine.

May God bless you and save you is my prayer.

Dear Aunt, pray for me.

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