Wenham, Feb. 9th
1906
Dear Cousin,
I was so delighted to hear from you, and to know that you are so pleasantly situated. Still it must have been very hard for you to leave your dear home. You must miss your dear husband so much. Aunt Lucy thought a great deal of him, and said she thought he was the best man, without any exception, that ever lived. I still miss her letters so much, and never shall forget my visits with her and how much she, and 'The Misses Gillis['] did to make my visits pleasant, also you, and dear Cousin Abbie, and Jessie. How I did love that girl, and I am so glad that you are with her. Please give my love to her and to all of the other cousins who I have not seen.
I think Cousin John ought to have left some of his money to his cousins. He left so much more than was thought at first. If he had known how much we needed it, perhaps he would. I wish he had left a little to dear Lydia's last grandson, who Aunt Lucy named, or wished him named, John Howe. He is now most 6 yrs. old, and a handsome boy. I dont [sic] think John would want Henry to have the handling of so much money.
I do not know whether Coz Benj Howe is in Georgetown, or not. He was there at the time we heard of Hattie's death. I do hope they were good to her but she must have fought hard against being carried to the insane assylum. [sic] She wrote me that Cousin Sophia had never been to see her since her father's death, and it worried her a good deal. I would have thought she would have gone oftener after that. She wrote that Daniel owed her father, so they kept away. Dear Hattie, she must have had so much to put up with. I do not know Benj's address if he is with his daughter in Lynn.
Will send a clipping from Boston Post, with John's will in it. We tried to get a Globe which has it in, and it is a different [sic] from this. I do wish there was some way, in which we might have even a little, of that great property. In one paper it said that he left $1,000 to his mother, who died 2 or 3 yrs. ago. Don't you suppose that was meant for Aunt Lucy. His mother died in 1870. I dont [sic] know what you will think of me for writing so much about it, but it does seem as though his relations ought to have some of it.
Please write to me again whenever you can, your letters will always be welcome.
Love to you all from
Cousin Lizzie.
Excuse paper.
[Clipping about the contest of the will of the late John Howe Colby]