East Haven July 29thDear Husband Mother & Sarah
I think by this time you will like a letter direct from us as I suppose br A wrote you after his return from N. H. or rather E. Haven. I hardly know what to write in regard to my health - tho I feel confidant I cough no more & my throat is not as sore & I am not as hoarse as when I left home. How long it will be best for us to stay must be left for some of you to determine. I think a good deal about you at
homehome, how you get along with your hay makers & baby[.] How do you get along nights with Ellen? Does she cry much? We yesterday rode 10 miles & I thought I felt better for it I feel smart this morning think if I were at home I could do a good deal of work.[different handwriting]
Wednesday morning
Sophia has written so far & was called to breakfast[.] Br E has come & we will fold this & send it dont see much difference with Sophia, little less hoarse & appears on no account worse, I have been thinking since Eliza is left, that I had better stay till next week, then if S. concludes it best for her to stay longer I can go home & leave them here, I have however come to no conclusion, Only have just thought of this knowing that I must be needed at home, - - I find that Br E must go back to be at at [sic] the depo so soon that I will no[t] try to finish this, Sophia says, I see I shall have the shells to collect & must be about it, so she has made two small boxes & filled them, & I have begun to get some for Martha, - - I think more how you can get along with so many children than with the big folks this warm weather, Eliza came out from N. Haven this morning &, seems in quite good spirits I have borrowed ink & it is pale but hope you will be able to pick it out I this [sic] is a warm day with you but we have a fine breeze from the water.
I can think how Sarah is looking to household affairs providing for the mens table &c & Olivia trotting about with Ellen, Pamela, Julia, & Martha attending to their play, Mother looking to the dinner, children &c, The first (dinner) she can do very well, the last, that is so many children is a little more perplexing we however hope that you will make it as easy as you can, It was very dry when we came here but soon we had a refreshing rain, judging from appearances here Mr Eastman has had a pretty good time for hay making,
I hope Mother you will get all the
restrest you can, at least one good nap a dayLove to all the family & as ever Yours -
Pamela[back to first handwriting]
My Dear Children. (Olivia, Pamela, Martha, Julia, & Ellen[)]
Should you like a letter from mother & I dare say you will & you will like to hear how your mother & aunt P. came here[.] After your father left us in the steam boat we came [to] Enfield Falls & there was so little water in the river that the boat rubbed hard on the rocks sometimes it seemed as though they would make a hole in the bottom of the boat but we reached Hartford in safety Capt Peck engaged a man with a carriage to carry us to Mrs Gs your uncle A. saw us pass his office & soon came in[.]
We ate dinner & supper in Hartford & the next morning went to the depot & took seats in the rail cars soon they began to move & in an hour we were 18 miles from Hartord [sic] we stopped 10 or 15 minutes ate a cracker drank some coffee & then rode to N.H. in an hour more 8 o clock
We had a breakfast in N.H.. & then got a man with a 2 horse carriage to bring us here.
Teusday [sic] I rode to Fair Haven & saw 100 geese in different places on the road. To day I think of going to N.H. I hope you will all be good children & make as little trouble as possible
In very great haste from your dear mother S. Eastman
[Although this letter was not dated, the Charles and Sophia Eastman genealogy is online. Ellen Eastman was born in November 1839 and it sounds like she is a new baby, so I guessed it is 1840 or 1841. Since the letter was started on July 29, and continued on a Wednesday morning, I consulted a calendar; in 1840, July 29 is a Wednesday and in 1841 it is a Thursday. Since the letter is posted on July 30, that settles it as 1840. Also, the author, Sophia Eastman, died in January 1841.]