[Letter of 1874 September 7]

[Letter of 1874 September 7]

1874-09-07

African American fathers -- Attitudes

Fathers and daughters

Grandfathers

Anderson, Caroline Still, 1848-1911 [recipient]

image/jp2

Correspondence

This material is made available for private study, scholarship, and research use. For access to the original letter, or high-resolution reproduction, please contact the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection (blockson@temple.edu; 215-204-6632).

Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection

William Still Collection

Blockson manuscripts

William Still Collection

Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Libraries

blockson@temple.edu

BMS010X0093

Phila. Sept. 7th 1874/ Dear Carrie:/ Your letter of the 5th inst./ came to hand this morning by the/ first post and it afforded us very/ great pleasure to know that you have/ all arrived safely at the hospitable home of Mrs. Peck./ Give my love to Willie/ with the enclosed 10 cts to buy him some]/ canday[sic], and tell him that I was very/ sorry, I over looked[sic] him when bid/ =ing you and Ella good by in the/ cars. How this happened is a mystery, unaccountable to me./ So it seems you had to forget/ several articles in the hurley barley/ manner of getting off. As regards/ the Scholarship it will be sent in/ this letter (if I do not forget it), which/ will be in time I have no doubt./ Mrs Peck is very kind in wanting/ you to stay all winter, but it hard/ =ly seems expedient that you should do/ so. Did Mrs Peck have a copy of my/ book? Give my regards to her/ and tell her I am willing to pay/ the boad[sic] in any way that she may/ prefer, if she will only signify this/ fact to me- Also say to Ella, as a/ boarder, I hope she will take particu/ =lar pains to give as little trouble as/ possible- and to render herself as kind/ obliging and agreeable as circumstan/ =ces will admit./ I shall expect two or three letters/ weekly from her, and hope to be able to/ return as ma[n?]y to her. It has occurred/ to me that each one of us should carefully/ keep all the letters that thus passes between/ us. Ask her if she thinks she can do this?/ Now another thing, I desire that she/ shall keep faithfully memorandums of all/ items of expenditures. Ask her if she/ thinks she can do this? As part of her/ education, probably, she could d not/ attend to a simple little duty that would/ be of more [important?] to her. The method,/ and system, and economy that she/ might here by gain, might prove/ of incalculable advantage to her./ The rising generation very much need/ educating in this direction./ Since you left home every thing[sic] has/ been going on smoothly as usual./ On Saturday Lida Still brought/ aunt Kitty home from her Cross Roads/ visit. They desired her to stay longer but/ She was feeling somewhat anxious/ about her house at Burlington, and/ wanted to come home to look after it./ Lyde is still with us, but how long she/ will remain, I am not now able to/ say./ Within the last few days we have/ had the Left Gov. of La. in the city/ and I had the pleasure of introducing/ him to a small company of invited/ guest at our neighbor Jones’ the other/ evening. His lady is with him./ He is quite a neat little pattern of/ a gentleman, of rather graceful man=/ =ners and passably intelligent, but he/ would not impress you with the/ idea that he would set the world/ on fire./ Now with regard to coming home/ I think I shall need you in the office/ at the house. I shall probably spend a/ great deal more time at the yard than/ I have been doing heretofore in order to look more/ closely to matters there. So it would be/ quite necessary to have someone here/ to look after orders./ I think Will will be home/ shortly, but what I shall do with him/ I cannot tell. Perhaps I will induce/ him to take a school somewhere. At/ any rate, I want him to go to work/ now and make his own living./ He will hardly do anything in sell/ =ing books, although if he had a turn/ and taste for the work he could/ make more at that than any/ thing else./ Your skirt, Ella’s paper, & buttons/ will be sent by Express forthwith./ It is now after 7 P.M. and your Mother/ and Lyde are away at the Home, So I may/ get this letter off before They come in./ However, I will just put in a little/ bit a[sic] love for each of them with the/ request that you will kiss the big baby/ and the little for each of us./ Your affectionate Father/ W Still/