Letters of:
Letters of:
Elizabeth Hanchey Nichols
The following transcribed letters of Elizabeth Hanchey Nichols were written over an eleven-year period from 1873 to 1884. The originals were passed down to the descendants of John Asberry Nichols. Mary Ann Nichols provided the transcribed versions, in their original text, to me. They have not been altered and appear as they were written.
Waldo, Florida July 2, 1873
Wm. W. H. H. Nichols,
Kind son with pleasure I seat myself to write you a few lines in answer to your much welcome letter of the 18th and was received the 25th of June. I was glad to . . nt one more letter from your for it had bin a long time since I had received one from you Dear son I cannot describe the half how sory I am to hear of your affliction but I cannot do you any good by being sorry only I can pray to God to restore you to health agin which thing I know he is able to do but is it is not his will for you to ever enjoy good health again in this life I know that if is his will that you should enjoy an eternal health and happiness in a fair better world than this what a greate consolation it is to have the smiles of the King of Heaven upon us when we come to contend with that grim monster death but if his sting has bin drawn he can not harm us for he will only fass us through from this life of trouble and affliction to a world of health peace and happiness far better than we can enjoy in this life. I want you to read for your own instruction the 12th chapter of romans and present your body a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. I hope that you have not forgotten that you was once purged from your old sins and I hope that you have not bin overcome by the world and brought back under bondage to sin a gin may god forbid that you should ever become overcome by the enemy any more my hearts desire and prear is to meet you in heaven and not only you but allso all my children and I don’t stop at this only, for I try to pray for all mankind that all m… mout at last be saved if agreeable to the will of the Allmighty Henry you requested your Grandmother to pray for you it was not quite too late for to be granted but she could but only mutter out with a vary weak and faltering voice – Lord have mercy on him and save him I pray she said much more but not so as to be understood for she has bin and is yet very sick and we have no hope of hir ever recovering any more I have not time to finish my letter now but must wate for another oportunity.
This is now July 9th a few minetes after midnight and as I Have set up alone will try to spend a little of my lonely time in writing to ////////wishe to tell you something about your Grandmother she is yet alive but suffering beyond deiscription she was taken sich the 11th day of June with a running of the bowels was checked and becamr quite and on Saturday morning the 21st at 2 o’clock a violent pain struck her in her rite foot and ankle which in a few minis had her drawn out of shape in a few hours her foot was all bloodshoten color and it is swollen and almost black and is dead and cold It beats any sight I ever saw and the pain she has suffered from it is indiscribable not one menets ease she has had since the pain first struck her foot and a constant sick all over sick all the time and she eats nothing sometimes she drinks a little milk and wine and she prays constst to the Lord to take her out of her suffering condition but yet she appears meekly resined to suffer his srighous will she is confident that he will soon take her out over to the godly land she
says that she desires to meet with you and all her grandchildren in that happy land above I do not think it will be long before she will find a resting place This is the 20th night that we have set up with her and Watch her every day thinking that every hour may be the last and she may go before I send this letter off If so I will put it in to you She is the weakest person I that I ever say but her voice has become stronger than it was ten days ago She can talk plain enough to be vary well understood. I cannot say to you that any of us is well we are all sick with bad colds and I have got Erecypulous on boath my legs so that I hardly can get about and we are all vary much worn outwith fateague and loss of sleep I have noe with me now but Sarah and Lorah only billy is here tonight and he has got a very bad cauhf we are in common searse of company to set up at night for thare is but a few familys that lives near around me it is 3 miles to Mahals and 5 to Margarets and they have so many little ones that it is a bad chance for them to come oftain C. S. lives with a family about four miles from us she is var titely engaged so that she only comes to see us about onst a week
Henry you ……sethat I have bin…….writing this letter but I hope you will excuse me M.M. and M.D. has boath writen and I expect you have heard from us this is the 23rd of July your grandmother is gone home to the spirit world she died Monday the 21st at ½ after 11 o’clock she was conscious and in her right mond to the……and reaht out her hand and bade all fairwell shakeing everyones hand and give us all the grasp of affection when she could not speak and not more than a minits before the breath left her I can say that she was vary decently buried her coffin was neatly lined and paded and.o.rd with black alapacka and had on it..silver headed tacks and screws and nice bows her burial was attended by a large concorse of people and many dropt the tear of affection it was solomised by the preacher in charge of this Circuit a young man by the name of Robert H. Barnett he was a great favorit of hers and he appeared to have a special affection toward her we got acquanted with him and heard him Preach onst a month while we lived in Lafayette Co. and this his..nd year here on this Circuit He had frequently visited my house and he came to see your Grandmother while she was sick and talked and sung and prayed with and for her and she requested him to Preach her fu neral his reply was he should think it a greate honor confered on him to do so and when they parted she told him to meet her in Heaven he told me yesterday that her request had stuck closer to him than anything he had heard in a long time and he felt found to comply with her request he gave out her Funeral it will be preacht the 3rd Sunday in September which will be the 21st and oh how glad I would be if all her Grandchilren could be present to hear it prehaps it mite be a benefit to some of them as for me I feel bound and determined to follow on as my in her footsteps as I can until I overtake her in her happy home which prehaps will not be vary long thou my health at this time is tolerable good an Sarah and Lorah is boath well and that is not all of my family I hope that you will recive this letter soon and answer it in some shorter a time that I have answed your but you can gess the reason why I was so long writing and exuse me this time
I wil……………………………………………….that crops in this part of the country is not vary good for they have bin drowned……………………………….very much rain the bread that is ……………………..here next year will have to be shipt from some other part of the country but we hear good………………………….in other places corn is now being ship to Waldo and sells at $1.25..per bushel bacon 15 cts flower from 10…..dollars per barrell shugar 10 sirup 5 or 60 cts per galon wages I low hand at the mill works for….per day and finds their selves…………………….not mush R Roding work going on now in this part of the country but I think that thare is a
…………………going on down about the Keys and thare is several places around here in this country where a man can get good jobs to work at………………and make a farm The land in the country produces ….well…………….the seasons sutes it the…..nge here is stock rite
around………………………..good but about 12 or….miles South of here they say it is vary….cattle at any rate they , ive a greate many vary fat……cattle from down thare that is …….what is called Plains Prairie I can say that this country is is healthy and the people here that works have a plenty to eat; you said that you wanted to get somewhare on the coasts for your health and prehaps it mite be a greate advantage to you to come down here or prehaps lowere down nearer the coast it is about 70 miles from Waldo to the keys I shall be glad for you to get somewhare that would improve your health Please give my love to Sally and Nety and to Mrs. Baston and family and tell me in your next letter how many of her children are with her and when you see john and Thomas give them this letter to read Sally send her love to all the family conection and all of you write soon for I love to hear from all of you and I hope that you wuill not get tired of reading this long letter before you get through for it is from your affectionate mother So fairwell until I hear from you againElizabeth Nichols
Palatka, Florida
Jully the 27th, 1879
Kind Son & Daughter with pleasure Iwill try to answer your welcome letter of the 29th of June I received it the 25th of this inst I cannot describe how much pleasure it gave to me to hear from you & to hear that you & family was all well & doing so well I am so glad that you got Mr. Hard times by the tail & are abot to dis---him before you I hope that you will forever be able to keep him at a proper distance you have gaind power over him (in one respect by takeing a little of my advice (that was to stay at one place & if you will still continue to stay thare you will soon be able to drive that greate enemy of yours quite out of sight, I am so glad to hear you speak so highly of your----------glad that you have found out that she deserves praise I have known that she was one of the best women ever since I first got aquainted with her & oftain time I have said that she was the best woman that ever was connected to the Nichols family I do hope that she will live long & see many happy days & that I may meet her in Heaven after we are done with this world of troubles. I will say that we are all tolerable
well at present but evry now and then some of us have the fever for we have the chills & fevers more or less for over 12 months but I hop that it about to leave us we have had a struggle to get along with so much sickness but still we keep up tolerable well with our grub for this vary good country for getting work to do we get as much as we can to do & thereby keep a plenty to eat & something to wear we have a rite to thank god that he has proviced so well for us I believe that we live just about as well as any of our neighbors & better than some that has a man work for them, We live 6 miles below Palatka & have to go all the way by water but I can go or send evry week I will now tell you about the prises of provision Pearly grits is used more here in this country than anything else in the way of bred stuff it is 2 ½ cts per lb corn meal the same flour from 20 to 25 lbs to the dollar bacon from 6 to 8 cts per lard 10 cts coffee from 18 to 25 cts per lb shugar from 8 to 10 cents cirup 50 cts per gallon tobacco from 70 to 75 cts per lb dry goods is vary cheap white domestic from 6 to 10 cts per yd calico from 6 to 8 cents striped or checked domestic from 10 to 12 cts per yard any evrything else in proportionJohn you spoke something about hearing an old man preach by the name of Cears please let me hear a little more about him for when I was a young girl about 17 if I mistake not it was in the year of 1831 a young man by the name of Wm Cears a Methodis preacher preacht in Oakey Streek Butler Co Ala & I was a member of that church at that time prehaps he is the same man if so let him hear from me (if not no harm done) John you will remember John Barnes that that levd at Smut Eye in Coffee Co but he and some of his sons were down in the neighbor whare your sister Margaret lives and she saw & converst with them they told her that your brother Wesley was at Troy in Pike co when they left thare which has bin about 2 years ago the Barnes and Busbees ware all unietarians when I knew them in Coffee Co but he told Margaret to tell me that he was now a Methodist he said that Wesley went down into coffee Co to hunt for us but finding that we had moved clear away & could not learn whare we had gone he returned back to Troy prehaps by you makeng inquiry in that direction you may hear something about him I have written a letter to Trooy but has got no answer as yet John you requested me to send you a copy of a Prayer I will try to do so when I have more paper for this is the last sheet that I have but I hope to get some more before long & then I will try to comply with your request hoping it will be of some benefit to you or some one else for my dayly prayer & harts desire is that god would bring about a geuine reformation in the Hearts & lives of all my children & set them all to opraying in good earnest with faith for themselves & evrybody else) I must say to you that I red your letter to Laura she told me to give you and her Aunt & the children her love & best respects her 7 her husband is boath vary well & harty & is getting along vary well he is a greate hunter he killed a deer yesterday and came by a gave me a piece
Fredona & her Husband lives in Palatka & is boath vary well & getting along finely he is good and kind to her he makes a good deal of money he is a workman and gets good wages he is an engineer & mecanic I hope that they al do well I shal have to close for this time & leave the rest until another time write soon my love to you Amanda and all the children I remain your mother until death fairwell
Elizabeth Nichols
Palatka, Fla Sept the 7th 1879
Mr. J A Nichols & Mrs LA Nichols
Kind sons and daughter I with pleasure will try to answer your much welcome letter of the 11th of August it came to hand the 28th but I have not had the opertunity of answering it until now we are tolerable well at present & is getting along tolerable well considering our chance money is vary hard to get after we earn it we have a greate deal of trouble to collect it & that causes us some times to run short but up to this time we allways have been able to make some shift to get & keep something to eat but I fear that the time will soon come when we will habe to suffer for I am failing of strength & am so large & fleshy that it is with greate difficulty & pain that I get about to do the little that I am compelled to but I still trust in the Lord & do all I can his mercies has bin extended towards me all through my past life & shurely I can trust him for the few day that is to come he provides means for my suport & gives me grace to suport my soul & keeps it from sinking under the power of so many-----
I pray that the Lord of Heaven & earth may have mercy on my children & bring them by his grace to a timely repentance before sin proves their Eternal ruin Oh that he would show them the exceeding sinfulness of sin & impress upon their minds the awful idea of going to judgement unprepared, Oh may he draw them by his grace & by his loveing kindness to love him suprely & serve him sincearly for the sake of Christ who shed his precious blood on the cross not for our sins only but for the sins of the whole world I pray for all whom he died Oh that the power of the spirit of God may rest on all his ministers & may their word be attended with the power of the holy Gost sent down from the throne of Heaven & may it have the desired affect upon all that hear it & may the Lord grant to bestow his mercies upon the Churches and add to them daly as such shal be saved Oh that he may pity the poor back sliders & by his grace reclaim them & I pray that God may by the power of his grace & stir up the luke warm & cause them to save him with a fervent spirit & a contrite heart Oh that he may give us all grace to love & serve him withh a full purpos of Heart determined to love & die in his service Oh that the lord of Heaven & earth would have mercy upon the who;e creation of mankind & bring about a reformation in their Hearts in their lives & turn them from all their sinful ways
I pray that god may bless all the rulers of our churches & the rule sof the state and the nation & give true grace to discharge their duty towards those under their charge with an eye sinnnngle to the glory of him who rules over all in Heaven and on earth may God bless our land and nation with peace and quiteness& grant that we may all learn to love & serve him with a full purpose of heart that we may all die in his favor haingfaut the good fite of faith & be received into his presence & be able to give all the glory of our salvation to the father & the Son & the holy Gost forever & ever in a happy world without end Amen.
Dear son you may bear it in mind if you choose to do so, that on the 22nd of july 1829 I promised the world that I was going to try to live a christian & I also promised my god that if he would only give me suporting grace & strengthen my faith as I had need that I would live and die in his service
50 years over and past since then & still I find his grace is sufficient for me I still hold the same resulution bound by the grace of Godto live & die in the army of the Lord grant that I could meet all my children on on that happy shore
John you must excuse me for be so long wriing this letter you will see that I wrote the foregoing part of it the 7th of Sept and today is 11 of October I have bin called away from home twice & had to stay 1 & 2 weeks & when at home I was so crowded with business that I could not get the time to write but I hope that you will not be so long answewring this & I hope I will do better next time N B if you wish to write to your Sister Margaret you will direct to Mrs. M D Wiggins Sumter C Yallho Po Fla I know she would be proud to hear from you I have not had a letter from them in some
time I think it has bin about three months I have not writen to T F C noe sally yet but I think I will before long all is well today only C S has the colic but not so vary bad & I struck a old rusty hairpin in my foot over 2 weks since & its vary sore yet. Fredonia & her husband is well & getting along splendid he is clerking in a store in Palatka Laura & hers is well & doing well so I must close I remain your loving mother until deathElizabeth Nichols
Note:
This letter was written to John A, and Leca Amanda Nichols in Covington County, Alabama. Mentioned above is C. S., Charlotte S., her daughter; Mrs. M. D. Wiggins, her daughter, Margaret, married to James Leonard Wiggins; T. F. C., her son Thomas Francis Cicero in Hamilton County, Texas; Sally, her daughter, married to John Sparkman, in Hamilton, Texas. The relationship of Fredonia and Laura are believed to be grandchildren.Palatka, Fla July 29th, 1883
Mr. J. A. Nichols
Kind Son
I will now try to answer your much welcom letter of the first inst I was glad to hear from you & family & hear that all was well I am shure that health is one of the greatest of all earthly blessings but I have not enjoyed much of it lately I was taken sick the 11th of May about 5 weeks I lay with but little hope of recovering & when I did begin to mend it was vary slow I was so vary weak & about the time I got able to get up & down the door steps the Earecypelous taken me on boath my legs It got so bad I could not walk for a while it has got better but is not well yet I have not felt one minets ease since it first taken me when I stir a little or set up much my feet and legs swells to a site this is the reason why I have not answered your letter before now for I have had it 2 weeks the rest of my family is all tolerable well at this time it is not comon for us all to be well at one time
I will say to you that I am making arangements to start next Tuesday to go down south to see your sister Margaret I have not seen her in going on 10 years I purpose going to Palatka Tuesday stay thare until Thursday evening then take the steam boat up to St. John, 75 miles then take a train across to lake haris then take a steam boat to near whare she lives the place whare I will land at is called Helenia I purpose staying with her some 4 or 5 weeks after which time I hope to return home again and receive an answer to this & then if you will send me about $15 or 20 I will try to go
& spend the winter and prehaps the remainder of my life with you & the rest of the family it is vary hard for me to think of leaveing home but I do want to see you all so bad. You said that you had a letter from T F C the next time that you write to me please give me the name of his post office & if I live to get it I will write to him & let him know that I am not dead yetJohn prehaps you have heard of the death of your Brother Henry if you have not I will say to you that I got a lettewr from his wife that said he died the 30th of Apriel he was taken down for death of fridya & died the next Monday week she said that he had joined the Methodist church the August before & seamed to be trying to do rite a few days before his death he was visited by 2 Preachers they talked to him concerning his future hopes he told then that he did not fear death that all was well only he hatted to leeave his wife & children he was speachless 2 days before he died. After he was dead the doctors cut him open to see what was the mater with him,
an absess had opened on his liver & had bursted inside of him & that he did not have more than half a pound of liver left, she said that he was decently buried & she had gone with her 3 children to live with her mother & Brother. I have answered her letter Nety is married to a Mr. Brown & I supose is doing well. So I must rest a little and write againI will tell you something about how we get along since we moved to this place it is 3 ½ miles to town before I got sick I went myself since that C S goes hunts up work sewing such as making garments peaceing up or quilting bedquilts sometimes we sell a quilt top for we generaly keep a suply on hand we have lately sold 3 tops & since has quilted one of them the whole amount $12.50 cts so you see how we make our suport it comes by the litlles but we have bin able so far to keep something to eat & a little to wear we could get along here vary well if we only could have health but we are oftain thrown back by sickness my love and good wishes send to Amanda & all the children tell Julia that my prear for her is that she may hold out faithful until death & adorn her profession by a pious walk & godly conversation let her motto be never to look back. I will close for my paper is full & my pen is worn out I remain your Mother as ever fairwell
Elizabeth Nichols
Note:
The letter above was written to John A. Nichols and his wife Amanda in Covington County, Alabama. Others mentioned are her son Henry, C. S., her daughter Charlotte S. Nichols, and Margaret S., another daughter, wife of James Leonard Wiggins. Julia, a granddaughter, the daughter of John and Amanda Nichols. T. F. C. is also a son of Elizabeth. He is Thomas Francis Cicero who was living in Hamilton County, Texas. Nety was her granddaughter, daughter of Henry Nichols and his first wife.Palatka Fla November the 2nd, 1884
Kind son to you and the family I wish to send my respects & best wishes by writing you a few lines in answer to your much welcom letter of the 17th of Oct I got it the 28th. I was glad to hear that you and your family was all well & doing so well this leaves me & family all in tolerable good health as for myself I have but a little rite to complain when I have lived long enough on this earth until I have seen enough Sundays to make 10 years & yet I am able to do as much work as I think it is my duty to do ( & that is not much) I can say that we are getting along vary well we get as much work as we are able to do C S washes & iorns & sews on her mashene & I pease up & quilt & sell bed quilts we keep plenty to eat & wear but we lack a house and home of our own & we are trying as hard as we can to reach that C S has bout 1 aker of ground near on the RR 4 miles west of Palatka ½ mile from a station they call Frances Stattion but now we want lumber & money to opay a carpenter to build a house but we hope that our luch will be to get it between this & next spring & then I will talk about comeing to see you after the cold wether abates for I don’t think that it would do well for me to go thare in
cold wetherIt is my wish to go 7 see you all one time more before I Die give me love & good wished to Elanorah, husband I was a little surprised to hear of their marage for they were boath so young it is little strange to me to know that I have 2 grandchildren that has married in the Gaitwood family prehaps that here is some more of them that will do the same I hope they will all do well
So in the close of my I will say that if you wish me to come you will save up your money by the middle of march next & if I am living then I will be ready to take a plesant ride to Ala but I hope to hear from you several times between now & then so I remain your mother as ever Fairwell
Elizabeth Nichols
Note:
This was the last known letter of Elizabeth Nichols to her children, however; there may have been more.
http://www.familytreemaker.com/ftm/s/h/a/Kendrick-W-Shackleford/