Edwin Fitzgerald

the City is in plain site of aclear day. it is very cold here very mutch like octtober at home onley it dont rain there is a thick fog or mist with a strong cold wind of the cost dont like the Country as well as I expected to should not ad vise eny one to come with out money to look around with and see whare he can doowell agood place for a money man it dont soot me here there will be nothing to do here after the latter part of august un till the first of february that is on the rantchis I got five shirts washed here and they were washed I ashshuer you you would think the white ones we half breeds they only asked 1 doler for all five want that cheep I think you would say yes if you could see them hav not sen eny one that I knew or want to kn no since I have been here

dier Frank how often I think of you and the children I wish I had some money for you if it had not bien for my shoalder I should hav had how are you and the children how is little gorg hav you had him baptized yet giv them all aciss or me how is Hester and her Boy what doze she call him is Marg Maraed yet how did Josh he make it fishing tell him I want to know if he got the Poor house barn for asmoak house how is you Mother giv her My bst respects is bursness eny better than st it was when I left has nate got home what kind of agarding hav you got write me how you are getting along and how you make out for wood it is most mite it is there it is agin most time to quit would you not like to go hunting yellow hamers and woodchucks up to Whitefield I think you would we will go when I get home and tak the Children to carey the game

I shell be looking for a letter from you the next Maile write as often as you can and I will do the same you must not think hard of me you dont git a letter some times for six weeks but I shell indever to write as often as once a month if not oftner

farewell for the present from youer

Edwin Fitzgerald

Sonoma Co Cal Sonoma County, California Sept 4^th 1859

My dier Frances I had all most given up all hopes of hearing from you at all as I did not git eny letters untill last nite when I got three all at once and you bet I was glad to git them and to hear tht you and the Children and the rest of the folks wer well I em well and harty as a buck I said in my last that I had work on morans rantch but it lasted only two days then I went down to the City in hopes to git a letter from you met James Keating there he was well he and I hav been togeather seance your we left the city for this place whitch is called Petaluma, California in sertch of work

it is about fifty miles from San francisco San Francisco the fare on steamer is three dolars [dollars] we could not git [get] eny [any] carpenter work to do so we went to choping [chopping] cordwood and I em [am] writing on a stick of it now in the woods Jim and I are trying to git [get] a rantch [ranch] if we had money we would hav [have] it eny how [anyhow] I wish we had it and you was here with me I cant [can't] write mutch [much] about it now but will ceep [keep] you poasted [posted] if James thinks that we do well we hav [have] not got eny [any] money but hav [have] got about one hundred worth of wood cut and are going to chop for anuther [another] man tomorrow at $1.75 cts per cord board ourselves if it was like our wood in maine [Maine] we could make big pay but it is the worst wood you ever saw it is scrub black oak and looks like a oald [old] oatchard [orchard] as mutch [much] as eny [any] thing I evr [ever] saw