Correspondence (incoming): begging letters, P - Q

San Francisco, Dec. 11, 19{?}

Mrs Jane L. Stanford, Dear Madame:

The object in writing to you is to ask you if you will kindly contribute a donation to the Universal Service Society.

This Society has been organized for the purpose of assisting ill-used and helpless children and when necessary placing them in proper homes.

male persons scattered over the entire Union. Our new lodge has a membership verging onto one hundred consisting of a desirable class of people. Our purposes are the following:

To unite all acceptable white male persons and aid each other in sickness and distress, as well as in business pursuits. The Order at large pays upon the death of a member such sum as he has dessignated, ranging from $500.00 to $2000.00 to his widow and children. This or sums of money are made up by the members over the entire Union, each paying his prorata which seldom is more than $3.00 per month, in addition to the above. Our new lodge proposed to give its members a still further benefit, by furnishing them with a doctor and medicine and $7.50 per week in case of sickness. In order to accomplish this,

it will be necessary that each member pays one dollar in addition to the above per month. Of course you will see after paying running expenses that it will be hard to create a fund in the beginning.

Trusting that you will give your consent to our request, as after having read the foregoing you will see that our order is purely benevolent and having been in existence over 20 years. It is no experiment. Place your self in your late bereavement as the wife of one of our members and mother of his children; after having laid for months in sickness, he is called away. The bread winner is gone, but there is someone else left, who now show themselves when they are most needed. Our Organization, of which we intend to make "Stanford Lodge" the peer.

Yours truly, M. Davis, P.D. Chas. W. Petry Rep.

San Francisco Aug 16/93

Dear Madam

The liberty taken in addressing this communication you no doubt will excuse, as it is for a purely benevolent purpose. We are about to institute a new lodge of the Knights of Honor, a benevolent organization. We desire to petition your most honorable self for permission to name our organization after our late respected statesman Hon. Leland Stanford, whose memory we desire to perpetuate, as a meek return for his many grand and noble acts for the benefit of our country.

Our organization is not an experiment for something that comes and goes in a day. We have a membership of nearly 140,000 which

Rome Dec 23d 1901

Mrs Stanford Dear Lady.

Hardly know how to write. I will ask a favor, a gift, of you. Will you be so kind give me one thousand dollars. I am a widow along in years, have been able to earn for myself since circumstances obliged me to now if had means to live on could do for myself yet, and be comfortable. Please do dear Lady it would be little to you, and so much for me I would be thankful to you and our Creator all the rest of my life and it would live after us. truly hopeful

Mrs S {Pfluke ?}

Mail comes to the doors

lived there until a few years ago when I was induced by relatives to go out to Maine with my family and my Father and Mother. We did not find everything as we had expected and we soon used up what money we had, and then my health began to fail me, the climate being too much for my lungs, and I have been trying very hard for the past five years to get enough ahead to take us back to California again but with my large family I was not able to save much during the summer, and when winter set in my cough would be so severe that I was obliged to stay indoors and we would have to use up my saveings {sic] to carry us through the winter.

My Father & Mother are with me. They are seventy four years old and not able to help themselves. I could have gone once or twice but I could not desert the old folks. Now I am going to ask you to do something to help us. as I should like to get back to California for I am sure it is the only thing that will help my cough, and I would do anything in my power to repay you. I used to work for Mr Stanford and that is why appeal to you for assistance. I helped to build the big wine celler [sic] at Vinna in 1887. I am now working for Clegg and Baxter 1317 Columbia Ave Phila