Correspondence (incoming): begging letters, P - Q

Dear Mrs Stanford

I have been praying to God to direct me and and I belive [sic]He has heard my prayers so please excuse me for this letter

Yours very Truly Mrs Isaac Parnell

Spring Road via Senneville Prov of Que{bec}

Names on Spring Road

John Hilliker Angus Robinsen Archa McCurdy Isaac Parnell Pike Charly Pailey I J Parnell E Paige Wm Paige Wm Sykes Geo McCurdy

North Perry, Maine

My Dear Sister

We are building a Union Peoples Church, can you help us out by sending us a check to help us build the Church, Send what ever you think best, If ever so sall [sic]

Jesus will reward you. It makes me glad to think that we are going to try to have a Church. May the Lord put power into our labor Our little villiage [sic] never as yet have ever had a Church May the Lord reward you for helping us What ever you will send us Send check to

James W. Pottle (Treasurer)

POTTLE BROTHERS Dealers General Merchandise North Perry, Maine Dec 31 01

Mr Pottle statement is correct If you can spare them anything it would be very excepable [sic].

Pottle Brothers

My husband who was a tobacco merchant of this town died 7 years ago the 1st of next May. His estate was worth about one hundred thousand dollars $100,000 though we found the loss as his purchase of that year was very large, and later we have had { ?] fires, which brought great loss. But the greatest loss is in a mill we still have, but are trying to wind it up and sell it. The mill debt is a great deal more than all the property we have is worth. So I will be left without any thing. Ours is one of the best homes in the town. I have been keeping a few boarders for the last two years. It occurs that every time we made a special effort to make something in the mill it would turn out bad. We would sell flour at the wrong

or there would be an advance on prices. Any way we have always lost, and have tried to sell the mill for something like its value. But now we will have to sell it with every thing we have for what we can. I have no relatives or friends who are situated so they can help me. I have a little girl 12 years old, and a little grand daughter 4 years, with me. My little girls guardian is in a bad financial shape. And we will have to do something about that.

My son was completely broken up by the losses in tobacco, the burning of the tobacco factory, and a large security debt. The little grand daughter's mother (my daughter is on the {Stage ?}having been broken up by the man she married. My son is living on a fruit farm at Springdale Ark. The farm was a [prior?}