Correspondence (incoming): begging letters, T

West Berne Jan the 6 1901

Mis Stanford Dear Maddem

Please forgive me for the privilage I so take in writing to you. I am sixty and have a sone I wish to educate who throu my ill health has ben deprived of many privilages. Would you be pleased to help me? He knowes nuthing of my wrihting. He is a good smart boy and I wish to help him.

yours respectfully Mrs. Elida M. Townsend West Berne. Albany Co N Y

[image: small black & white portrait photo of a young woman}

Gold Run Flour Co Coll

December 13. 1901

Mrs Jane L Stanford

Dear Maddam

As I was reading the Examiner this morning the thought came to me maby [sic] you could or would help one of my girls to go to school. She wants to fit her self for a teacher and is working out to do it. She is working for W. W. Price of Alta Flour Co Col he has a preparatory school for boys & May is dining room girl. She wants to go to Stockton all of her school mates have gone their [sic] and 6 have schools. I will send you Mays stamp photo so you can judge what she is. This is the first time I have ever asked any one to help me and if you doont [sic] want to pleas [sic] drop this in the fire and say nothing and if you want to have refferance [sic] just write to Mrs W. W. Price or to Mrs McKim of Alta or to Rev Hargroves of Dutch Flat.

Respectfully

Mrs C K Townsend

knocking the point off a plow share and a piece of steel flew in his eye, and he has lost the sight of that eye and is likely to loose the other, the Doctor says over work and worry is very much against him. This dear lady is why I write to you to see if you feel that you could help to lighten our burden, our lives would be much happier if we could only get the mortgage paid off which is $8,000 that to us seems like a little fortune. If you feel that you would like to make to hearts glad this Christmas, if you could aid a little it would be

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the good it will do.

Dear Mrs Stanford I will now tel[l] you why I write, we are in a very tight place and I am so worried, and I have enough to worry me sick, we live on a farm and are very hard working people, the farm wa[s] left to us by my husbands fathe[r] but with such a mortgage that it just keeps us so worrie[d] from year to year to hold it with failure of one crop or another, and to make matters worse my husband met with an accident, he was

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Bustleton Dec 12th 1901

Dear Mrs Stanford

In reading over the Phila Inquirer I read of the handsome gift which you gave to the Stanford University, and it told also that you had many millions more to dispose of for charities, you certainly have a good kind heart to do this while you can see and know

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thankfully received, my husbands health has failed very much since he had the accident, I do hope God will be good to us and save the sight of the one eye. We have to deprive ourselves of pleasure’s and many things we need to try and hold our farm and if he should loose [sic] his sight I am afraid our home would go after all our hard work, trusting that you may be able to assist us is the wish of my heart, wishing you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year hoping to hear from you.

Very Respectfully

Mrs. Pierson Tomlinson

Bustleton

Phila

P.S. I would not like our friends to know how worried we are, we are poor in a way but try to do the best we can, hoping to hear from you favorably, so good bye

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sell as much as I would like to. It tryes my eyes so yet I like the work if I could attend to it all the time but have to rest from it quite a lot, and have to stay from church for suitable clothes and a conveyance to carry me [--there--] as it is between two and three miles thire.

I have a silver half dollar coined in 1819 which I have kept in hopes some one would want it very much so much so that they would buy it and give me several thousands dollars for it, as I am in need of the money.

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There is some hundreds due on the home beside much repairs are needed and the money would do me much good. Will you please buy the coin and give me all you can afford too for it. If you could see my home you would say there is need of repairs fur it to be comfortable to live in. Will you write me any way? I would like to see you very much but it cost too much for me to go to Califonia.

very truly,

Celia N. Tomjee

P.O. Box 24, Wickford,

Washington Co. R. I.

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