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War Department Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Office General Supt. of Schools
Washington, Aug't 26, 1868
My Dear Daughter,
Yours - with its fine XX of pleasures - ragged blackberry clothing wonders &c &c call day
Friends too, so clustered there now -- must give you and mother great pleasure. My love again to them all. But I am so sad about Aunt Clara. Tis well she has gone to Hartford. That is the best about under the circumstances & we must all pray that God's blessing be upon it & work his XX. The greatest of all love is to love one's XX but he who give it can XX it. Let us be thankful that ours is left, & use it well. I
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have great confidence in the restorative power of the very humane systems present at the Hartford Asylum. But this is a xx affliction, is it not! Father's death & this makes me doubly sad. All of my family now -- older and in advance of me -- are gone. I stand on the extreme front of the advancing procession.
I am glad XXX & Kate are there & have been so able & willing to take care of the suffering. Thank them from er, they will never regret their care.
Will not Katy come to Washington with me. Ask her to do so.
You don't speak of having any of my letters in particular and fear some of them have missed. Notes from Mr. Cole were enclosed in one & in one I assailed all the ways of gettng to Washington with your bags.
Mother does not seem to have what I for
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she asks "how shall I get ^it^ there"?— I again say by [expressing?] it to [any?] city, to be called [here?]— —or—what is better perhaps—de-cidedly so I shd think—buy a through ticket ^for [township?]^ to Wash at [Ridg?]- -port & there get through ^checks^ for your trunks—Be sure that your tickets will let you stop in N. York & that the checks will take the trunks directly here with no [care?] on your part, some-body from [waisted?] I [gh?]. [think?] [will?] [wet?] you at Bridgport, when there is a half hour delay. Hope [Dr]. Lewis woll be able by that time to aid you in [M?]. [K?}. Let me know, of course, just when you are to arrive here. As to the exact time: the [best?] & mas[-say?] time will be when you [many?] will have been spent ^as^ you reach here, Dont have any [doubt?] to follow for
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The matter of [dabey?] coming had to take hold of the [will?], is [one?] a little difficult to manage just now, Mr. [Blin?] & [Ainstd?] and working along—perhaps [improving?]— some, and 10, or 12 weeks more will close the work for season. In the cold weather we shall [upair?], & probably get ready to move to the Eastern Branch [Is?] that a radical change [wont?] is a little more undesirable [than?] it was in the Spring—I wish [Jaby?] would come & [make?] up his mind to [have?] [be?] Washington. Where his trade is in great demand— & it would not be long (whether he went at work at [fist?] for us [is?] some way [on?] for any other [corner?]) before I could fix him in a desirable position—At best I sh.d hope so—please tell him this & ask him to think over it,—& [care?] [your?] [affey?] J. W. Alvord