Martha B. Baker to Martha B. Eppes

my dear Sister

You know not, how your letter has revived my spirits, every allowance is made by me, & am charitable in all I think, about you, for never have I seased to love & think of you, and as I knew full well your sufferings I have never blamed you for not writing, tho felt sorry I did not hear from you oftener, no subject my dear Martha would interest me as much as that which related to yourself & family—I hear a greadeal of chat that is totally uninteresting to me, & would be so to you, I go out very little—one Party this winter & the Fayet Ball is all the amusement I have partaken of, & there has been as many parties this winter as the last, It is erksome to me to go to such entertainments & as Mr Baker is fond of them & goes with Betsy I stay at home—I like the aquaintances I have here, very much & am now fixed near Cousin Hetty, who I think one of the best women in the world my Aunt is well but loosing her memory fast—I have at last been indulged in getting a Pew in the Monumental Church, & altho the Bishop is not a favourate preacher of mine, I am pleased to go every sunday & carry my children—They improve in there studies since I put them with the Miss Woodwards—Mrs Turner tho an excellent school had upwards of 65 girls, I found Maria & Mary Archer who lives with me, did not say more than one lesson a day the Larger Girls were attended to first which left no time for the young ones, who you know wants looking after—I am sorry you have been disappointed in your Governess, should you fail altogether you know you can send them here I am always ready & willing to take any of your children give my love to them all & do not let them foget me Betsy says, I must give her love & say for her, she has no beau, Richmond gives her a great many that never thought of her, & her heart is still her own, how much truth is in this assersion I am not able to say as this is a subject which Girls will tell stories—on, Wayleses love to you, he got here, yesterday—it is the first time I have seen him since January, he says you must not think any thing of his not going to see you, as you know it does not depend on him he has put his hand to the plough & must follow it he has got some business & in Amelia Powhatan & Notterway—& as he has none in Cumberland will quit there next month, I shall come up, in August to Kennons, & if possible will see you before I return to Richmond—We have a very sick family at present among our servants, the Hooping Cough, we sent a boy up to Kennons who had been nurs to one of the children that died, & all our negroes up there have it, another died this morning here, I am uneasy about Sallys children, tho if they are carefull it may be kept from her, children, she is quite pleased [. . .] Mrs Ennis—& the progress her children ma[de i]n there studies, I had a letter a few [. . .] Matilda has been promissing me a visit, all the w[in]ter but has not got here yet, I never hear from any of them any more, than if I lived in Kentucky—I am pleas’d to hear Mrs Jones is well, Mr Page has dined with us once, he looks very well,—I see so badly I fear you will be pusseled to read this letter, but you must take the will for the deed, I cant do any better—my affectionate love to dear Mary & tell her I frequently wish for her to stay with us—I want to see all of you, very much, remember me to Betsy, It is now late & I must conclude your ever fond & affectionate Sister

M B B
RC (NcU: Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations, Hubard Family Papers); conjecturally dated based on repository record; torn at seal; edge trimmed; addressed: “Mrs Eppes. Mill. Brook” by “Mr Page.”
Date Range
Date
June 7, 1820
Collection
Repository