East Texas Family Records, Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 1982 Page: 5
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12
Tell Alice for me to be a good girl as I shall hope to find her much improved
when I get back to Texas, if I am ever so fortunate as to reach there. Give my
love to your Ma and all the rest of the family. I was surprised to hear, while in
Georgia, of the marriage of your Brother Doc.l3 When did you hear from Aunt Jane?14
Aunt Pauline15 was in Griffin all the time I was there. She is a splendid looking
woman - about the best one of the Smith Family that I have ever seen.
Be sure and write to me soon.
Your affectionate cousin,
William
74
Shelbyville, Tenn.
April 8-h, 1863
My dear Coz:
I was much gratified at the reception as well as deeply interested in the perusal
of yours of the 17th February. It gave me a better insight into the condition of
things about home than any letter I have seen from there in a long time. If you
will only continue to write such epistles and be as prompt and punctual I shall consider
you a jewel of a correspondent as well as a treasure of a cousin.
Since I wrote you I have spent several weeks down in Georgia - I passed most of
the time at Columbus. My visit passed very pleasantly indeed - as much so as I could
have possibly desired. Columbus is a delightful place. Aunt Pauline is a nice
woman, fond of good society and consequently has an abundance of possably good company
about her. You may guess then that I succeeded admirably well in killing time.
As you suggest that I am rather "galish" and any denial would be taken for a confession
of that fact, then there is no use in trying to refute what has been taken
for granted. Especially since the class to which I unfortunately happen to belong
is always regarded with suspicion.
I have in my possession a number of "sweet scented, rose tinted notes" in very
delicate chirography of which I was the recipient during my absence. But though
said to be the captor of more than one heart I must be permitted to say that my own
is still in my possession and likely to remain so for a long time. There were two
nice young ladies both from Mississippi staying at Aunt's. They are worth at least
$50,000. and are great belles. Although it would have been very romantic to have
gotten up a love affair in the usual novel style between us, I believe we all parted
as we had met - friends and nothing more. With a woman's usual match making style,
Aunt --e15 had selected a sweetheart for me but being absent from the city I did
not meet her. She is said to be the handsomest woman in the place and highly accomplished
and consequently a belle. But as I don't admire that style of woman and am
not anxious to supply the place of my dead wife, it is not at all probable that we
would suit each other. I represented you to Aunt Pauline in the highest terms and
she is very anxious to have you go visit her at the first opportunity and spend a
year or two or as long as you choose with her. So I want you to study hard and improve
yourself and fill the description I have given of you. What I am afraid of
though is that if you ever once get there we should never get youback to Texas again.
And so Tyler has a heroine at last in the person of Miss Haskins. What is she
like? Is she short or tall, great or small? I am inclined to think that other
heroes and heroines are very scarce or else that they have become so common as to
be unnoticed. The newspapers make a great many heroes nowadays, but we that are in
the army never find them out. Courage has got to be such a common article that
EAST TEXAS FAMILY RECORDS -5SPRING,
VOL. 6, NO. 1
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East Texas Genealogical Society. East Texas Family Records, Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 1982, periodical, Spring 1982; Tyler, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38050/m1/7/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting East Texas Genealogical Society.