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1912-11-19: ​tour stops---images---audio---~TRANSCRIPT~---notes---links---site navigation
South Hadley, Mass.
Nov. 19th, 10 P.M

My darling boy,

My heart goes out to you in this great sorrow, and it has come with such a shock that I can hardly bear it myself.  I have loved Margaret from the first as really one of my own.  We all loved her and hoped the time would come when you could bring her to visit us.  I have felt a little worried for some time as it has been so long since we had a letter.  When I would say anything about it to Alma she would say “their all right, the time goes so fast with them.”  But last night I did not sleep well and I was thinking about her and I thought I would write again today to know why I did not get a letter, I hope you will write often for I am so anxious now to hear of how the dear little Margaret is getting along.  I have been looking forward with so much pleasure to being a grandmother but it never occurred to me that we might lose Margaret.  I do hope it will keep well and get along all right, it will be such a comfort to you.

Alma is almost heart-broken, I never saw her give away to her feelings as she did when she brought the letter home.  She had received it about two hours before, but said she could not bear to come home with the sad news.  She has gone to bed but I thought I would try to write a few lines.  I am so glad you gave such a full account of every thing.  It is a satisfaction to know she was so well cared for and every thing done that could have been done.

Is the dear baby near that you can see it every day.  I am glad you named it for the dear mother, and I can claim a part of it too.  I must now go to bed as it is getting late -

With worlds of love from

Mother

Wednesday morning

​My precious Will

I shall write some more this morning as I have such a headache that I couldn’t say all I wanted to last night.  I am glad to hear that your faith is helping you to bear this greatest grief of your life.  And the dear woman you grieve for is the one who inspired you with this saving faith.  I don’t know much about Christian Science but I think there must be a great deal of good it or it would never have grown and taken hold of people as it has.  I don’t believe much in medicine any more for since my long sick spell in Alliance - without medicine - and my health so much better than it has been for years before I have a good deal of faith in Osteopathy.  I regret now that I did not recommend it to our dear Margaret in connection with her other treatments.  They give treatments during pregnancy to keep the organs in good condition.  But there is no use now in thinking what one might have done.  I wish too that you had been nearer to us.  I did so want to see her and always had hope that in the near future you would be sent east and to think it might have been next summer.  I do wish they would send you east soon and the dear little baby how I would love to have it when it gets larger.  I should be afraid now to undertake it and I know you would not want it to be far away from you.  But I do hope you can come east and that we can have it a part of the time.

Have you any photographs of Margaret?  If you have send us one.  The picture that we had of her that I liked best has been missing for a long time, I don’t know what could have become of it unless I sent it to Fred and he did not return it.  It was the one with the large black hat.  He had one when he was here that was a good deal like it only better.  It was one you sent to him.

Is the baby at the hospital yet or have you a nurse at home?  Write me soon as possible and tell me how it is getting along.  I am so glad you did not send a telegram when you were so far away and could do no good.  It was much better to wait until you were collected enough to tell us all about the circumstances for I am so glad to know everything.  Tell me what your plans are and if you will try to keep house or if you will have to go to hotel life again.

I shall miss the dear girl’s letters they were always so cheery.  She must have had a lovely disposition.  I was so glad when you got married for I knew if you got the right kind of a wife you would both be perfectly happy and I think she was just the right one so you were devoted to each other.  I wonder if she ever realized how we all loved her, that she was to us a part of you.  Well I must stop and write the sad news to Fred and Laura and I dread to do it.  Alma wrote to Eva yesterday before she brought the sad news home to me.  She will have to bear her grief there alone.  Poor girl I wish she were here she will be broken heart.

I think she has a good place and will yet make good but she has had a lot to contend with, but she is more like she used to be and I think happy that she is doing something and is appreciated.

Our friends here have been very kind to us - brought our dinner in last night so we would not have to go out, but we neither one felt like eating.  Another has just been in to bring some lovely roses.  I know you have lots of friends and they will be good to you.  Now my dear boy do write as often as you can for I do want to hear from the dear baby as well as your dear precious self.  With worlds of love  Mother

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1912-11-19​: ​​​tour stops---images---audio---transcript---~NOTES~---links---site navigation
So sad.

1.
Alma is almost heart-broken, I never saw her give away to her feelings as she did when she brought the letter home.  She had received it about two hours before, but said she could not bear to come home with the sad news.
Apparently Will sent his letter to Alma’s office address so that Alma could break it to her mother.  So far as I know, we don't have Will's letter.

2.
I don’t know much about Christian Science but I think there must be a great deal of good it or it would never have grown and taken hold of people as it has.
Christian Science is OK with bringing in a doctor for childbirth.  But if this was pre-eclampsia, then the problem would have started before the Margaret went into labor, and in fact, judging what we later hear about the baby, it sounds as though she wasn't due for another month.

3.
I don’t believe much in medicine any more for since my long sick spell in Alliance - without medicine - and my health so much better than it has been for years before I have a good deal of faith in Osteopathy.
Mama Margaret apparently is making a distinction in terminology between medicine and osteopathy, whereas I think of them as "standard traditional medicine" and "the osteopathic approach to medicine".  But anyway, I wish we knew more about Mama Margaret's health issues that Laura helped her with.

4.
Have you any photographs of Margaret?  If you have send us one.  The picture that we had of her that I liked best has been missing for a long time, I don’t know what could have become of it unless I sent it to Fred and he did not return it.  It was the one with the large black hat.
Here are the pictures we have of Margaret in the big black hat, taken in late 1910.
5.
Well I must stop and write the sad news to Fred and Laura and I dread to do it.
Fred is probably still in Portugal, learning Portuguese in preparation for his mission work in Angola in Portuguese West Africa.  Laura is in Ohio.

6.
With worlds of love  Mother
"Worlds of love" was a phrase that Margaret used to use.  Mama Margaret picked it up from her, but didn't use it much after Margaret died.​
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