Letter from Frances Miller Seward to Lazette Miller Worden, July 6, 1845

  • Posted on: 4 May 2018
  • By: admin
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Letter from Frances Miller Seward to Lazette Miller Worden, July 6, 1845
x

transcriber

Transcriber:spp:srr

student editor

Transcriber:spp:smc

Distributor:Seward Family Digital Archive

Institution:University of Rochester

Repository:Rare Books and Special Collections

Date:1845-07-06

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Letter from Frances Miller Seward to Lazette Miller Worden, July 6, 1845

action: sent

sender: Frances Seward
Birth: 1805-09-24  Death: 1865-06-21

location: Auburn, NY

receiver: Lazette Worden
Birth: 1803-11-01  Death: 1875-10-03

location: Canandaigua, NY

transcription: srr 

revision: tap 2018-03-09

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Page 1

Sunday morning July 7th
My dear Sister
I will write a few ^lines^ while Willie
Birth: 1839-06-18 Death: 1920-04-29
and
Bridget
Unknown
are drawing Sister Fan
Birth: 1844-12-09 Death: 1866-10-29
in the garden – she is
not well and requires constant nursing – We are all
disappointed in our visit to you next week – A
letter has arrived from Col Bowen
Birth: 1808-02-25 Death: 1886-09-29
saying himself and
wife
Birth: 1816 Death: 1872-07-15
will be here Monday – She is to remain with
us while he goes to Chicago – perhaps further
with Seth Hawley
Birth: 1810-02-10 Death: 1884-11-10
Henry
Birth: 1801-05-16 Death: 1872-10-10
was to accompany them
but is prevented by the urgency of his business
being obliged to go to Utica tomorrow for an indefinite
length of time – Mr Bowen will be disappointed and
I am sorry to have him away while they are here
Bowen writes Col. Webb
Birth: 1802-02-08 Death: 1884-06-07
is to accompany them –
A pleasing prospect with my present household – I am
looking for a coloured woman (drunk or sober) to hire
as a cook for a season – Rachel Owen
Unknown
who ranks
among the former is to call tomorrow and see me –
Ann
Unknown
improves after the manner of the crawfish –
her cooking grows worse daily – She is very childish
and so deficient in judgement that I hesitate to leave
Sister alone with her but shall be obliged to do so if I
succeed in getting a cook – I think it better for

[top Margin]
In the afternoon he had his clerks in the garden eating fruit & ice
cream – Mary spent the day at the Seminary in company with
some other girls – The kitchen depart-
ment was in the street most of the day – Sister and I
were much of the time alone – Augustus has a constant cough
and is thin – can you prescribe any thing homeopathically
better than nux and Chamomilla –
Page 2

Augustus
Birth: 1826-10-01 Death: 1876-09-11
to wait until I ascertain the probable length
of Mrs Bowens sojourn if it is not too long – he can
wait for me but I think he would prefer going
soon and should she stay over ten days I shall
let him go without me – will not Frances
Birth: 1826-12-12 Death: 1909-08-24
return
with him I should be very glad to have her do so
Henry goes to the commencement at Schenectady some
time this month (Bridget has upset sister and I have
been obliged to leave the letter until now, afternoon)
Fred
Birth: 1830-07-08 Death: 1915-04-25
wishes to go with Henry and be examined at that
time I do not know whether he will be permitted.
I think the good people of this town consider me by
this time as worse than a heathen – I have never for
one day been able to resume those calls and it is now
15 months since I have visited all my neighbors
it is useless to try to make them understand that
there are other duties which I consider paramount
and that I cannot be in the street without neglecting
those duties – they too have families and infants
still they go – of course I can, but will not —
no allowance is made for the different construction
I may put upon my responsibilities – I have
no right to expect this to be the case – so I submit
to the other alternative of being considered anti-social
I called last evening with Augustus upon Mrs Hills
Birth: 1796 Death: 1863-04-22Certainty: Possible

and Mrs Miller
Birth: 1780-09-18 Death: 1850-03-09Certainty: Possible
– Mrs Miller had told me all
about her visit and seemed pleased – your letter
came last night –
Page 3

Mrs Hills has concluded to defer her visit to the Springs
until warm weather – she talked much as usual.
We also went to Clara’s – she had a dress maker at
work and could not come home with us – I went
to the milliners and purchased a cap for the ensuing
week – then home to dear sister who is very restless
these nights and complaining of her teeth through the
day — I did not tell you or her I wrote before that she
had had an attack of erysipelas – her leg was much
inflamed and swollen – Dr. Robinson
Birth: 1804-02-04 Death: 1889-07-28
gave Rhus —
she recovered in a few days. Eliza Wright
Birth: 1830-09-03 Death: 1911-07-18
came to
visit Mary
Birth: 1825-08-26 Death: 1872-07-03
yesterday afternoon – As Mary never tells
me any thing she can well avoid I knew nothing of it
until Mary came to the table alone – her Uncle asked
where her company was – she replied that she did
not wish to come to tea – Henry insisted that she should
go and invite her again – Mary went but did not return
I hurried from the table to nurse sister while Ann took
her tea, that I might go out – Ann soon came up and
said she had just commenced taking her tea when
Mary and Eliza came – Mary sent Ann for bread and
Ann after getting it came to me intending to wait
until they were done – I told her to go directly
back and drink her tea not choosing to have my
domestic arraignments interfered with by two ill bred
girls – I wonder if Mrs Wright
Birth: 1806-12-25 Death: 1875-01-04
is sensible how
outlandish her children are – if she is I should think
she would keep them at home – 
Page 4

I read only a portion of Mr Cherns
Unknown
introduction being in
a hurry to commence the book
 Publisher: Wiley and Putnam Place of Publication:New York City Date: 1845
& intending to read it
after – I have read the book partly through so far
it is an interesting work on Geology chiefly
I suppose the objectionable part is to come – then
deductions from the premises — My housekeeping is at
present too oppressive – to allow me to read profitably –
I have read a few chapters in “Satanstoe
Author: James Fenimore Cooper Publisher: Burgess, Stringer & Co. Place of Publication:New York City Date: 1845
Coopers
Birth: 1789-09-15 Death: 1851-09-14
last
it seems to me very inferior to his earlier works but perhaps
I do not allow for the difference in my own age – Though
I never admired Cooper so much as many persons I think
If Clarence
Birth: 1828-10-07 Death: 1897-07-24
has not left you before he must go to day
I am sorry his disposition allows him so little pleasure
Willie enjoyed the 4th – his fireworks the previous evening were
Mrs Alvah Worden
Canandaigua
AUBURN
JUL
6
N.Y.
x

Stamp

Type: postmark


[right Margin]
very successful. Ann raced about the street with him all the
morning to see the procession and in the evening he went to
the garden with Augustus and Mary. Henry attended
Loring Willards
Birth: 1780-08-06 Death: 1845-06-30
funeral Thursday morning – went to
Syracuse at 2 oclock and came home Friday in
time to go with the Daggetts
Unknown
to Church