Letter from Esther Wells Smith to Blanche Irene Toner, September 5, 1928

Letter from Esther Wells Smith to Blanche Irene Toner, September 5, 1928

Author: Esther Wells Smith

Year: 1928

A handwritten letter from Esther Wells Smith of Roseburg, Oregon, to her granddaughter Blanche Irene Toner of Yoncalla, Oregon, dated September 5, 1928. Esther describes attending a local pioneer gathering near Calapooia with Lewis, where they met former acquaintances, shared food, listened to music, and heard a short talk. She also writes about her increasing isolation, saying that she sees few people and rereads old letters because she receives so few new ones. The letter mentions Esther’s daughter Millie Christina Smith, who was ill with a severe cold in Ketchikan, Alaska. Millie died in Alaska on January 12, 1929, a little more than four months after this letter was written. Esther also refers to rereading “an old letter from mother” dated September 14, 1927. Her mother, Anna Elizabeth Mandler, had died in 1904, so this reference is uncertain and may reflect a mistaken date, another family use of the word “mother,” or confusion in the original letter. The item includes the envelope front and back, both pages of the original letter, a transcription, and editorial notes. Uncertain readings in the transcription are marked rather than silently interpreted.