Monday, October 4, 2010

Amanuensis Monday: 1894 letter MARY ETTA (KENNEDY) BROWN of Unga Island, Alaska

The first family history document that I ever transcribed was a letter circa 1894 from my great grandmother MARY ETTA (KENNEDY) BROWN, of Unga Island, Alaska, to her sister SARAH ADELINE (KENNEDY) HAWTHORNE, of Bodie, CA.

A photocopy of the original letter was lent to me for a few weeks by my mother's first cousin, Winifred Stetson, back in 1989.  When I read the handwritten letter,  I realized for the first time that it was actually possible for an ancestor to  leave some kind of  memento that would give insight into both their personality and their life. It was truly the beginning of my fascination with genealogy.

For photos and more information on my great grandmother MARY ETTA (KENNEDY) BROWN, please see my previous blog post of March 2010.

Here is a copy of my transcription:


Have a great day!

Betty

© Betty Tartas  2010

2 comments:

Heather Wilkinson Rojo said...

Wow, what a powerful letter. What women had to go through in those days! It always seems like fiction until you read a letter from a real person like this.

Barbara Poole said...

I can't imagine such a life, it was so hard (I've been through Bodie) and even through her letter, you could see how pleasant she was. Thanks for sharing this.