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Philadelphia Oct. 5th 1892
Dear Mother Brother & Sister
I take the opportunity of riting [writing?] to yous [you?]
to let yous [you?] now [know?] our situation at
present we are all pretty [pretty?] well but
David was ill for 3 weeks with the
Bagy ? but he is well now and at work
Thomas had the same disease at that
time but is better Martha is poorly
now with the same complaint I
have had pretty [pretty?] good health all Summer
I have been steady to work all the time
but in a few weeks all stonecutting
stops and the [there?] will be no work to
Spring the man I was working for all
Summer burst up in august last and
he owes me over 5 your country money
I am working for another firm now
The money is sure but the pay is not
so high the stone is very hard the
same as whin stone at home but
the work is easy but it is three and a
half miles from where I live
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We received your kind letter dated
The 7th Sept which gave us great
pleasure to hear of yous [you?] being well
We had it 2 days before Mrs Mc Farland
landed at NewYork She had a nice
passage of 10 or 11 days we went to see
her and her and her sister came to
see us the [they?] are all well we return
yous [you?] our kind thanks for your
kind presents the [they?] will be very
useful now coming on the winter as
it is so extreme cold here in winter
We were sorry to hear of Mother being
sick but I hope she is now well I
was enquiring of Mrs McFarland she told
me you were not very well this summer
But she dose [does?] not give much news of
that country Mary Anne has been at
home since May but she is going to
a place on Monday she will have 2 Dolars [dollars?]
and 75 cents per week for chambermaid & nurse
Seragh is with a Presbyterian clergyman
and has 2 dolars [dollars?] per week she has nothing
to do but to care a little baby of 3 years
old her mistress keeps her with herself
and is learning her to sew and and make clothes
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I intend to get our likings [likeness?] taken
in the course of a few days and
I will send one to yous [you?] and one to
Elisa & one to Maggy it is a great
distance from where we live to
gow [go?] to get it taken or we would
have sent it to you before now
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and Elisa Jane
Park was to see us last Sunday the [they?] are
all well James Carson and Elisa is well
The [they?] are intend to gow [go?] back to New York
next month Their son David went
back there a month back James has
good pay here but he will not stop
He has 87 Dolars [dollars?] per month in the
gas works Mitilda is somewhat
more delicate this season than last
but is still able to gow [go?] around and
the 3 little ones gow [go?] to school
Please excuse this short letter as I
intend to rite [write?] soon but yous [you?] will be
uneasy to hear from us that I rot [wrote?]
these few lines to day
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Read this yourself
I suppose by this time yous [you?] are
thinking that I should send some
money but when I came to this
country I did not think my boys
would left me as the [they?] done
Thomas left in 6 months and
Johnny the same he is not with
me this Summer nor Dose [does?] not
come to see although he is
but 2 squares from us so I am
left to myself but I hope the
Lord will enable me to get along
and before long I will send you
what you gave me give our best
respects to Joseph and Elisa Jane
and to Samuel & Maggy I am
riting[writing?] a letter to each of them to day
Your Affectionate Friends
John & Mitilda Ferguson
