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Philadelphia 13th March 1875
Dear Mother Brother & Sister I
send these few lines to yous [you?] to let you
now [know?] we are in prety [pretty?] good health thank
God owing to what trouble we have had
I received your kind letter which gave us
great pleasure of your being well and I
had a letter from Elisa Jane previous and
yous[you?] all think I am quite dull in riting [writing?]
but I was waiting to see what would
befall poor Magy [Maggie?] this is the sorrowful
news she is no more She had a baby
on the 23rd February and she died on the 9th
March It is a girl and we got it baptized
Its name is Matilda she had the child
and had no call for a Doctor nor yet
the [there?] were no time to send for one as she
was alright but the [there?] was a woman
next house attended to her she never had
trouble with her confinement before but
after 2 or 3 days she took bad and we sent
for the Doctor he said from the first time
he came she would not live it turned to
inflammation and liver complaint and jandies [jaundice?]
So he attended her every day and Dollar
a visit and the the medicine after that is a
great bit expensiver [more expensive?] than the doctor
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I got the half of the lot that David Carson
bought for his father when he died it is
5 graves the last was 60 dollars he gave me
2 graves that is 12 dollars a grave the name
of the graveyard is Mount Mariagh
the largest burying place in America and
we had a nice respectable funeral 12
carriages and a good many of our friends
came to see us I had 5 carriages and a
hearse and the friends was the balance that
is the the stile [style?] here the reason of me bringing
her I had so many lamentable letters from
her been [being?] in starvation in New York so I told
her to come on and bring her 2 children and
bed and I would keep her for the winter
and let him do for himself she might starved
there only for two ladies of means and charity
that gave her meat and close[clothes?] and paid her rent
and paid their fair [fare?] here and the frate [freight?] of the
furniture and ever since sent her some money
the day before magy [Maggie?] died the [they?] sent her a post office
order for 10 dollars so Sammy got on the drunk
and gave us a great dale[deal?] of trouble running up
and down the street chalenging [challenging?] us all to fight
I could get him put in prison but I thought I
would not trouble
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Poor Magy [Maggie?]had neither shoes nor close [clothes?] but
what these ladies and us gave her I am content
that she was with us when she died besides in
New York you may understand I have a good
bit of trouble in this country Samuel did
not intend to take the little infant but
to leave it with us so he started of the
day before the funeral to New York we thought
he was gone I went to the Mayor and got
an order to have him arested [arrested?]if he would
not take the children with him so he
came back next morning and his sister Mary Anne
and we took the smoothest and best way
we could to get rid of him and them but it
would not cost me anything to make him do
what was right He said these 2 ladies in
New York would get the children into a home
so I am rid of all the Mc Nickles but not easy
he tried to sell what he could of the furniture
but no one would buy them it is a small
recompense for me keeping them over 4 months
and the undertakers bill is 64 dollars to be
paid in 30 days all his furniture with exceptions
of the bed would not bring 10 dollars I have got
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an order from the Alderman to keep these
articles of course it is better for me to have them
as to let him sell them and spend it all in
whisky Magy [Maggie?] had 8 movings in this one year
and the ninth was to the grave Mitilda has
got too much too during the time of Magy [Maggie?]
being sick and trouble and grief she feels but
verry [very?] poorly I had got a job 2 weeks back
it is far from me near 6 miles but I can gow [go?]
by the street cars Johnny nor David is not
doing anything yet. Mary Anne & Seragh [Sara?]
is steady in their situation the[they?]were with us
during the wake and funeral I am glad to hear
of my mother being well again and likewise
of yous [you?] all being well it is a good thing of yous [you?]
to try and make William Alexander a good scolar [scholar?]
and I trust the Lord will enable him to get
along we send our kind regards to Joseph
and Elisa Jane and the baby hoping the [they?] are
all well and either go or send this letter
to them fourthwith [forthwith?] I will send them
a letter in 6 or 7 days when I hear some news
from New York Thomas and wife and child is well
and getting along first rate if I would sit down to rite [write?]
all the news it would require a letter as big as the Ledger
but I will send more in the next please excuse me at
this time Your sincere friends
John & Mitilda Ferguson
