Letter from Mary Carpenter, October 26, 1873

Marshall, Minnesota
Lyon County Oct. 26. 1873.

My dear Aunt Lucy,

I want to write just a line to you today but must write but very little as I am not very strong yet. Our little Lorenzo Lowell will be three weeks old next Friday. He weighed ten and a quarter pounds when he was born. I have been very sick, but am gaining now. We are very anxious to get back to Rochester as soon as possible, on account of the weather. We fear we may be snowbound if we stay much longer, and it is impossible for us to spend the winter here. We were expecting to start day after tomorrow, but we have no money & cannot go without any, for we go without our team & will be more than a week upon the road. Our team must have feed, & it is not safe to start on such a journey without any money.

I regret now that I did not write you sooner, but Mother wrote that she had written to you about it, so we hoped that we would have heard from you before this. If you have not already sent the money, will you please send five or ten dollars in shape of a greenback as soon as you get this. We think there will be no risk in this. We have packed nearly all of our things to leave & Baby and I have been at a neighbor's nearly a week already. It grew so very cold we could not keep warm in our shanty & Miss Peavis insisted on my taking the baby & coming there to stay. We have had a hard snowstorm, but the sun has just come out and we hope for some pleasant weather. We are out of provisions, & wood & must get started as soon as possible. It will be quite a while before we can get our answer to this, as it will not go out till Tuesday.

I had a letter from Mother last night, she was not feeling very well. Said she felt "tired all the time." I suppose she worries about us a good deal. Father had lamed himself by dropping a heavy stick of wood on one of his toes. She did not mention the boys. We received a very nice lot of things from Cousin Lucy Brown, in a large packing trunk, last week. They were very nice & comfortable. Will tell you about them another time when it will not take me so much to write. How very kind all of my dear friends are! I can never begin to thank them as they deserve. Hope I can do something for them sometime. You all know how grateful I feel to each & every one of you for your thoughtful aid & substantial help in this our time of such need.

May our Heavenly Father abundantly reward you all. I cannot nurse baby at all, but he feeds well & cows milk seems to agree with him perfectly. Cousin Lucy sent me a nice lot of stationary, paper & a package of stamped envelopes. I am using some of it now. We have found good friends here & like the neighborhood much. When we get a house I shall enjoy living here, & should be perfectly contented if only Father, Mother & brothers lived near. We are all as well as usual excepting me. Please give my love to all dear friends and remember me to Mrs. Slade when you see her. I'd like a letter from her again. My photograph album was stolen from the bureau drawer while at the depot in Marshall. Can't I have some pictures of your family? I'd like them so much. I never have had any & cousins Maria & Susannah and their families. I'd value them highly. Please tell them so.