Mary Malone     ( October 24, 1897 )

Mary Malone

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Letter:  Two Pages, both sides

Paper:  Line Paper 7-7/8” wide by 9-7/8” high

No envelope

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Midland Mich

Oct 24 – 1897

My dear cousin -

Seeing you were generous enough to write without waiting to hear from me, I will try to respond promptly.  Yes, Lizzie, I have been thinking of how I should write to you ever since I came back but have been very busy.  You know Mrs. Miller only got his meals and did some of the work but the night I came back she had supper ready and everything fixed up.  Rev. Fr. Malone came down to the train to meet me and was very glad I came.  He said he was awful lonesome while I was away.  He said he went to bed about 8 o’clock every night.  He said he would be tempted to fly away if I did not come back soon.

 

Lizzie, when I arrived in Grand Rapids much to my surprise they were all asking me if you weren’t going to be married and of course I pretended I didn’t know anything about it so they concluded it was a mistake.  It seems Phil Hughes girls heard it by letter from some of the girls.  Annie J. said she heard you were only going to teach 3 months.  I presume you don’t care now anyway as it will soon be published.  It will seem odd to me to change the address on my letters.  It doesn’t seem possible that it is so but think and sincerely hope you may have a happy life.  But Lizzie it will be different from teaching.  You will like housekeeping better.  Tell Will F. I dreamed about him the other night.  It was something comical.

 

Well I have so much to tell you I must make each subject short.  Well, when in G.R. I was invited to Jennie’s for supper one evening and we went up to the Drug Store and had ice cream soda.  The next evening I went to the Hibernian Hall with Annie J. and had a nice time.  They had a little entertainment and served Doughnuts and coffee.  But it was nothing like our Dennison time.  I don’t know when I had a better time than there.

 

How is Magic bottle?  The Saturday after I came back, I went out to Auburn on the train to visit Miss Gaffney.  She had a number of people whom I knew at her home Saturday evening and we had supper and a very nice time.  Sunday morning we drove to Bay City to Mass (about 12 miles) had dinner at her sister’s.  A ride on the street car through town.  Drove out to some friends of hers and had supper and got back about 9 o’clock.

 

She is a teacher and has a horse and buggy some like yours.  I came back here Monday morning.  When Fr. Malone came from Vernon that day.  He had a young man with him from Cheboygan and he stayed until Tuesday.  So you see, my time as been very short for writing.  The FitzGibbons family are going to give an entertainment in the Opera House next Tuesday eve.  Think I will attend.  Well, the church is not finished yet.  It is going to be something fine.  They are xxxxxing (restoring) it.  I wish you could see it.  There is two angels.  One on each side of the Sanctuary and they are regular artist’s work.  Then on each side there are emblems some a crown, dove, mitre and I can’t take space to name all.  In the centre there is a beautiful cross.  I hope you can see it some time.  Say come up here on your wedding tour.  Well I have been invariably interrupted said the

 

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The letter ends here - there seems to be a missing page.

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This letter was written by Mary Malone.  Mary Malone was living in Midland with her brother who was a priest (Fr. Malone)

 

“Rev. Fr. Malone”: Father Malone is Mary Malone’s brother

 

“Phil Hughes”:  Maggie Malone married Michael Hughes.  Maggie Malone was Mary Malone’s sister.  Michael Hughes was the son of Phillip Hughes.  Michael Hughes had two brothers and two sisters (Patrick, John, Mary, Catherine and Anna J. Hughes)  Could Mary, Catherine and Anna be the “Phil Hughes girls”

 

“Will F.”:  Lizzie was getting married to William Fitzpatrcik

 

“Hibernian Hall”:  I found the following on the Internet - The Hibernian Hall in Charleston, South Carolina was built in 1840 to provide a meeting place for the Hibernian Society, an Irish benevolent organization founded in 1801.

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This map shows Midland, Auburn, Bay City and                  This map show Cheboygan

the green arrow points to Vernon, Michigan                          (see green arrow)

 

 

 

Click here for a PDF version of the above.

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