In 1870 a loving & devoted daughter named Ella, wrote some Holiday wishes to her much beloved parents.
My dear sister Kristen, gave me these letters years ago knowing my appreciation for anything old & now I share my treasures with you, my Sweetest of Hearts.
1870 was a mere 5 years after the Civil War had ended. What of the war had our Miss Ella seen first hand?
Did she & her family live in the North or in the South?
Were they of privilege or poverty?
Did she & her Mother sit together wrapping bandages for the soldiers?
Did her Father or brothers go off to fight in the war?
The papers she chose to write on are delicate & ornate, the pages tied together with a thin green ribbon.
Her penmanship is exquisite & her prose beautiful.
By her writings, I can tell Ella was a sensitive & well educated young woman.
I want to know so much more.
Here's her Christmas Wish...
Heartily my parents dear
I wish you blessings choice,
And all the treasure here below
Which can your hearts rejoice.
Peacefully may pass the days
Within the bright New Year,
Plentiful may pleasure be
Your loving hearts to cheer!
Yes, may Heaven grant you health
And still your life prolong,
Never may my Parents dear
Be suffering any wrong.
E'er for your parental care
And all your tender love,
Will I endeavor day by day
My gratitude to prove
Yes, I will strive to be your joy
Your comfort and your stay,
Each benefit received from you,
Thus fondly to repay.
Ah! then accept my wishes fond
My own loved Parents dear,
Receive with them my fibile love
And gratitude sincere.
Affectionately inscribed by
...Ella.
What an amazing Gift from a child! This is a lost art my friends.
In an age of voicemails & emails, texts & iphones, facebook & twitter...
who would want to take the time to sit down & write such an eloquent & heartfelt poem?
I am blessed to have one more of Ella's handwritten wishes, this one for her Mamma's birthday only 5 days before my own.
My dear Mamma,
Today being the anniversary of your birth, I beg you to accept the sincere congratulation that come from the heart of a devoted child. Although I wish you happiness every day of my life, still on this bright anniversary of your birth, it seems but natural that I should give expression of my thoughts. Yes, dearest Mamma, may God grant you all blessings, both spiritual and temporal, may he bestow upon you all that contributes to a life of peace and happiness. Though I cannot give you a sensible token of my love and gratitude, be assured that I have offered fervent prayers to the throne of God for your welfare.
Receive, beloved Mamma, my wishes for health, peace and happiness as a testimonial of the lasting affection of
Your devoted child,
...Ella
November 20th, 1870
Sweet, Sweet Ella...
Could you have ever imagined in your grandest of dreams that 140 years later, someone like me would be holding your letters close to her heart, with the wish to share your love & beauty & grace as a Christmas gift to all the world? Life is so very Remarkable!!!
Sharing with my friends from Faded Charm ...Welcome!
I am also joining Debra of Common Ground for her Vintage Inspiration Friday post. The theme through December is to share your Vintage Christmas...how fun is that! Come on over & join in the fun, there are so many lovely links to visit. I hope you will enjoy them as well.
PS: If you haven't entered my 400 Friends Giveaway, don't forget to click here & leave a comment!
Sharing with my friends from Faded Charm ...Welcome!
I am also joining Debra of Common Ground for her Vintage Inspiration Friday post. The theme through December is to share your Vintage Christmas...how fun is that! Come on over & join in the fun, there are so many lovely links to visit. I hope you will enjoy them as well.
PS: If you haven't entered my 400 Friends Giveaway, don't forget to click here & leave a comment!
XOXO
vintagesusie
29 comments:
These are just beautiful. What a lovely keepsake for you. I love sentimental keepsakes like that. Whan my great Aunt passed her sister gave me her travel journal. It is one of my treasured keepsakes and tells stories of their trips together, as well as painting a picture of the times back then. Thanks for sharing such a special treasure and have a wonderful day. Angela
Oh how absolutely wonderful. You are so right when you say the written word is becoming a lost art. Emails, texts, voicemails are wonderful in their own right, but a hand written note or letter is something one can keep forever. Thank you for sharing these wonderful letters from someone who was surely a treasured daughter to her much appreciated and loved parents. Ann
This so much touched me-I totally agree about handwritten things from the past-such a treasure-how lucky you are to own it and thank you for sharing it-I love anything from the 1800's!
Oh that's wonderful - wasn't the penmanship back then fabulous! You are right - it's a lost art today. How fun are these old letters and cards!
What a treasure, Susie!! Thanks for sharing.
xo
lynn
What a treasure that has graced your heart and hands. Reading the love and devotion in these is so heartwarming. Christmas cards are even becoming a thing of the past, and such a heart break, that is. Thank you so much for taking us to Ella's beautiful poetry and prose. Beautiful, simply beautiful. 140 yrs. later, and I am certain, Ella dances.
BlessYourHeart
What great treasures those letters are! I love her penmanship...how beautiful!
Tammy :-)
JUNK WILD
These are just wonderful and special! Thanks for sharing!!
What an amazing story, wish all the old photos I have had some lovely words attached. Thanks for sharing! riki
Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful pages from the past!
Happy December!
My speakers are happily playing one of my favorite sounds of the season, thanks!
What amazing treasures SP!!!! Her hadnwriting is 2DIE4!!!!! Yes, now days we think we're doing good to get a blog post done!!!! Hope your'e enjoying the holiday preperations! HUGS!
Charlene
Dear Susie;
Thank you for Sharing these Lovely Letters! What an Amazing young Woman Ella was. Her Writing is so Beautiful and her Prose So Heartfelt and Sweet.
I wonder sometimes Where do all of our E-mails, Voice mails,text and Twitter Go?In our Desire to have everything so quickly these days, it makes a person think that perhaps Technology isn't our friend. We are losing site of simple things that mean so much. It makes a Person go Hmmmmmm??!!
Sorry for Rambling on so!
Happy Thurday Susie!
Hugs
Jill
Dear Susie,
Thank you, for sharing these heartfelt letters with us. Jill, from Feathers and Flight recommended me to stop by as she knew for sure I would be greatly interested in this post.
As an individual who loves to write, I can only imagine the divine soul Miss Ella was. I would have loved to spent time with her ... these letters touched me deeply ... for she passionately loved her parents. How very fortunate you are to have been gifted these missives from the past. You are so correct, this day and age, letters as such are an extinction.
Wishing you and yours a most blessed and blissful holiday season. May your hearts be filled with great peace, and yours souls contentment.
Oh what priceless treasures you have there... I love to read posts like this... always brings tears to my eyes... thank you for sharing these most precious pieces of ephemera... xoxo Julie Marie
These are just too precious for words--eveything about them--right down to the paper! Wonderful! Jacqueline
How simply wonderful is this????
What a treasure to have.
Dear Ella sure did love her mama!!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful items
Michele
Susie, thank you so much for sharing these precious words. I would also love to know where and how she lived, just so very loving and intimate. Thank you for linking up with VIF!
xo,
Debra
How special that you have these wonderful old letters.
And thank you so much for sharing them with us.
She certainly did have a way with words - so do you.
Rhonda
What a fabulous post dear friend.....the written note is becoming a thing of the past...and you have real treasures there.
Xo
Jo
What a marvelous treasure!
My grandmother's name was Ella. :-)
XOXO,
Anne
Isn't this wonderful? Such sweet words and her penmanship IS truly exquisite! What a special keepsake! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, Susie!
WOW! I love the old letters, their penmanship and the thought and kindness that went into these small works of art. Thank you so much for sharing your treasure - your sister chose well!
"Her" and Romeo
How darling those letters are. You indeed possess a treasure.
Have a great weekend,
Judy
How lucky you are to have been given these as a gift. They are simply exquisite. And oh so true that this is a dying art. Thank you for keeping this alive and sharing these beautiful memoirs with us. It makes me want to write something with a pen and not typewriter keys!
Oh, Susie,
That is just gorgeous. You are so lucky to have this!
I have been meaning to tell you of a crisis we are having in our family. It is on my site, if you would like to check.
Hugs,
Suz
awesome, what a treasure!!!!
What a Beautiful Collection to have.... Truly a Treasure!
Cheryl
I love these...what wonderful treasures. Don't you just adore the beautiful penmanship from years ago? It really is a lost art :)
OMG, what a sweet letter to her mom on her birthday... and what beautiful penmanship! These are such wonderful treasures! Thanks so much for sharing them!
Blessings~~~ Daphne
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