#1. From the clues in this letter, it must have been written in the mid to late 1870's.  It is written by Marial Adamson-Paul, the wife of Will Paul, to her stepmother Rebecca Adamson, her half-sister Mollie Adamson-Prather, and her brother-in-law Thomas "Bud" Prather who lived in Hamilton County. Later, Bud and Mollie moved to Wayne County, IL.

June the 21

Dear Mother brothers and sisters

i seat myself to tell you we are all well and done harvesting and glad of it and i hope you are all the same Will harvested 12 days and this is 13 days for Jimie and i dont no whether he will come home tonite or not Will quit yesterday and is plowing corn today our corn looks mity well but is very weedy but ours is not alone we are needing rain now pretty bad gardens is needing rain very bad Mother my garden looks very well considering ive had lots of beans and had cucumbers for times today our potatoes is good ive a good many chickens but there is a weasle her that gets four to eat to my one and i tell you it hurts me but it cant be

helped oh dont you want to help this old pen steve will says for you to come and get your hound its the pretyest thing you ever saw and the fearcest wood will says for you and reason to come up next week he thinks he will stack about that time i am stout as a buck and plump as a patrige i hoe and pull weeds to beet all well tomas I am going to talk to you alittle ruf about the way you treated me when i was down there will is awful mad about it and i aint in a good umer but if you will come up we'll setle it with will you tell him it was an accident you dident go to do it well to bisnes now bud will and me went to Mt Erie next week after we come home and we saw Mr Mills and we told him about you and he said you was the very kind of a man he wanted he said he

wanted a single handed man he dont want much of his farm tended just the best of it and he wants a man that noes how to tent to stock we give you a big name for that and told him you cam from ky and was raised to tend fine stock it pleased him to think you come from ky he is a kyian he wants you to come and see him Molie its the nicest farm and lots of fruit and water bud we told him you was coming after harvest and you must come just as soon as you can and you come to moly  all come soon and rite as soon as you get this and tell us what you will do will says its best chance he noes of and you can make enof tending stock to keep your family

Murial Paul

#2.  This letter must have been written around 1880 or 1881. Marial died in November of 1881 from the debilitating condition she mentions in this letter.

Jan the 11 Mt Erie

My dear Mother Bros and Sisters one and all i seat myself to drop you a line to let you know that they are all well i cant say i am well but I am about as i was when you was up here last Spring i can help the children a little bu i am very weak yet Mag my legs aint as big as your arm i am a poor old yellow ribe Mother had a serious time of it but still im here there has been rite smart of Sickness in the neighborhood but none in the neck to amount to anything Mag ive had too big slayrides will took us all to dinks Sunday week ago and lst Sunday to Marvel Hills and when ever i take a notion to go a bobing i make some of them go and pull me Mollie dident we have a nice time whn you and Bud come up this fall i never enjoyed myself so much Bud if you was here tonite you mite have went with wil up to the fidlers to hear soom moosic Steve will says you are the badst liar in the county the foxes is as thick rabits Wood will says he wisher you was here to scrape ax handles for that is all he has got to do now and so i think now is your time to come wood you and Reason Mother give my love to Milly and her family and to Molly and Bud and tell them all how well i would love to see them all come for i may never be able to come to see them again Mag Britie has got a beau and his name is Johny alison She got her a nice coat and nuby her coat was $5.50 and her nuby 75 cts Lzzie and me got a breakfast shaul Charley old Santy brout baby and georgy a gun and caps cristmas and some candy too what did you and Pearly get Pearly i wish you was here to lite ants pipe while she rites i want you to make papy and Ma come up and bring you and we will ahve lots of fun Mother nearly all of my fruit frose and come and a dosen bursted all to peaces but i cooked up and all of it only what we eat so  i reckon Saly anint come or some of you would have rote Setve Will and Jimy has cut and sold about 25 dollars worth of hoopoles will is making ax handles now to sell him and me made six today he gets 20 cts a peace as fast as he can make them ant we had the coldest winter you ever saw Mother give my respects to all that i got acquaint with when i was down there now i tell you all i want to come home with Jimy I cant say which one fer i want you all to come so bad when i say all I mean every one of my friends and relation come one come all and we will treat you best we con i close by sending our love to you all and asking intrest in all your prairs that i may get well once more if it is the good Lords will Mag you and one of the boys come home with Jimy and stay a weeke or to or a month or as long as you please good by and her is a kiss

Marial

Note: Before she signs her name, she draws a squiggly circle for the kiss.

#3. This letter is written by Lizzie Paul, the daughter of Will Paul and Marial Adamson-Paul, to her grandma Rebecca Cracraft-Adamson in Hamilton County.  Her mother has been dead for about a year-and-a-half at the time she writes the letter.  She has been the woman of the house for a while because her mother was sick for quite a while before she died. She is 15 years old when she writes this letter.  Brittie is her sister who is 17.  Charley is a young uncle, and Bob is her 13-year-old  brother. Aunt Mollie is her mother's half-sister.

July the 16  1883

Dear grandma i thought i would rite you a letter this evening as it has ben a raining this evening or id haft to rake oats i would answer your   letter and let you no that we are all well and hope when those few lines comes to hand they will find you all the same well grandma we have got 8 gallons and a half of blackberries caned Brittie has gone to work for Bud Westfall our wheat is tollerable good corn is good and oats to grandma our garden is good we have not got very many young chickens for they have all died Charley    Bob says tell you has been a plowing new ground corn all sumer till harvest and bound wheat all thrugh harvest and has been a binding oats well grandma i would like to come down there if i could but i cant come but i want you to come up here and tell aunt mag and her man to come to well grandma we will move up to our place in September grandma you dont no what a comfort it is to no that we have got a home of our own to go to well i cant think of any thing else to rite so i will close for the time asking you all to rite soon so good by

Yours Truly From Lizzie to Grandma

#4. Well ant Mollie i thought i would rite you a few lines to let you no that we are all we and hope you are the same ant mollie you dont no how glad we was to here from you all uncle steve george Say goose ass to you purley i wish you could come up here and stay  2 week this fall i have nearly fergot how you look ida is getting supper and mattie is at miss hills well i will close for this time hoping to here from you all soon so good by

pa is not married yet 

From Lizzie to Aunt Mollie