Numbered
pages 54-59.
Aetna
Insurance Co.of Hartford Belvidere
N.J. March 12th 1897
Henry
J. Aten, Esq. Hiawatha Kansas
My
Dear Cousin: Your kind letter of Jan 4th
last was duly received and read with pleasure.
Your ideas about the Pensioning of old soldiers, and your statements
about Kansas and the west, were all entertaining, and instructive. The two
different packages of newspapers sent under separate covers were also duly
received and read with pleasure, and I return to you thanks for the same. I have nothing new in the way of family
history to write about at this time, yet I thought if I did not reply to your
letter you might think I had forgotten you all.
Mrs. Josephine Hay tells me she received a letter from
you, and is pleased with it, and says she is going to write you a good long
letter. I have not read it, but she has
said
I must go up to her house and I can read it.
I am pleased that you have written to her, as she is one of your nearest
relatives out here, and always seemed to be pleased to read your letters sent
to me which I gave her to peruse. I
send to you a clipping entitled “Battle of Locust Grove.-
As there are a great many descendants of Nicholas and
Jeppa (Aten) Albertson living out about here they have been talking some of
having a family picnic, or family reunion the coming summer up, at, or near
Delaware—if possible on the very premises where these old ancestors
lived--which is right in sight of where your ancestor Derick Aten lived and
where he is buried. I am very much in
favor of it and hope the idea will be carried out. The idea is to hitch together the Albertson and Aten families
generally. There were three Albertson
men who married three Aten wives, Nicholas and Jappe above mentioned—and
Cornelius R. Albertson son of the elder Cornelius, married Eleanor Aten
daughter of Hendrick, who was a brother to your ancestor Derick—This couple
went west long years ago and lived for awhile in Wayne County Ohio, and then
went farther west and settled in Peoria Coqnty Illinois—whare “Aunt Nelly”(as
she was called is
buried—also
some of the children are likewise buried at Princeville Illinois—Cornelius Albertson
dying in Jones County Iowa.------
Then Edward Albertson a member of the same family
cousin to Cornelius it is said, married Abagail Aten—daughter of Hendrick
Aten—(she was a sister of Eleanor) and they too went west, and settled first in
Wayne County Ohio,--and thence removed to Hicksville, Defiance County, Ohio,
where they are both buried. Also some
of their children are buried at Hicksville Ohio, while several live in the town
of Hicksville yet. I have seen two or
three of them. I wrote the above in
reference to the Albertson’s marrying Atens to show you that the descendants of
those two old Hollandish families are somewhat interrested in each other. I send a little extract from the sketch of
the Albertson history to show you that the ancestors came from the
Netherlands. If this project is carried
out I will inform you later more fully about the reunion, and send you an
invitation
to
attend.
Several
persons went from about here to attend the inauguration of the new President.
They report having had a pleasant time. I do hope now that that Hon. Wm.
McKinley being the President and an extra session of Congress s(et?) to
meet,--they will give relief to t(he?) Country—which I think is greatly
need(ed?)
To
a large extant manufacturing is on a stand still out here.—I do not mean that
every shop or factory is silent, but things are slow, and trade and business
dull, and money seems scarce among the people.
You
spoke about your visit to Philadelphia in 1895, but in your repertoire you do
not mention of having been at
Carpenters’ Hall. Of course you could not go to all places, but when you were
at Independence Hall, you should have, if possible went just a little below and
visited Carpenters’ Hall—where the first Congress met—where the first prayer
was made in Congress, see
page
17—also note what Samuel Adams said, and think if it was not good
doctrine. I send to you, for your
daughters, The Misses Aten, a little booklet giving some history about
Carpenters’ Hall—It is for them to keep—as I have two or three of them. On last Tuesday I was down to Trenton, and
on the way, as the train stopped at Washington’s Crossing I looked out and saw
the Monument (not large) erected to commemorate the peace and the occasion of
the crossing of Washington’s Army. I
thought are the people of the United States doing, what can and should be done,
by each one to commemorate, within each one’s breast, and
for
the welfare of this country and its people, that, for which those brave men
toiled and struggled and suffered, on that long cold winter night, before the
battle of Trenton. I am afraid that a
great many don’t think about it, nor care anything about what those patriots of
old did. We are all well at this time
at my home, and I sincerely hope that you are all enjoying good health at your
home—Mrs. Hay & husband are well, all (so far as I know) of your many
distant kinsfolk out here are usually well.
I have written this letter and the accompanying papers about the Albertson’s in my usual fast way and therefore the same are not as neat as I ought to send to you. However please excuse mistakes and errors and poor writing. I will be pleased to hear from you again at any time it may be convenient for you to write—Love and kind regards to you all Mrs. A. the daughters and yourself-- Your cousin Nicholas Harris