Commercial
Union Assurance Co Belvidere N.J. June 1st 1897
Henry
J. Aten Esq. Hiawatha Kansas
Dear
Cousin:
Your
kind letter of the past was duly received and read with pleasure, and as usual
was interesting to us all.
I
have been waiting to get some news and information, that might be interesting
to give to you.
Memorial
day passed off pleasantly, and the old veterans of Belvidere and vicinity had
the usual exercises of the day.
I
have not been anywhere lately to get any history to give to you of your
ancestors or the older members of the Aten families. I was looking over some
old newspapers a few days ago, and I found a notice of the death of Mrs. Sarah
D. Hopler the last of the children of old Uncle Peter Aten. Thinking this
little notice might interest you I send it to you. I remember Mrs. Hopler very
well. I often saw her. She died in 1890.—
I also send to you a little slip containing the notice
of death of Mrs. Jane (Aten) Smith, and Jesse Aten.—They were Grand children of
Hendrick Aten—who was the son, and one of the executors of Adrian Aten (whose
will you have a copy of)
In
1891 an old gentleman living in Oxford township, just out of Belvidere died who
was the oldest member of the Masonic Lodge of Belvidere of which I was the W.[orthy] Master
for the years 1885, ’86 and ’87.—I wrote a notice of his death, which was
republished in the Belvidere papers—I send a copy of the article for you to
read.
I
also send to you a clipping containing an account of “The Reunion of the Second
Brigade”. It may be of interest to you,
to read—Genl. Daniel E. Sickles lived in Belvidere when a boy—Genl. Philip
Kearney lived in Newark N.J. and lost an arm in the Mexican War—Genl. Mott is
buried at Trenton—near to where General George B. McClellan is buried—and
General McAllister, as I wrote you once before lived here in Belvidere and is
buried in our cemeterry. Genl Rusling
is still living in Trenton—Genl. Francis Price, I know quite well—He lives in
Bergen County N.J.—Genl. Sewell is still living—in Camden County N.J.—and
chaplain Cline is now the pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Phillipsburg in
this county.
Mrs.
Josephine (Aten) Hay of this place is not very well She has been complaining for several weeks—She complains of
malaria and weakness—She has showed me the letter she received from you—she was
pleased to receive it, and says she will answer it as soon as she feels better
so she can write you a good long letter.
I imagine you have heard from Miss Mary A. McMurtrie
of Conyngham. If so I have no doubt but
that she has written you a good long letter, as Mary is a bright young lady and
writes a good and interesting letter—at least that’s my experience
I
also send for Misses Edna and Stella to read a clipping—“The Grave in the
Pathway” It relates to an old Moravian
Grave Yard at Nazareth in Northampton County Penna., which I have visited, and
I have seen the writer.—
Nazareth
and Bethlehem both in Northampton County Penna., were settled by the Moravians
in about 1741 or thereabouts and those people are still by their descendants
largely represented there yet.—
I was down to Trenton N.J. on Tuesday the 11th
and having the time I made a copy of the will of Adrian Aten
Down
at Bethlehem, in Northampton County, there is an old Inn—built in about 1758
and licensed in the 33rd year of the reign of King George the Third.
This
old Moravian Inn is quite a historic place—General George Washington stopped
there on different occasions—also John Adams and La Fayette and other noted men
in the olden times lodged under its roof—I send also to you a little pamphlet—a
history of this old Inn for you all to read and keep.—I have been at this Inn
several times—and have see the room where, it is said, Washington occupied.—
We
are all well at my home at this time and I sincerely hope that you are all well
at your home.
Please
excuse this hastily written letter. We
will be pleased to hear from you again at any time that you may find time to
write.
Business
of all kinds is dull, as they say; and money seems so scarce among the
people,—at least that is the way the people express themselves when speaking
about business.
We
all send love and kind regards to Mrs. A and the Misses Aten and to yourself—
In
conclusion I am very respectfully Your Cousin Nicholas Harris