Numbered
pages 171-176.
Hotel
Clarendon Belvidere
N.J. Aug. 8 1899
Note at the top:
“Please excuse this hastily written blotted letter. I am writing in a hurry so it will go out in
the early morning mail. N.H.”
Cousin
Henry J.:
Your
good letter of the 1st inst., as well as the one of the 2nd inst.,
have been received and read with pleasure.
As
I said before you are certainly a history hunter, and best of all,—a history
finder.
I
am pleased to know that you think of coming out here again this summer.
I will try on my part to have the family reunion a
pleasant
gathering.
Dr.
Thompson writes me that he with some others (whose names he will report later)
expect to attend the reunion. About his
preaching here I have seen the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church and he
says they have arranged for the supplies for the pulpit on Aug 20th
but will be pleased to try and arrange for some other date.
As you no doubt know
the
gathering is to be held in N.J. just across the river from the old Aten family
burying ground. There will be boats
there for any who desire to go over to view this old historic spot,--to do so.
Cousin Henry you must of course come and visit us
again in our plain home, and if Mrs. A comes with
you,
she must also be our guest, or the daughters, or either who may come must also
visit us---
Mrs.
Hay has said more than once that there are so many things she ought to have
told you but she could not bring them to her mind when you was here.—
She has written to Mrs. Babcock to come out here this
year. She has not heard from Mrs. B., up to this date. I have written to Rev. Wm. Aten and asked
him to be sure to attend this
reunion,
but have not heard from him yet. I hope
he will attend. Henry of Hope is quite sick.
I am afraid he will not be able to attend this year.
I send you a slip in reference to the Great Exposition
that is to open in Philadelphia on Sept. 14th.—You must arrange your
matters at home so you can stay and see the opening of this Exposition. If it
was
only
possible for many of the descendants of these two old families who live in the
west to attend, what a pleasure it would be—What an army of Kinsfolk we could
see.—I rec’d a nice letter from P.H. Bousquet of Pella Iowa saying it would be impossible
for him to attend this year.
We
are all well at this time and sincerely hope you are well at your home. —
The
nearest R.R.Station to our reunion is Manunka—Chunk Junction,—you must remember
the place where the tunnel is.—