Alice (Hodges) and Albert
Sidney Atkins with children Delia and Frank; courtesy
William Bryan Longmire
Manerva
Jane (Walker) Walker
was the second oldest child of Henry
Walker, though, at the time this letter was written,
she was the oldest surviving child. She married John
Henry Walker, an unrelated Walker from Knox County,
Tennessee, and the couple had only one known child,
Albert, age 11 at the time of his mention in this letter.
They would leave Tennessee, settling by 1890 in Pettis
County, Missouri; in fact, this letter is probably written
from Pettis County. Between 1910 and 1916, the couple
moved to Marion County, Oregon, where John died in 1916
and Manerva in 1931.
Albert
Sidney Atkins
was her nephew, the oldest surviving son of Manerva's
sister Melissa, who had died the year before, and her
husband Samuel Atkins. Albert probably lived around
the modern intersection of Lone Mountain Road and Bear
Creek Road in Claiborne County, Tennessee, at the time
of this letter. Albert was the oldest of six children,
but only three seem to have survived to adulthood including
Albert, his sister Mary Alice "Alice" and
his brother John Henry Atkins, both of whom are mentioned
in the letter.
At this time, Albert had been married almost six years
to Sarah Alice Hodges, known as Alice, and the couple
had two children, Della Margaret Malissa Atkins and
James Franklin Atkins. Dellie, as she was called here,
was 6, and Frank was almost 3.
Albert died 2 years and 10 days after this letter,
possibly of tuberculosis. Alice would remarry, to Thomas
Jefferson Gose, and have three children with him. Albert,
Alice, and Tom are buried in Atkins Cemetery at the
intersection of Lone Mountain Road and Bear Creek Road.
Letter courtesy Mary Alice (Gose) La Rue. Click on
either image for a larger version.
Footnotes from the letter:
[1] Presumably a question from her husband, John Henry
Walker
[2] Several possibilities; unknown
[3] Probably Lucinda (Atkins) Walker
[4] Her son Albert Walker
[5] James Franklin Atkins, Albert's son
[6] Meant "recalled"?
[7] Della Margaret Malissa Atkins, Albert's daughter
[8] John Henry Atkins, Albert's 15-year-old brother
[9] Melissa (Atkins) Walker, Manerva's sister and Albert's
mother
[10] Ditto.
[11] Mary Alice Atkins, Albert's sister
[12] Olivia Lutisha Walker, Manerva's sister who Manerva
raised after their mother's death
Jan 10/85
Albert I have have
Been Buisy and neglected
to answer your Leter
I hope your health is Beter
By this time and Hope you
will still be well with the
store I am not Done gathering
Corn yet Have made a
tolerble crop about 40 Bush
to the acre Wet Weather
Damaged Crops very much
Times is Hard Here for this
Country perhaps not as Bad
as their Write and Tell me
how you are farming Did
your Land Charlys done in
Corn How is the orcheds
Did you Have fruit this year
Tell me all Where's you Worked
in Corn and all about it
How is the Farmering you have
never sent any statement on last
year or year before (John[1])
What is ant pop[2] and aunt
sindy[3] caning Tell them I
hav not for got them
and wold like to her from
them I guess Aunt pop looks fine
in her new hous
Albert[4] sais he had for got
you had a litel frank[5] he recled[6]
Delia[7] and he often talks a bout her
he sais he dreamed of Joney[8]
las nite he talk so much about him
and so sorey for him since
his mother [9] died I am sorey for you
all it dont seem like I could [?]
go their now if I was back their
and not see Liss[10] then I know
Alis[11] misses Mother so much
She wold all way ask mother
how to do every thing and what
to do Well I will close write
soon tell all the newse kiss
delie and frank for me.
Oley[12] will write next time.
