My Darling Emma 1857

Rachel Louisa Steer (1825-1896) Photo from The Waterford Foundation, Inc T here is only one single letter from her in my collection of heirloom handwritten correspondences.   Miss Steer here took me quite some time to figure out who she was and how she fit into the puzzle of this project! If you're new here -long story short- I inherited a few hundred 19th century letters mostly addressed to my grandfather's grandma named Emma born in 1857. I have been transcribing these letters since April 2025. Each blog entry is about a letter writer in the collection. Welcome to "My Darling Emma 1857!" Rachel Steer  and her   solo letter had no cover (envelope) BUT on the back had the name of Emma's much older half sister Rebecca Ann Keeler . This letter was signed “ Lucy R Schooley ” and I hadn't come by that last name before in my 20+ year genealogy research or in this letter collection. But a fter some late night snooping, I came to realize Lucy Schooley WAS Rache...

The back of an envelope in my letter collection of an advertisement for the St. Louis fair of 1877 Welcome to... My Darling Emma 1857 If you are NEW HERE be sure to read the beginning of the journey I am on transcribing my family's 19th century letter collection! A few months ago a new word came into my existence. I can't be the only person that had never heard this tongue twister term before. S emiquincentennial is the word.  It means the 250th anniversary of something! And in this case, it is being used to celebrate America's birthday yall .  2026 marks our country's 250th anniversary of independenc e,  commemorating  the signing of the declaration of independence in 1776.  Across the country, individual states and small American towns have planned festivities with block parties, parades, concerts and all sorts of community gatherings in between. Lots of 250th memorabilia are lining the stores and gas stations.  Its a BIG year of honoring our good ole ...

Welcome to... My Darling Emma 1857 If you are NEW HERE be sure to read the beginning of the journey I am on transcribing my family's 19th century letter collection!   Lieutenant Griffin Chiles Jr.  (1829-1864)  💙💔🤍 The war hero...  By the age of 30, Griffin Jr. had found himself all the way from the green lush beauty of the Shenandoah Valley to the dry lands of Texas! He strayed the furthest from home out of all Emma's siblings ...  T exas is where  Griffin Jr.  met and married Prussian native Pauline Julia Bohne  (1836-1898.) She had immigrated to Texas with her family around the age of 9. The couple had three children (one surviving son) and  lived in Huntsville, Texas where  Griffin Jr.   was a carpenter and cabinet maker by trade.    *Interesting note written in the 1960s stated "the late cousin Drury Clevenger who was a nephew of Griffin Jr. of Winchester, VA. owned a small table or stand in which is written o...