My Darling Emma 1857

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! ...ANNNNDDDD  the ONE who wrote the MOST letters in the WHOLE  letter   collection is... Julia Marie Muse (1859-1940) S he is Emma’s  childhood school friend born in Frederick County, Virginia who when a young woman moves to Kansas with her parents and siblings. Julia spends the rest of her life in McPherson County, Kansas . She is the namesake of Emma’s daughter, Julia Muse Childs (1885-1970) and often inquires about the younger " Jule " in her correspondences.  Julia  & Emma's  letters begin around 1875 when they were about 16-17 and wrote from “ Kauffmans School House ” where they both attended. About 5 years later, Julia begins to write from Kansas . The correspondences end in 1890. There are around 75 letters written by Julia in the 15 year period! She wrote almo...

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! S ometimes I wonder how (and WHY ) these letters survived a century, spending decades basking in a dusty barn and eventually ending up in my basement closet sitting decades more... Well, I don’t have an exact answer, but I do know for many years they were safe guarded by one of Emma’s  5 daughters, Elizabeth Ridgely Jackson (1897-1983) and she is who I want to write about. I wouldn't be writing this here today if Miss Jackson  didn't safe guard these letters!      Ridgely as she preferred carried on the family historian torch from her mother Emma and not only kept these family heirloom treasures, but she gathered & recorded family genealogy really earning her that historian title. I now have her hand-written family tree charts along with some notes and photos she compiled back in...