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Amanuensis Monday

Amanuensis Monday is a blogging theme for GeneaBloggers which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. The letter transcribed here today is from my Aunt - Helen Still Webster. She helped so much with my research on the Still line.

Her letter - dated 8 March 1994 - combines general chit chat as well as a bit of family history and memories. I must also first say that Aunt Helen was born 24 August 1903 so at the time of this letter she was 90 years old. While she was still sharp often her style of writing took some following. I have chosen though to transcribe the letter exactly as written.


My dear Jeanne & family,
     I received the history material and thank you and appreciated it very much.
     I talked with Tom Still wife and she said Beth Still Garris had got one and all enjoyed it.
     Well you deserve a lot of credit for doing so much work on Still history.
     I hope Mary Teresa is doing well. God is so good to us to send us children that we can love and enjoy. I looked up her picture and see where she is a year old. Happy Birthday Mary Theresa. Lloyd and Mary would have been so pleased with her.
     I wrote Alice Rodgers my sister son Aubrey in Cal. to ask him to send me the dates of births and deaths in his famiy and I will mail them to you.
     I also wrote Bob Still Logans son to send me the dates of births and deaths in thier family. Hope they do this and answer.
     With my eyes it is difficult to do things. Well I worked at Unionville High School for 13 years and I was 78 and my eyes I was starting to have problems with them.
     Hope you and Glenn keep well. Neva Still said she talked with you recently at Barb Ruczhaks your mother.
     That would be wonderful if you could write a book some time. People said I should have wrote a book well by the time I retired at 78 my eyes were failing.
     Well we have had 15 snow storms and another one on the way.
     Well I in 90 years never seen such icy snowy winter.
     It would be wonderful if you could write a book.
(page 2)
     Margaret Still
     Well we all started from Margaret Still and she must have been a great lady with lots of get up and go.
     My mother was not much to talk about history but she did tell me this story. she said the Stills lived in S. part of Chester Co. so this Margaret they did not know what to do with her so parents bought her a farm in E. Fallowfield on goosetown rd. now Able Book farm. it had been up for sale for huge price so Margaret moved there and became mother of David & George Still who was my grandfather.
     David lived near Modena on a farm married twice had 2 children. Billy Still moved to Modena and Clara I think we were not very close to David family. We just knew who they were.
     Well you know people back then must have been like people of today living together and not married. It is a shame that children dont know who they are.
     This farm of Margaret Still is where my father and all his brothers and sisters were born there.
     Story
     My father youngest one in the family so when the parents went away in horse and buggy my father always went along so one day he could not make up his mind so his mother dressed and undressed him several times so finally he said I will stay home so when her parents started he cried and run after the wagon so they got his clothes and dressed him on way.
     My father was a school teacher at Modena, Laurel, Embreeville and Lancaster Co. and lived on the farm before marriage then with 6 kids had to go to work at Lukens Steel Mill.
                                            Love
                                            Aunt Helen Webster

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