Letter # 33 December 15, 1869: I hope the next you write will be telling us what time you will sail

This is the final letter in the collection sent to Aunt Bess in Ireland from the Kaine family in Canada. It has been four years since my first post on the Kaine letters in January of 2020. See below. Diving in Again: Huron County Letters to Aunt Bess: https://acompellinglifeblog.wordpress.com/2020/01/19/11-diving-in-again-huron-county-letters-to-aunt-bess/ Sharing these fascinating family letters has…

Letter # 32 December 15, 1869: I Enclose You My Likeness

This is the second last letter in the collection of Kaine letters that span 36 years from 1851 to 1869. It was written by John Kaine to his Aunt Bess in Ireland on December 15, 1869 and is being shared on the very same date 154 years later! Somehow that feels significant. The world has…

Letter # 31 February 18, 1869: Life on the Farm is Good

It has been almost a year since the last letter from John Kaine to his Aunt Bess when he was writing in March 1868 about the loss of his father. It is clear that family conflict was not invented in this century as indicated by his comments about his brother James! John had not seen…

Letter #30 February 11, 1868: Old Frost Threatens Brooklyn

After numerous letters about family life in Canada, a letter from Brooklyn, New York appeared again in the collection. The last one from Brooklyn was in 1863 from C. Kane to Aunt Bess before he went to Peru (letter #10). He mentioned that a fellow called Carolan would forward letters to him. This letter is…

Letter #29 March 11, 1868: The Cycle of Life

In this letter, John Kaine was connecting with his Aunt Bess after a number of significant events in the life of the pioneer Kaine family in Canada. As he stated, "in the last three months we had four deaths one marriage one birth and one christening." Letter from John Kaine to Aunt Bess March 11,…

Letter 28 January 2, 1868: Missed Opportunity

This brief letter, author unknown, carried much sad news to Aunt Bess in Ireland. Her dear brother, Charles, the patriarch of the family passed away in November 1867 before she saw him again. The last letter in the collection from Charles to his sister urging her to come to Canada was sent in February 1867:…

Letter #27 August 20, 1867: Mixed Messages

James Keane(Kaine) continued to look for a way for his Aunt Bess to come to Canada. In Letter 25, James mentioned a Mr. John Down(s) in Bristol who could help Aunt Bess arrange her trip. See link:https://acompellinglifeblog.wordpress.com/2022/04/29/letter-25-december-17-1866-james-to-the-rescue/ Apparently Aunt Bess did not take up the offer of help from John Down(s) as evidenced by this…

Letter #26 February 16, 1867: We Have a Pig’s Head for You

This letter written by the patriarch Charles Kaine to his sister, Bess (aka Aunt Bess)is yet another one on the usual topic of "where are you!" Very similar to a letter that he wrote to her in 1863. As he states, "I almost despaired of either seeing you, or hearing from you again. I was…

Letter #25 December 17, 1866: James to the Rescue!

This is the first letter that we have seen from James Kaine aka Keane (John Kaine's brother) since he wrote to tell his Aunt Bess about his marriage 8 years ago in 1858. Link to post: https://acompellinglifeblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/letter-6-november-16-1858-the-cake-is-in-the-mail/ Since then, James has been working as a store clerk in Clinton and three of the eight children…

Letter #24 September 30, 1866: A Troublesome Summer

This letter from Anne Fraser stated once again with a somewhat dramatic comment that the family was hoping to see Aunt Bess , "we had great hopes of seeing you out here this summer now I am afraid we will never see you when you are putting it off like this, but I hope if…