Respected Sister,

Altho' your letter had to travel some thousand miles to reach us, yet it duly came to hand and how glad we ought to be that intelligence may be so regularly conveyed and that friends however far they may be separated by space may correspond and reciprocate visits of paper and ink.

Your removal to the West was a matter of disappointment to us or rather the intelligence of it, notwithstanding what you had previously written on the subject. We hope that you follow the leadings of Providence. They may tend to inprove your conditions in temporal thing and above all your prospects of felicity in a life to come. Our aged and dear mother does not seem completely resigned to that opening of divine providence which carried you more than double the former distance from her, nor does she conceive how it is that your passage here is made easier but forbears to complain and tremblingly rests her hope upon the encouragement you gave of coming another year. The old people are each of them in as good health as usual or can be expected, considering their age. Allen still lives with them and an elderly maid lives with them this winter and pays for her board in doing house owrk. We have just received a letter announcing the death of Uncle Cross. He fell a victim to a dropsy on the heart about the 15th of Jan. last. The present winter is uncommonly severe. Snow that fell about the 20th of Nov. is still with us and an abundance more with it, measuring probably the depth of 3 ft, but it was a few years ago much deeper, and the winter has not only been remarkable for the quantity of the snow but for the coldness of the weather. I fear from the informaation I have of your present location that it is sickly, but it may not be so and I will hope not. We have received no letter from Mr. Young. Please write often and long letter. Our health as a family is good. Harriet can almost run alone. The mail is expected every moment and I must say adieu.

J. R. Osborn

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