1848

I avail myself of the present opportunity of writing you line to let you know that we are still remembered with the living. 1 should be truely fond to see you once more. I have undergone much suffering since you left. I suffered most tormenting pain from toothache and having one extracted fractured the jawbone. It has healed several times at intervals and given me great distress. 1 have rathered feared at times an affection of the brain from its side effects. I had a son born in April 1847and called its name John. It only lived about four weeks until it pleased the Lord to remove it from this vale of tears. It died of hives. My husband was sick in the past winter. His attack was something like winter fever. He recovered and is now tolerable well. Eliza Jane is stout and hearty. The past winter has been very mild and unusually sickly. Mother is now quite relieved and under the influence of medicine. Doctor Dyer is attending to her and thinks he can affect a cure. Her disease is complicated [?I inflammation of the spleen and an affection of the liver so that callous appearing tumour above her left breast slightly enlarges at times, and gives her some pain after taking a cold. Your loving sister while life lasts,

Elvira Shackelford

Note: Steve Emmanuels (2002:11) notes that this is not Amanda’s sister (Elvira, who had married James Henry Shackelford) but her niece by marriage.