Nida Smith wrote this letter to her niece, Florence Vaughan (daughter of her sister Gertrude Hewett Ellis) on 5 Apr 1933. At the time, Nida was living with her daughter Ethel Davis at 1406 Guadalupe Street in Austin TX. Florence was living in Dresden TN at the time. The letter was partly written in coldolence in the death of Florence's son, Richard.
Austin, April 5th, 1933
My dearest niece,
This is a lovely, sunshiney day, it is so warm, and as pleasant as can be. I love spring, but I am not so fond of summer, it is too hot for me. But I can stand it. I have to. My dear Ethel says she loves summer best. But I doubt it, and told her so. We were so sorry to hear about Richard's death, it was so sudden. But God knows best, so we will have to bow to his will. I know how you feel about bereavement, because I have lost two dear sons, and still think about them and miss them. Wallace had been complaining about his stomach for sometime, and he had to be operated on. The next evening he died at the hospital. It was a great shock to me because I did not know he was so ill. He has been dead 3 years. He left 2 sons and Nida, named after me, she has 2 children, a girl and a boy, six months old. Wallace named the girl for me. There are 2 Nida's now in their family. Poor dear Wallace loved his Mama. He is buried in Mobile. Was Richard brought home? Tell me about him, if it does not grieve you too much. Rees has been gone from me 16 yrs., a long, long time. Alex died 10 months after Rees' death. Time cures all of our sorrows, or lessens them. I am glad Ray is with you, Ellis comes to see you often, and that is a great comfort. I am glad he is married. Had Katie gotten any grandchildren? I have 24 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. I could write more my dear but I am afraid I will tire you. Now, do not forget to answer this letter because I am anxious to hear from you again. Since I wrote, we have had two thunder storms. I am more afraid of wind. Now I must stop. With love to you from all. Love to the boys.
I am your loving Auntie,
Nida L. Smith
The letter was transcribed by Bob Dibble whose wife is Florence Vaughan's granddaughter.
Effort has been made to eliminate errors, but their absence is not guaranteed. This document is copyright 2018 by Charles Hartley. Permission is hereby granted to individuals seeking family history information to copy the contents of this document for their personal use. It may not be sold, either separately or as part of a collection, without the written permission of the copyright holder; nor may it be placed at any other location on the internet without said written permission.