Letter from Aphek Woodruff, b. 1778 and Azubah Hart Woodruff, 25 June 1845
Farmington
Dear Son & Daughter Wilford & Phebe Woodruff
Days weeks & months have elapsed since your Parents commen-
enced looking for a communication from their Children the other side the
atlantic, but they looked in vain, they however had the satisfaction at length
(th o, a mysterious one,) of hearing secondhanded by the way of sister Betsy that
they were in the land of the living & in the enjoyment of health which we
were truly glad to learn, yet we were much pugzzled in our minds as to what
it could all mean for we knew that Son Wilford had ever paid special
attention to addressing his Parents by way of writing & particularly so
when at England, but we could not understand why a Letter should not
come as direct here as to simsbury & yet we could not feel that he would now
pay less attention to his Parents than formerly under their present peculiar
cirscumstances, but, we had finally concluded to write you without waiting
longer to hear from you—when about three days since your father brought
in a Letter saying, he believed it was from Webster, I took it very anxiously & said,
are you sure it is from Nauvoo—he thought so. I commenced reading it & had
poerused some lines before I found that it was actually from England this
was under date of April 18th we were rejoiced to learn as we did there from that
you were enjoying good health through the mercy & favor of God & also that
you had the heartfelt joy of learning that your little one you left behind
is also alive & well together with other friends, your Letter was all interesting
but yet w[e] [c]ould not feel that this was the first, written by you to us since
your arrival at England your father said he was sure this must the second
& I thought truly the exspression that you had not heard a word from us
denoted that you had previously written, as the understanding between us was
that I should write after hearing from you—But I will Inform you somewhat
of our situation the winter past, we have both enjoyed comfortable health for the
most part, your father has laboured in the old Saw Mill thro the winter when
he has not at Wards, or the Doctors old Mill, he ^has^ taken charge of both which has
