I once more seat myself to write to you I have your two last letters
now spread before me one under Date of Oct 6th to 19th & the other Oct 25th to Nov 2nd And
they both were truly interesting to me. I sent you a vary full sheet the the size of this Dated Nov 22nd
which I hope you have got before this time. I inserted an Extract from about 30 letters from
my Brethren in this country, & as I mailed this just Before I got your dated Oct 6th to 19th so I though[t]
I would not answer it untill I herd from you again. I however acknowledged the reception of
it in a letter which Elder Kimball wrote to his wife On the 4th of Jan your last letter Dated Nov 2nd
come safe to hand, by the barers who arived safe & are setting their business to moove
with the whole church in which they reside next spring. I trust you have obtained my letters
in answer to yours before this time, in which I expressed my feelings concerning the death of
Our dear little Sarah. your lines in poetry On her death in your Oct6th letter were
truly sublime & affecting & none could feel them more deeply than myself. I highly prize them
more so as they came from your pen. I have recived 7 letters from you since I have
but in England, & it has truly Been a feast to my feelings to hear from you by
letter when we are seperated so far apart, in fine I never so highly prized the privilge of
writing as during the last year of my life. I am now sitting by the side of Elder
H. C. Kimball. We are enjoying good health & many Blessings from God. Hark!!! the
Postman is at my door he hands me a Bundle of Letters one a shipletter from NewYork. On opening it, whocanimaginmysurprise on finding it to be the usual
salutation & hand writing of MyDearPhebe Dated NY. City Dec. 6, 1840 "Truly strange
things happen in the Last days" your letter informs me that Brothers J. F. Carter & L. Scammans
had visited you in the west, & wished you to returned with them & spend the winter at your Fathers untill my return, you having excepted the offer of course accounts for your
being in NewYork. This unexpected intelligence for a moment gave me a peculiar
sensation of Both joy & sorrow, of Joy at the Idea of your having the privilege of spending
the winter at your friends Fathers House & among your friends & that I could the soon
sooner behold your face & enjoy your society while on my visit among our friends
in Maine, as well as your company on my journey west, calling upon our friends in Connecticut. On the other hand I felt sorry that the packagesletters & things which
I have sent you could not have fallen into your hands instead of another. or
at least that you could not have obtained them before you left. Inasmuch
as you had an opportunity to go East, I feel to say Amen to it & my prayer
to God is that you may have a good visit with your friends, & that you may
prove a Blessing unto them while you are with them, & that you may
maintain your integrity before the Lord, & enjoy peace, health, & strength, & grace
according to your day in all things, you have never been forgotten by me
before a throne of grace, you inform me in your last letter that you had
not received any lette[r]s from me since the one dated the 6th of July I felt sorry
to hear this for I have written many since that date & several full sheets the
size of this & I have taken much pains in all of them to give you information
of all things that I thought would be of Interest unto you. I hope Sister Kimball will
not send you all the packages of letters by Mail which I sent you by Elder Turley & othr
private conveyance without opening them for some of them contained half a dozen
letters for the fox Island friends & othrs, four letters contained goldcoin which is not
suitable to send by mail. I sent many things by Eldr Turley in packages which I much
desired you should obtain, the following in substance is extracts from my Journal which will ^give^ an idea
of the letters I have written you & othr friends in the U.S. since the one dated July 6th of which you
speak as being the last one Recceved. I think it was dated on the 8th I spoke of some things I should send you
"July 10th I wrote 4 Letters directed to the following persons Ezra Carter senIlus F. Carter. Eunice Woodruff, & Lucian R Foster
sent them all by P. P. Pratt to NY. July 11th I purchased several articles in Manchester to send to Phebe. July 13th I received an –
interesting letter from Phebe which by request of Elder Young I made an extract which is inserted in the 4th No of the Star
July 14th Sarah Emma is two Years old this day so I went to the best Gates store in Manchester & bought as nis^c^e a winter dress as I could
find for Phebe, worth $5 in Manchester & twice that in NY, & two veils, and a dres for [FIGURE] Sarah Emma!!! A peace of nice flannel for Phebe
Sarah, & Willford jr several other articles & wrote A Letter to Phebe & put in the bundle sent by T Turley. On the 16th Day of July I
was Presentd with a small CHINA BOX as a specemen of what could be x^e^xecuted at the Staffordshire potteries this was
presented me as a present from some friends that worked in the business after I had visited the works. It was highly ornamented i^w^ith
gold, bearing the following inscription in gold letters. (Phebe & Willford Woodruff A Present from Stoke upon Trent England) valued at $15
& two china vials or smelling bottle's set in gold as follows (Phebe) & (SarahEmma) & other small articles. I Put £5 sovreigns into the chinabox
filled it with sewing silk & packed it tight in the centre of a Parcel which consisted of needles, scissors, Penknife. sewing silk, Twist thread.
thimbles, 6 Caps (worked by the sisters) silk Apron, steel pens, socks, shoes, 8 pr of stockings for Phebe, Sarah & W.dJr & other small articles
covered it with several thicknesses of cotton cloth & Brown paper wrote particular directions not to have it opened by no hand but Phebe's, &
(I think Sister Kimball will smile when she comes to open it & see the pains I took to do it up & the many small scraps of paper covered with
writing which I did not expect any one would see but your own) This parcel I carefully put into the hands of Elder Turley to take to you. I
put two sealed letters in this bundl[e] [page torn] [D]ated July 17th. July 18th I wrote a letter to the saints from Fox Islands which I sent by Elder T
with several others done up in a wra[per] [page torn] & directed to Phebe (I dreamed this night Sarah Emma was Dead) & spoke of it to Elder Smith in the morning
I once more seat myself to write to you I have your two last letters
now spread before me one under Date of Oct 6th to 19th & the other Oct 25th to Nov 2nd And
they both were truly interesting to me. I sent you a vary full sheet the the size of this Dated Nov 22nd
which I hope you have got before this time. I inserted an Extract from about 30 letters from
my Brethren in this country, & as I mailed this just Before I got your dated Oct 6th to 19th so I thought
I would not answer it untill I herd from you again. I however acknowledged the reception of
it in a letter which Elder Kimball wrote to his wife On the 4th of Jan your last letter Dated Nov 2nd
come safe to hand, by the barers who arived safe & are setting their business to moove
with the whole church in which they reside next spring. I trust you have obtained my letters
in answer to yours before this time, in which I expressed my feelings concerning the death of
Our dear little Sarah. your lines in poetry On her death in your Oct6th letter were
truly sublime & affecting & none could feel them more deeply than myself. I highly prize them
more so as they came from your pen. I have recived 7 letters from you since I have
but in England, & it has truly Been a feast to my feelings to hear from you by
letter when we are seperated so far apart, in fine I never so highly prized the privilge of
writing as during the last year of my life. I am now sitting by the side of Elder
H. C. Kimball. We are enjoying good health & many Blessings from God. Hark!!! the
Postman is at my door he hands me a Bundle of Letters one a shipletter from
NewYork. On opening it, whocanimaginmysurprise on finding it to be the usual
salutation & hand writing of MyDearPhebe Dated NY. City Dec. 6, 1840 "Truly strange
things happen in the Last days" your letter informs me that Brothers J. F. Carter & L. Scammans
had visited you in the west, & wished you to returned with them & spend the winter at your
Fathers untill my return, you having excepted the offer of course accounts for your
being in NewYork. This unexpected intelligence for a moment gave me a peculiar
sensation of Both joy & sorrow, of Joy at the Idea of your having the privilege of spending
the winter at your Fathers House & among your friends & that I could the
sooner behold your face & enjoy your society while on my visit among our friends
in Maine, as well as your company on my journey west, calling upon our friends in
Connecticut. On the other hand I felt sorry that the packagesletters & things which
I have sent you could not have fallen into your hands instead of another. or
at least that you could not have obtained them before you left. Inasmuch
as you had an opportunity to go East, I feel to say Amen to it & my prayer
to God is that you may have a good visit with your friends, & that you may
prove a Blessing unto them while you are with them, & that you may
maintain your integrity before the Lord, & enjoy peace, health, & strength, & grace
according to your day in all things, you have never been forgotten by me
before a throne of grace, you inform me in your last letter that you had
not received any letters from me since the one dated the 6th of July I felt sorry
to hear this for I have written many since that date & several full sheets the
size of this & I have taken much pains in all of them to give you information
of all things that I thought would be of Interest unto you. I hope Sister Kimball will
not send you all the packages of letters by Mail which I sent you by Elder Turley & othr
private conveyance without opening them for some of them contained half a dozen
letters for the fox Island friends & othrs, four letters contained goldcoin which is not
suitable to send by mail. I sent many things by Eldr Turley in packages which I much
desired you should obtain, the following in substance is extracts from my Journal which will give an idea
of the letters I have written you & othr friends in the U.S. since the one dated July 6th of which you
speak as being the last one Recceved. I think it was dated on the 8th I spoke of some things I should send you
"July 10th I wrote⬦ 4 Letters directed to the following persons Ezra Carter senIlus F. Carter. Eunice Woodruff, & Lucian R Foster
sent them all by P. P. Pratt to NY. July 11th I purchased several articles in Manchester to send to Phebe. July 13th I received an –
interesting letter from Phebe which by request of Elder Young I made an extract which is inserted in the 4th No of the Star
July 14 store in Manchester & bought as nice a winter dress as I could
find for Phebe, worth $5 in Manchester & twice that in NY, & two veils, and a dres for [FIGURE] Sarah Emma!!! A peace of nice flannel for Phebe
Sarah, & Willford jr several other articles & wrote A Letter to Phebe & put in the bundle sent by T Turley. On the 16th Day of July I
was Presentd with a small CHINA BOX as a specemen of what could beexecuted at the Staffordshire potteries this was
presented me as a present from some friends that worked in the business after I had visited the works. It was highly ornamentedwith
gold, bearing the following inscription in gold letters. (Phebe & Willford Woodruff A Present from Stoke upon Trent England) valued at $15
& two china vials or smelling bottle's set in gold as follows (Phebe) (SarahEmma) & other small articles. I Put £5 sovreigns into the chinabox
filled it with sewing silk & packed it tight in the centre of a Parcel which consisted of needles, scissors, Penknife. sewing silk, Twist thread.
thimbles, 6 Caps (worked by the sisters) silk Apron, steel pens, socks, shoes, 8 pr of stockings for Phebe, Sarah & W.dJr & other small articles
covered it with several thicknesses of cotton cloth & Brown paper wrote particular directions not to have it opened by no hand but Phebe's, &
(I think Sister Kimball will smile when she comes to open it & see the pains I took to do it up & the many small scraps of paper covered with
writing which I did nto expect any one page torn would see but your own) This parcel I carefully put into the hands of Elder Turley to take to you. I
put two sealed letters in this bundle page torn Dated July 17th. July 18th I wrote a letter to the saints from Fox Islands which I sent by Elder T
with several others done up in a wraper page torn & directed to Phebe (I dreamed this night Sarah Emma was Dead) & spoke of it to Elder Smith in the morning
"Letter to Phebe Whittemore Carter Woodruff, 13 January 1841," p. 1, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, accessed December 26, 2024, https://wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/p/o2MN