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St Mary's May 14th 1842 
 
My dear Nephew 
 
You see I am going to write to you at last 
tho I have been such a long time about it, etc. you have 
began to think I was never going to. It does little boys good 
sometimes to make them wait - learn them patience. 
however, that was not my motive in so long defering to 
answer your own little letter. It was very proper, you know 
to write to Grand Papa first, & since then, various things have 
conspired to prevent me. Our black people have several of 
them been sick & required my attention, among them my 
little Maria, of whom I have made honorable mention in 
a former letter to some of the family. She was for several days 
so very ill that we were fearful she could never recover 
but she has, and is now with me here in town. We came down 
here last Monday, & Mr. Alberti has gone on to Savannah. 
I am to remain here while he is absent, which will be for 
a week or more - am staying with Mrs. Wooley. My old 
bounding place is broken up, Miss Yallowby has gone to live with 
her adopted son in Charleston. 
You enquire "what kind of sports the boys have" here. I believe 
they have all your plays & recreations except the skating 
 
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and sliding down hill. None of them ride alligators. I believe 
tho they often go out in boats upon the water, & the larger 
boys sometime shoot them. I delivered your message to 
your uncle. He says he thinks you would not want but 
one such ride, but if you insist upon it he'll try to accommodate  
you. I think if you & "Sis," had have been here 
the other night you would have enjoyed your selves much. 
It was Mrs. Wooley's little boys birthday & she gave him a party. 
There were nearly 40 little boys and girls present. They assembled 
a little before sundown, & after, all took a walk when they 
returned, had supper & then went to dancing. Two negroes  
one with a fiddle & the other with a "Banjo," played for 
them. They were most of them too young to know much about 
steps or figures, so they danced, principally, each "on his own 
hook," stopping occasionally to rest, & eat candy & raisins. 
About 7 o'clock the black faces began to appear (they were the servants 
their mothers had sent for them) & take off one after 
another untill they were all dispersed. The room they 
danced in opened on to a back piazza and there the negroes 
of the house and some of the neighboring ones, taking advantage 
of the music and [with] Mrs. Wooley's permission, danced the whole evening 
and Mrs. Wooley sent cake out to them too, so all enjoyed the 
party blacks as well whites. I have not your letter down 
here, so you must excuse me if I do not fully answer all there 
is in it. I must leave one page to write to Rosalind 
on. You must write to me again when you get time.  
 
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I hope you get plenty of time to be a good boy "now a days" 
and improve it all, which, whatever you may think of it, is the 
best wish you could receive from Your affectionate 
 
Aunt Ernestine 
 
My dear Rosa 
 
I appreciate your sweet little letter & will 
write you in return tho you did not write it yourself. 
I am sure you will write me as you say you will as soon 
as you learn how, & I doubt not you will soon learn. I have 
just got a letter from your Cousin Julia. If she is still 
with you, give her my love and many thanks, and tell her I shall 
answer it the first letter I write (if she will allow one to except the 
one I intend writing to my Husband this evening.) I expect you find 
fine playfellow in Cousin Julia. You must not quarrel with her 
about your dolly family or other playthings, but be generous & give 
her a fair chance as she's a visitor. And I hope you will be 
very tractable under her renewed attempts to make you acquainted 
with the Muses. I suppose you will go to the beadery [?] 
when it is finished and be a very learned and literary 
young lady by the time I see you. And I hope at the same 
time your Sunday school lessons and other efforts for moral and 
religious improvement will not have been neglected. They 
are more important than anything else. 
Your Uncle knowing I was going to write while he was absent 
desired me to give both you & Cyrus yr brother his most 
 
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affectionate regards. You will please tell your 
Mother that when we were here a few weeks ago 
during the meeting of the presbytery I received a letter 
from one very particular friend Miss Gutherie favored 
by a highly respectable and intelligent Clergyman from 
Daren whom she named in her communication 
as "our friend Mr. Winn." She spoke of the death of her 
sister and niece-- gave me a pressing invitation to visit  
 
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them with my husband. I did not reply, which want of 
attention and civility on my part has distressed Mr. A. not 
a little and I think I should have sent her a line declining 
her kind invitation had not the Clergyman left 
sooner than I expected. Give my love to Sarah and Olive 
and all your little playmates and believe me your 
Sincerely affectionate Aunt 
 
[written center, crosswise, as address] 
 
Master Cyrus S. Clapp 
Binghamton  
Broome County 
N.Y.