Letter written by Lilly McCracken Reed's daughter with an added noted by son John Reed to A.W. Falkenthall
Cambridge, Ohio July 24, 1875
Document #6
Sir, my Mother received a letter from you in April and at that time we all thought she was on her death bed, but she is better now. My Sister has tried to answer your questions to the best of Mother's recollections, but I don't think there is much to depend on. She is allmost 90 years old and I think when you or I get to be that old our recollections won't be much better. She will be 90 in October. She has answered them all as near as she can remember. I think one of Uncle Alexander's sons wrote to Cousin Alexander McCracken that he could tell him where all them papers were and if you write to Sarah Jane Smith Levenworth, Kansas, she can tell you all about this matter as she has been there and has had the Bull by the horns. Alex McCracken lives in Philadelphia but I don't know his address. Arthur McCracken at Helena, Arkansas can tell you a good deal about this matter.
Yours,
John Reed
{The next section is in a different hand writing and is probably John's sister writing for Lilly}
I will try to answer some of these questions you gave Mother. You first ask how old is she. She is in her 89th year. She was born in the year 1786 Nov the 20 in America but does not know where. Her parents were Alexander and Margaret McCracken. Her Mother's name before her marriage was Margaret Marshall. Mother's given name was Lilly. In regard to their church connection, Mothers says her Father belongs to the Asociate or Asociate Reformed Church. She is not sure which when they were married but Mother thinks that her Mother allways went with her father. She think her Mother was in her seventeenth year but she is not sure. In regard to the county, her father lived in his business and his Market Town. Uncle Robert is right about the county and place where her Mother lived. He is right.
Now for the runaway business. They left late in the evening. Mother is not sure at what time but they had to cross the Laugh and the only boat or skiff was on the other side from Mr. Marshall's house. A friend, Mother does not know his name, walked what they called the wire and brought the boat over and then took them over in it. The intended bride groom had a horse ready and he got Margaret Marshall on behind him and took her to his home, whether it was his father's or to his own home she is not sure. For her father and one of his sisters kept house, but Mother says she heard her Mother say that she slept with his sister that night and that M {?} Queen married them the next day. Mother does not know how long they lived in Ireland but she thinks they were 11 months married before their first child was born and he was seven months old when they sailed or when he died, she is not sure which but he died on the ship. His name was Henry. He was born September the 8th 1783. You can tell by his age what year she landed in America. They were 13 weeks on the ship, they were one week on the ship before it sailed. She landed in Baltimore. All their children were born in America except that one which I have told you died on the sea.
Mother cannot give the different places they moved to and her Father's business was a days work where ever he could get it. When Mother was about 10 years old they moved to Legamier Valley in Pennsylvania and remained there till she was about nineteen. They then moved to Allegheney County. After that they were farmers. When they got the letter concerning her Grand Mother's death, Mother was very young. She cannot tell where they lived, but she remembers to hear her Mother say it is just 10 years since we left her. She is not sure whether it was when they left Ireland or when they were married. My Mothers Mother died in 1837 the 29th of June in the 64 year of her life and her Father died in 1851. Mother says her grandfather was married but once. She does not know whether he moved from England or not. She knows nothing about the locality of that lease property. She knows that her Grand Father and Grand Mother had each of them 20 acres for when Mr. Marshall married his wife. He was oblidged to show pound for pound in real estate for what dowrey her Father was giving his daughter, before he would let him have her. Mother does no know whether her Gran Mother's land was in Ireland or not. She thinks it was. Mother says her Grand Father was not a clergyman at all. He was a farmer. He did not work himself but he lived on a farm and had it worked. His principal business was buying linin yarns and having it wove into linin and takeing it to Doublin and selling it. He had spinners and weavers both. Mother says her Grand Mother belonged to the Episcopal Church, and her Grand Father belonged to what was called the Meeting. That her grandfather would take his wife on the horse behind him to the church, leave her there, then go on to his place of worship and {can't read}at the church for her as he came back, take her on behind him and so came home. They worshipt that way for 10 years then her GrandMother went with her husband. Its very likely. The children that were born during those 10 years were baptised in the Episcopal Church. {Can't read} Mr. Marshall and his wife were married in the Episcopal Church with the cerimonys and forms connnected with that church. So Mother says you say be partickular on this point. I have heard Mother say long before this subject was thought of is our family that her grandfather went to the Meeting and her grand Mother to the Church. My opinion is, if there was a clergiman in the {can't read} was Mr. Marshalls' Wife's Father. It is not very likely that a clergiman of the Church of England would be engaged bying yarn, overseeing weavers and carring linin to Doublin to the fiar and Mother says her Mother was a good spinner and spun remarkable fine yard. That might be characteristick of a minister's daughter in this country but not in Ireland, especially the Episcopal Church. But another reason why I think, if there was I wonder it was Mrs. Marshall's father. When Mr. Marshall brought his wife home she did not know anything about house work for she had went to school nearly all her life and that was not the cace {case} with his daughter that married Alexander McCracken. I forgot to give the names of her grandparents, the propper place I will {can't read} Mother's Grandfather on her Father's side was Alexander McCracken. Her Grand Mother McCracken's name was Lilly Patterson before her marriage. On her father's side, he Grand Father was Henry Marshall, her Grand Mother's family name was Chambers. Mother does not remember her first name. In regard to Mother's Father's age, they are not all sure. Mother says he was just 10 years older than her Father. According to the record of her death, she was in her 64th year at her death and she died in 1827 and he Mother's Father died in 1851. Both that wold make him {can't read} years old. Mother does not know where Grand Father and Grand Mother died. She knows nothing about the estate in England, its value. Mother never heard of a will being in existance till this subject was brought up a few years ago by Sara J. Smith, her brother Henry's daughter. If the existance of a will ever came to this country it was while Mother was situated far from the rest of the family she never heard when her Uncle Michael died. She knows nothing about him moving to Doublin nor what his business was. They heard from a Mr. Eckels {can't read}that the old farm that her mother was raised on, was all bought up by a company engaged at the business of bleaching linin. This Mr. Eckes claimed to be a cousin of my Mother's Mother's. I saw the death of Mr. Eckels in our church paper some years ago, I think it was the same man. Now, I believe I have answered all your questions as far as I can though not in the order which you put them. Mother does not know where those papers are to which you refer that were given to her brother Alexander. We cannot give you Sarah Smith's address. If you write to Alexander Harbison in Garnet, Kansas Lawrence County I think he can give you her address.
Transcribed from photocopy of original on 6/25/2004 by Linda K. McCracken