19th Century Steinbeck Family Papers

Artas, Nov. 21st, 1852

Dear Sister Almira,

This is now the third time that I write home, but I have not yet heard from there, and if you do not write before recieving my last letter, shall not for some weeks, perhaps, to come, but hoping that you are all well, I let it rest so, till I hear.

I did not intend to write till the next mail of Dec. 10th, but as Bro. Albert Minor, is unexpectedly obliged to leave immediately for America, he will carry letters for you with him. He leaves here tomorrow morning, to go to Jerusalem, and leaves Jaffa on Wednesday. (The occasion of his leaving is this, Last week he recieved a letter stating that his uncle had died and left him 1500. dollars, on condition of his personally appearing for it. In a former will he had given him 11,000. dollars, but before he died, tho sick but four days he made a new will, & gave him, so little, merely on account of his religious views. Also the letter stated, that his Grandfather was very feeble, and said that if A. would come & see him once more, & stay 3 weeks that he would give him 3,000. dollars, & if he would stay till he died, which would be soon he would give him much more.) His grandfather sent to have him come by the swiftest conveyance, & will pay all his expenses. He lives in Roxbury, Conn. & I should love to have him Albert come to see you, as he can tell you so much more than I can write. If any of our friends would like to see him, enough to be at the expense going, the route is by Worcester to New Haven, and from there on the New York road as far Bridgeport; there take the Housatonic road, to New Milford, which is 7 miles from Roxbury. He will write to you when he arrives there, & will give you much information & Father can write to him. Perhaps, better not refer to what I have said of his circumstances.

The reason I did not write, the last mail, was, that I thought to wait till we had got into our winter quarters, & got fixed down nice, & things arranged. There has been a new house built here this fall but it is not quite done yet. They will commence to plaster tomorrow, & then the floors are to be laid. The plaster that they use here dries quickly, so that we can go in soon after it is done.