Howard letters 1850s

147 Grampian Way Boston, Mass. Aug. 31st. 1917

My dear Edie, I have owed you a letter a long time & have been intending to pay the debt for a long time. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

One thing I have had on my mind to write you about I will start on first.

I shall go into the history of the family first as you probably would not get a clear idea of the matter if I did not. My father's sister (I do not know her first name)Ann married a man named Howard.(Cornelius) Both died leaving two small

children, a boy & a girl. The girl died. The boy was a year or so ahead of your Uncle Hammet & was the only cousin your Uncle H & your father had as companion when boys. He was much liked by both of them & the three younger children were very fond of him.

He went to Australia more than once & finally settled there. One of his sons was killed in the war now raging & a grandson Stanley was so severely wounded that he will never recover, but may live a few years. He is paralyzed from his waist downwards.

I thought it would be not out of the way if we wrote him a letter & all the family signed it. There would be & Jim

& Will in Mexico, your family in Texas, Geo Robt. Howard in Canada, Frank Howard in Ireland, your Aunts at Beeches Green & ourselves. I dont know what the young man's full name is but have written to Beeches Green to get it.

Your Aunts have kept in touch with the family all these years. In a letter he stated that he did not want sympathy. If a country was worth fighting for it was worth dying for. What do you think of the plan? I cannot help thinking such a letter might be a little pleasure to him.

It is so late that I must defer the rest of this letter for a few days. I will write again very shortly. We all join in

in much love to you, Jim & family & Will

I remain Your very affectionate Uncle C H HOWARD

Letter from Uncle Charles H. Howard to perhaps Edie in Texas

George Howard, his wife, & two sons & daughter settled in Canada about 50 years ago.

The wife's name was Elizabeth Askew befor marriage.

I thnk this is the way her name was spelt. It is not as Mr. A that is out in Mexico & that you know spells his name.

Geo. Robert the elder boy I correspond with & I will write him for details. I send this now as we dont know what may come to pass.

Maud, the daughter died a few years after coming to Canada & Mrs. Howard soon afterwards. Later Uncle George married again & had two sons Roger & Oswald. & one daughter Oswald lives in Montreal & is married, but there