| Rees Family Letters |
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Letter 4: | 1884 | Caleb Rees, Wales to Catherine Rees, Nebraska |
| Caleb Rees (age 19) and Catherine Rees (21) also were first cousins, as Caleb was a brother of Anne Rees, the writer of the previous letter. |
Guardian Office
Chester, England Feby 1st / 85 Dear Cousin, I take this opportunity of writing you a few lines. You will, no doubt, wonder who the mysterious writer is, but if you wait a little you will hear. I am a son of Stephen Rees, of Felinuchaf, South Wales, your late father's brother. I have seen your letters to both my father & my sister Anne, & my only excuse for troubling you with this letter can be that you in a letter to my parents stated that Aunt should be glad if they could send her a photo of their son Caleb, and as I happen to be that individual, I thought I might as well send it myself, together with a few words, which, although coming from a complete stranger, might perhaps prove acceptable, because coming from a relative. I was very glad to hear that you are all enjoying good health, & that a bountiful Providence has bestowed an abundance of the things of this world upon you, who were strangers in a strange land. Before proceeding further, it may be necessary that I should give a little of my own history, so that you may know who & what I am. As I have said before I am a son of Stephen Rees, your father's brother. I dare say you know we are in all eleven children - six sons & five daughters. I am the seventh child & the fourth son, and am nineteen years of age. My three elder brothers are married, and two have families, all the rest being unmarried. I left home some three & a half years ago, & entered the newspaper reporting profession, & during that time I have been engaged on the Guardian newspaper. I like the work well, but not having had the advantage of a high class education, or of the influence of friends, I depend entirely on my own natural abilities, & those not being of the brightest nature, I am often severely handicapped in the up hill race. My oldest brother, Daniel, is also engaged in newspaper work, & is manager of our Crewe office, which town is some twenty miles from here. He has received a good college training, which is of course an enormous advantage. I have been home only twice in the three years, the distance from here being close on 200 miles. All the other children except us two reside at or near home. |
| A Cymraes is a female Welsh person. Cymraeg is the Welsh language. |
I was very pleased to read a little of your history in your kind letter to my sister Anne, as I was previously in ignorance of most of the circumstances. I had, of course, often heard my father speak of you & the death of Uncle Caleb, than whom father used to tell me, no better man ever trod this earth. They two seem to have been very fast friends, & I have often heard my father speak of yours, in a very feeling manner. I am sorry to say that I know nothing of your dear mother. I might have been told some time ago, but if so, I have quite forgotten all. I believe, however, she is a Cymraes - at least I hope she is. Kindly give her the enclosed photo of myself, & convey to her my best respects & wishes. I suppose none of you understand the old Cymraeg, but still there is no reason why you should not, for as you say there are some Welsh folks in your neighbourhood. We all of course speak the ancient Celtic tongue, but we all also have a more or less perfect acquaintance with the English. |
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You speak in your letter to my sister of coming once to this country, & I am sure that nothing would delight us more than to see you coming. I have had a great desire on many occasions to see a little more of the world, but it is hard to bid farewell to all your relatives & friends perhaps never to see them again, & your heart shrinks back at the thought of leaving the old country, with all its comforts & associations, to spring, as it were, into another existence, where strangers greet you with bland cold looks, & where there is not a friendly face or a warm hand to bid you welcome. Nevertheless time works wonders, & who knows but that I, at some distant day, may be induced to come over to America, where it is said every man has an equal chance of becoming President, & then I suppose I should have a chance also. Sometime ago we heard of the death of Uncle Daniel of Columbus, Ohio, as I suppose you also did. He was of course some hundreds of miles from Nebraska, & probably you know no more about him & his family than we do on this side of the waters. I believe he left a widow & a daughter, in what circumstances I know not. Should you happen to be acquainted with their condition, I should be most thankful for any information respecting them. My letter is already of considerable length-longer probably than you will care to read-& as I can remember of nothing else at present, I must draw to a finish. I will forward you in a day or two a copy of our paper. I sincerely hope that you will be kind enough to send me a letter ere long, giving a little description of the country round about, and the inhabitants &c. Be sure & give my best love & regard to all your sisters, & kindly accept the same yourself. I remain for the present
Your sincere Cousin, Caleb Rees. Miss Catherine Rees |