Contributed by Kathleen Haynes      Contact Myrtle Bridges     August 14, 2008


				Fayetteville, N.C.
				July 19, 1902
Miss Sue Tate
Morganton, NC

My dearest Sue,
	I do wish that I could express my deep feelings for each one of you in this your 
greatest affliction. You all surly feel that it is more than you can bear. The only 
real comfort in such a sorrow of course comes from our dear Savior. It is true our 
friends comfort us in many ways, but if it were not for our faith such a trouble would 
be unbearable.
	How good God was to spare dear little Claude this suffering. I know you all feel 
that it is a blessing.  
	Your dear mother has been a ray of sunshine in my memory of her, and when I think 
of what she was in your lives I am sure no friend feels for you all more than I. 
	Please tell Mrs. Ray how sorry I am for her also. I remarked to Doctor at dinner 
that I knew Mrs. Ray was crushed. Ever since I have known her she has talked more of 
your mother than anyone else, and more affectionately on all occasions.
	May God bless and comfort each one of you. 
				With my deepest love and sympathy, 
				Your sincere friend, Laura G. Marsh*

*Laura G[lover] Marsh (b. 8 Sep 1869 - 23 Nov 1950) was the wife of James H. Marsh (Jun 1864 - c1910).
They married 1894. The 1900 Census of Fayetteville, Cumberland Co., Charles G. Marsh (b. Oct 1896);
Elizabeth (b. Jan 1900); and Isabel Glover (b. Nov 1883) sister-in-law in the J. H. Marsh household.
By 1910 there are two more children; Lawrence H. Marsh (b. 1908) & Caroline Marsh (b. 1910) and
Laura G. Marsh is widowed. This family lives next door to Laura Tate Pearson Ray (1847 - 1931) and
her son Donald Fairfax Ray (Sep 26, 1888 - Jul 6, 1918) on Green Street in Fayetteville,.

The 1920 Census of Fayetteville, Cumberland shows:
Marsh, J. H., head, f, w, 40, wd. (This is Mrs. J. H. Marsh)
-------- Charley G., son, 25, single
-------- Lawrence H., son, 13, single
-------- Caroline, dau, 10, single
Rankin, F. B., lodger, 40 single

The next dwelling visited by enumerator is very misleading as it shows:
Ray, F. B., head, f, w, 62, wd. (This has to be Laura Ray. Enumerator may have glanced at the name
above and mistakenly wrote F.B. Ray)
-------- D. F., daughter-in-law, 26, wid. (This is 'Mrs. Donald F. Ray. He died 1918.)
Note: Laura never wrote the given name of her daughter-in-law, in her ledger, even though she
divided all income equally with her after Jul 1918. She referred to her as 'Mrs. D. F. Ray' or 'Mrs. Donald F. Ray'
See pg. 393 Scattered Seed - Genealogical Research Data of Southeastern, North Carolina - Myrtle N. Bridges

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