Contributed by Kathleen Haynes
Contact Myrtle Bridges May 20, 2011
Clinton S.C.
April 5th 1902
Saturday Afternoon
My dear Irene:-
Your special deliv-ery letter reached me today at one o'clock and I telegraphed you immediately. Mrs. Av-ery is in Augusta and will
remain there until the eighteenth or nineteenth as she wrote me a few days ago - so of course if we went Monday we could not stay with
her and as I did not know of any other place to stay - I thought best to send the telegram I did. Of course if it had been a life and
death case I could have gone -our chief reason for waiting un- [pg-2] til the last of the month was on account of Mrs. Thackston who
said she would take us to Jacksonville Fla. & re-turn gratis. She is going to her sister's in Gainsville Fla. From C. aside from the
trip Mrs. T has been a-round so much & knows C. well I thought it would be an ad-vantage to have her with us. I had a letter from her
Fri-day saying that she would be home- [pg-3] (I mean Clinton) the 12th to day week but for me to go on if you all wanted to go sooner.
She travels for "The Monthly" & of course she cannot pick up and come home when ever she wants to. Now if next week you want to go I
will go on & pay our board. I will meet you at what ever boarding house you will select.- don't know if any- My reason for telegraphing
was I was afraid you [pg-4] would not get a letter in time & you would go to Charleston & of course I would not know where to meet you.
Even if I had gone. If you are anxious to go next week & it will save any money after your board is paid let me know & I will go. Where
is Sude t-be-come aboard Take this letter to Mrs. Presnell & tell them to let Sude know. Weeta telegraphed the same mes-sage to Sude
and you for fear she had charted to Charleston via Clinton I am sorry as can be that all this has happened [pg-5] but you told me to make
the arrangements & I did Wont stand back on our Jacksonville trip - for we have kept your allotted parting long enough if we are able
to pick up our grip sacks & get to the train we will meet you. Of course I want to see you and would be awfully disappointed not to be
there at the same time. The agent told me yesterday that the rates were getting cheaper every day - I don't know tho about the Southern,
[pg-6]
Write me some of your plans how long you expect to stay ect- Write me by return mail for I am all up set about it. If you will mail your
letter Sunday after ab 5-o clock I will get it at one- Monday & provided you say via Hamlet- Much Much Love
Hastily
Wilhelmina
I've done a little bit of digging on the Tates and Laura.
I found that Laura also had a baby daughter that she lost! Her name was Annie, born: 1 Apr 1885 and died: 19 Aug 1885.
She is buried at the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Morganton. I found this via findagrave.com From the photos
on that site it looks like someone has erected new headstones for both Laura's children buried in that cemetery.
(i.e. Neil Wm Jr. & Annie Ray) It is unbelievable that she lost FIVE babies ranging in age from two to seven months.
I also found that Jennie Tate's son, Wilson (Howard Wilson) married Bessie Moore, who was the daughter of Addie Erwin
and Thomas Moore. I'm not sure who Addie's parents were.
Also Bessie Hunt, in 1900 was a widow, (m.9 yrs) with son Atwood, age: 8, was living with her mother, Dealia M. Pearson
and they lived two houses away from Thomas & Addie Erwin Moore.
I also found that Sudie Presnell was the daughter of Susan & Robert Presnell, dry good merchant. Then.. learning more than
I had intended: Sudie married, at about age 35, ca 1909, to Dr. Edward William Phifer and lived down the street from the Tates
on 303 West Union until she died in 1966 at age 92. ?She had two sons, (Dr.)Edward Jr. and Robert. (The Tate's address in 1900
was 100 West Union Street - I assume this is "The Cedars".) Kathleen Haynes - May 2011
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