Oberlin Dec 14th 1861
Dear Children since we received
your letter we have been on the
point of writing to you but we [have?]
[wait?][tear in page]ing to hear whether the
Dr was [tear in page]ally going into the army,
but we are no better informed now
than when we received your letter
last evening we had a call from Mrs
Thompson from VtVille she took the
cars last evening for Grand Rappids
to meet her husband, & enter upon
her duties in the hospital at St.
Louis. she appears to be in earnest
& will fill her place well, her boys
were not with her but we expect
a visit from them soon as they are 
quite anxious to see [Willies?] & [Brothers?]
Grand Pa & Grand Ma. should they return
to VtVille they will have much to say
about their [crossed out] discourses in Oberlin
						boys
Grandpa is writing to Willie & Will [illegible] ^ [the?]

[Written upside down on top of page]

We all send love and good wishes
I hope you will keep [up?] [illegible] of the [illegible]

[continued across top of page 4]

[End]
We are here in Oberlin again
not in the Ladies Hall but in an
upper room nicely fixed up for the
winter. Mother is finishing a pair
of pants for me I sewed & stitched them
on the machine yeste[tear in page] buttons
& pressing &c must be done to day.
We are all well now or better 
than we have been for sometime
Freddie is able to go down to Henrys
he was confined for 2 weeks with
[illegible], mother has had a [severe?]
time with Nuraliga but we are all
better we have been here 6 weeks
& am expecting to stay until the 
first of May we have rented our
house in Brownhelm to that time
then if we should be spared & return
to our home the Dr should be in 
the army & you be disposed to leave
your plan & come & stay with us
there will be room enough & to spare
	will
& we ^ welcome you heartily. to be sure
By your letter we see you have con
-cluded to stay in your house in [illegible]
this winter & have boaders &c, had,
you concluded to come here there
is a nice little hous about 40 rods
from here & no body in it where 
you could be accommodated nicely
the meeting house near & the Union
School for the boys &, we could call
so often all so nice, but we will not
follow this strain, it is all best as
it is undoubtedly, but the thought of
if it was so & so how happy we could
be, well, it is like castle building, & we
will not indulge it but take things
in sober earnest as they are,
This war, how terrible, many of our
dear friends must go, & be slaughtered
perhaps, or die of fevers in the camp
several of our neighbors have fallen
Mr Woods son of Brownhelm & Mr Todds
son of Vermillion have been brought home
and buried by their friends, died of fever
Henry Charles oldest, is in Kentucky &
Charlie, Henrys oldest is near Cincin
-nati they were both well when we last
heard friends here are all well & in
Brownhelm, Ellen has another son
& they getting along well now they expect
-ed it wouldn’t live for a while but now
they say he is will, & [illegible letter] does her own
work, we hear from George every few
days he seems happy tho in a hard place
we guess, the folks where he boards in-
-vite him to visit on the sabbath & they
seldom have meetings. tho 4 meeting houses.
There has been several deaths here since 
we have been here one I think you knew 
Simeon Bushnell, he has ben long [illegible] last
sabbath he was at sabbath school & meeting in
the forenoon, came out onto the steps of the Chapel
was taken with bleeding at lungs, & died in a 
few moments, in the porch. of the chapel his
friends were about him his [illegible] from Africa
came friday before he died he was wanting the sermon
			Prof
John [illegible] son of ^ Henry is appointed a Chap
-len in the army his wife is to come here in
the spring & her brother & sister are to live
with her in his fathers house love to all
write soon good-by ----     G Fairchild

[written upside down on top of page, continued from page 1]

goes into the war, we want to see you very much

[End]