3 Nov. I have sent the box today H A A Sunday November 2nd 1862 My Dear Brother We received your Letters yesterday and we were glad to hear from you we had not received a Letter from you in two weeks and we did not know what had become of you Oh how I do pitty you to think of your being sick and away from home but I hope that the things we shall send will comfort you. you will at least have something to eat that is nice we are fixing the box to day. I will tell you what will be in the box so that you can tell if any thing should be taken out. There will be 2 small Jars of Jelly one for you and one for Israel they will be marked. Also two tin cans of honey and two cans of butter. And two bottles of plum sauce and some cookies for each. also other things that I cannot mention Aunt Mary and Aunt Lucia sent the Jelly Mother the honey and butter and I made the cookies, and helped knit the mittens there will be some dried cherries they will not be stued but you can stue them in one of the cans there will be sugar in them I hope you will take comfort with the things I wish I could Look in and see you when you get the box I can fancy how pleased you will be Mother says she is going to send a Large Tin cup of butter besides the can so you will have enough to Last a Long time. I am so glad that we can send you nice things. we have heard that when a box was sent to a sick soldier that the Doctors would take the things and put them on their own tables now if they do so to our box I sincerely hope that they will get [choaked?] it would be to bad but I guess you will get it I hope so. Uncle Harmon wishes me to say that he has sent a Letter to Israel every week and sent him postage stamps it is very strange that he does not get them I should think he would be discouraged but he will get a Letter pretty soon he must keep up good courage. they think of Drafting here but I do not believe that they will they have had an examination day over to Williamstown and most all of the men were examined Uncle Harmon got a certificate and also Uncle William and Dr. Gates Lewis went and he got a certificate on acount of his deafness they do not want deaf men in the army and I hope you will get discharged on that account if you come home your deafness can be cured so try to come home you cannot tell how we all want to see you I think of you often. What good times we will have if you ever get home safe. You know Frank Lumm that lived on the plains he Enlisted Last spring and has come home lately with one arm shot off it is terrible to think of. Joseph Scofield is in the place he has worked here the past week he was taken prisoner by the rebbels and kept there about 2 months he says that he was treated well while there and that the southerners are misrepresented the worst kind ed he expects to have to go back again that is if he is exchang^ which he probbaly will be. Linda Johnson received a Letter from Will Warren Last night he has been very sick. and says he is so deaf that he cannot hear at all hardly he had not got a Letter since he went from home and he feels badly about it. poor boy I pitty him you wanted to know how father got along with the work. he gets along first rate Hank works Like a man the corn is all husked and under shelter we had 280 230 bushels of good sorted corn there is 26 bushels of good Apples buired buried 40 bushels potatoes also buried and 71 cabbages. And we have got 60 bushels of cider, apples. Your sheep are doing well the Look nice and fat we had one killed Last week [Written upside down on top of Scan 2] I have got a very Lame arm and Mother has got a Lame hand be careful of your self and tell Israel to be careful too I will write to him This from Ellen the [horned?] wether. There is three hives of bees that we know will winter through and one that is uncertane the folks taken care of them the best they could and will see that they are well taken care of. Father says there is 6 acres ... of [wheat?] on the ground. He misses you and speaks of you often. I helped him [draw?] corn one day we drawed 41 bushels in an after noon packed it all up and sorted I expect I shall almost be a boy by the time get home in employment at Least I have got a war petty coat that I wear on such occasions. it is short and scant I tell you. We have dried a barrel of apples besides a bushel down to Jim [Trundells?] and we are going to [illegible in original] dry a Lot more. Mother is going to send you some dried apples you can get some woman to stew them for you and they will be good Mother says do not eat to much at once for it will hurt you when you have been use to sutch fodder as you have but I guess you will not hurt your self tell Israel that I think of him often and that I hope he will do well and be a good boy give my Love to him and tell him to write to me I shall write him a Letter and send in the box and one to you too Aunt Mary is here to day she is knitting on your mittens she was going to write but she said she thought that the mittens would do you more good than a Letter as you had so many but she sends her Love to both of you and hopes that you [illegible mark in original] will do well. Linda is here to day and is writing on the same stand with me. you will get a Lot of Letters when you get the box A W Gates has been having a Law suit with Nick Jones. Gates went to be examined the other day and Jones was there and he steped right up to the Dr and shook his fist and spit in his face and misused him like every thing I supose besides slandering Aunt Mary awfuly well the Dr took him with a warrant they next morning and they have been Lawing it ever since till Friday. the Dr beat Jones and he had all the cost to pay I supose Gates has awful times he is just the same [illegible in original] sixpence as ever not any better at Least. I Liked to have forgotten one thing and that is that the family of James Trundell has Increased since you Left Aunt Mary received a Letter from Fanni Mcqueston on Friday Last Last she wanted to know how her soldier Cousins got along. she has got a Little Girl her name is Margret Lucinda she says it is very nice and pretty so I suppose that it must be so. Now when you write you must tell if every thing got to you safe and if the cookies were all smashed or not. I guess I will not write much more in this Letter for I shall write another one and send in the box I hope you will enjoy you things and make them Las as Long as possible your butter will taste good I am sure. I hope this Letter Good Good as I am writing Hank rides up and brings a Large bottle of peach preserves and Willie sent the Little paper of butter and meats if you can when you get able get Willie a Little flag Like the one Israel sent to their willie he would be [preased?] enough he talks a great deal about Di he is a Dear Little pet and so is baby. Henry is going to send some hickery nuts. he says tell you that he has got two Musk rat skins. I guess that I have spun about as Long enough yarn for this Letter and as I am going to write another Letter I guess I will stop writing now I wish I could see you you my poor Dear sick Brother but that cannot be at present. Keep up good Courage be a good boy and be good to the poor Little rebble boys if you have an [Written on the right side of Scan 4] opportunity for they are not to blame for the war any more than you and you must be kind to them. write every week regular for we are [Written upside down on top of Scan 4] worried if we dont hear from you. and we will write to you very often it seems as if I never could write enough to you but I must stop now Good bye Dear brother I hope that you are better this is from your Loving To Guy Sister Ellen F Scofield