1897 Handwritten Letter from Frank Y. Marvin Holiday Preparations & Chicago IL For Sale

1897 Handwritten Letter from Frank Y. Marvin – Holiday Preparations & Chicago Family Visit

4 Pages folds Approximately 4.75" by 7.75"

This is an original handwritten letter dated November 19, 1897, from Frank Y. Marvin of Findlay, Ohio, to a friend named Pearl. In the letter, Frank shares personal updates about holiday preparations, store improvements, and family matters. He discusses moving partitions in his store to make more room for Christmas goods, as well as a visit to Detroit and family visits from Philadelphia. He also mentions the departure of a longtime house helper, Della, and Mrs. Irwin’s trip to Chicago.

A unique piece of late 19th-century correspondence capturing the daily life, family relationships, and small-town commerce of the time. Great for collectors of historical documents, genealogists, or those interested in Victorian-era letters.

Dear Pearl:

As I have nothing special to do this evening, I will answer your ever welcome letter of so long standing, but I have been awfully busy, as usual, this time a year, getting ready for Holidays, cleaning up stock, getting in new goods, and making them, etc., which has been quite a job. We have made a number of changes in our store, too. We moved the partition in the back of our store back about eight feet, so as to give us more room. We added two more counter cases, and one more large wall case, which makes us considerable more room. I wish you could see it. We have some lovely goods for Christmas. Well, I expect you will say, “I talk nothing but shop,” so I will stop. Just think, Christmas only about five weeks off and I haven’t thought of anything yet, it will be here before I know it.

Well, Pearl, what do you think now, Della is not staying with us now, you know, she has a very odd disposition, and her and Mrs. Irwin could not agree. She is living with Mrs. Frank Pool, in the upstairs adjoining our house, and I think she is going to do sewing. I hated awful bad to see her go, as she has been with us so long, and I always tried to treat her as I would a sister, she was very indifferent toward me at times, but I looked over it and left it pass, and thought no more about it.

Mrs. Irwin is visiting her daughter in Chicago; she left Monday, and will be gone two or three weeks. Her daughter that teaches school here, has been quite sick. She took sick a week or two after school opened, and is just getting able to be around. She has had quite a siege of it, and was very bad for a while. She visited in Chicago, most all summer, and just got home before school commenced, and then took sick right away. She brought her little niece with her, and she has been here ever since, till when Mrs. Irwin took her home; she was seven years old, and made things quite lively.

My niece and nephew, from Ind., visited us this summer, so you see I have been busy entertaining company all summer, including the visit of the Phila. cousins, which I think I wrote you about before. They were with me on that Detroit excursion. That is the only place I was this summer, “one day at Detroit,” and then did not see you, wasn’t that a big vacation? Yes, I was away one Sunday too. A friend of mine, and I drove to Findlay town, a small place about 30 miles from here, to see her sister, that was recently married. It was a lovely day, and had a pleasant drive.

Well I must close for this time, with regards to one and all.
Good bye,
Your loving friend,
Frank Y. Marvin