Henry and Mary Warner lived in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, now part of Pittsburgh. They are the great-grandparents of poet Marianne Moore. By the 1860s they had three surviving children: John, Henry, and Anne. Their letters to John, a Presbyterian minister living in Gettysburg, are preserved as part of Marianne Moore’s family papers. 
Transcript:
Allegheny City, Wednesday, August 24, 1864 Afternoon
Dear John, These dreary, & gloomy times, while our border is threatened with another ‘raid’ we send you our usual Wednesday epistle; your father did not feel very well this morning, in consequence of a slight attack of diahorea, however he made an effort to visit the P.O., with no success but merely to look into an empty box; Anne was quite unwell last week, had three teeth extracted, is now much better. Mother saw her, the two children, & Charlotte in market yesterday morning; Robert seems to be doing very well. Mr. Temple has advanced his salary 1 ½ $ per week. Mother thinks he is in a deep consumption; we had a letter from Henry on Monday morning, it was short, he is hearty and well; we hope Mrs Eyster & family are well, our dear little Mary, and yourself; If it was so ordered in Providence, we would like to be nearer you than we are, or that you were nearer us; Our markets are abundantly supplied with vegetables, and farmers, and gardeners, are striving to ma[i]ntain their fruits with all their might; we are glad to think things are no worse; Is Mrs Eyster and the children with you, Was Mr. Sharpe’s house burned? There is nothing going on here but recruiting for the army, we suppose we need not look for you while these rebel raids threaten the southern border of Pennsylvania; We live in hopes that both you and ourselves may live to see a speedy and happy termination to this sad state of affairs; nothing is impossible to the Most High and it is in his power soon and sudden to bring order out of confusion when least expected, although we sinners have brought on the confusion
Your affectionate father & mother
Henry & Mary Warner
Citation: Henry and Mary Warner, autograph letter signed to John Riddle Warner. Allegheny City [Pittsburgh],124 August 1864. Moore VI:06:8