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 May 21st 1862 2 P.M.
Our Dear Children—Here I am writing to the absent ones—Mother & Anne left after dinner, for Mr Westby dentist, day delightful and all in excellent health & spirits—sincerely do we hope by this time that Jennie, little Mary, & yourself enjoy the blessings of good health & that the next letter you favour us with will bring us this joyful news; On Monday evening Mr Bigham called on us, spent about an hour chatting in the front parlour, informed us that his mother & Mrs Carnahan were over in Penn St at the house of General Stuart No. 299 that they would leave on tuesday in the afternoon at 4 oclock, according to agreement we waited on them yesterday at 9 ½ oclock, saw the old lady, her son, Mr. & Mrs Carnahan & Mr. & Mrs Stewart—had quite a pleasant interview of about an hour, took leave & wished them a pleasant journey home—young Abraham Patterson was wounded at Williamsburgh slightly in the hand, we saw his name in the paper, his father & mother left this for Philadelphia to see him but word was sent them that he would not leave the regiment, they therefore returned home, we suppose he wishes to be present at the fall of Richmond, should we be so successful as to capture it, which I sincerely hope may be the case—We are now in uninterrupted communication with Shelbyville, Archy has sent us a Union paper published there, called the Tri weekly news, violent in favour of the Union & bitterly denouncing Jeff Davis, Floyd, Beauregard & CO as Usurpers & rebels of the deepest dye, so we go—our synod meets today we have had no strangers yet and we do not expect to have any—Anne says that Dr Plummer’s congregation does not seem diminished in the least—Yesterday Mother went to see Mrs Patterson in the afternoon also visited Jennette K. Saw Mrs Young who, she says, is greatly failed—We are much pleased with our neighbours next door. On Monday day before yesterday just as we were sitting down to dinner a messenger came running in for mother, a little girl about 4 years old pulled a table over her nose causing the blood to start from her eyes it looked very bad at the time and during the day leeches were applied yesterday and this day all looks well and the face will not be disfigured in the least—I cannot scrape up any more news for you—remember us affectionately to Mrs Craig
Your affectionate father and mother
Henry & Mary Warner
Citation: Henry and Mary Warner, autograph letter signed to John Riddle Warner. Allegheny City [Pittsburgh], 30 April 1862. Moore VI:05:06