July 20, 1864: Henry and Mary Warner to John Warner

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 [excerpt]:

Allegheny City Wednesday July 20 1864 Afternoon

Dear John, […] We sincerely hope when you receive this, that yourself & Baby may be in the enjoyment of good health and that you and all the folks in your country have got over the scare of rebel invasion; It grieves us [as?] should grieve every loyal person when we think of millions of property being carried off by the most wicked of wicked creatures under the sun We are informed not less than 8000 horses have been carried off to Virginia and now we are sorry to say, according to a writer signing himself Druid the rebels have by no means given up the idea of attacking Washington. We rejoice you have so far escaped and that you found your carpet sack [&?] safe at the Depot. Dr. J.B. Clark leaves this place as Captain of a Comp’y of 110 men for the front this day to protect the border, people in this county are straining every effort to raise men and money. May the Most High interfere in our behalf against traitors at home and abroad, in England and every where else and bring us safe through this terrible ordeal; The heat here is oppressive, and the long continued drought causes our farmers to be very desponding; Your letter to us we gladly received, and you may be sure interested us very much – according to request we inform you the carriage on trunk was $2 25/100. You say you long to see us, to talk matters and things over, you do not long to see us more than we do to see you and Baby. May the Mighty God of Jacob bless you and yours, in the sincere prayer of

Your affectionate father & mother

Henry & Mary Warner

Citation: Henry and Mary Warner, autograph letter signed to John Riddle Warner.  Allegheny City [Pittsburgh],20 July 1864. Moore VI:06:7