Bristol⁴ April 18, 1845

Dear Sabrina,

We received your letter sent by Mr Wells and I embrace the first opportunity to answer it and will now confess that I am a tremendous lazy corespondent at the best‹and betwene my house work and dary spining weaving and raking hay I find but little time to write so I think I have appologised sifficiently for not writing you before this. . .Mother is able to do but little this sumer to what she has been sumers past. The warm wether overcomes her very much but we get a long first rate. I have got the most of my wool spun and two webs wove and at the mill and have been out and raked hay almost every afternoon whilst they were haying. Father did not have but two days extra help about his haying and we have not had a moments help in the House. Mother commenced spinning this summer with great speed and thought she should do wonders but she only spun 17 skeins and gave it up as a bad bargain. . .O Sabrina how my western fever rages. Were it not for my father and mother I would be in the far west ere this summer closes but I shall not leave them for friends nor foes! Mary and Elias say Liz dont get married for you must come out here. I shall take up with thare advice unles I can find some kind hearted youth that want a wife and mother, one that is good looking and can hold up his head up. Then when all that comes to pass I am off in a fit of matrimony like a broken jug handle but till I find such an one I glory in being an old maid, ha ha ha!
 
M. M. Edwards 
 
  ^{1Bennett Family, Letters (1839-1846) Haverhill Public Library, 
     Haverhill, Massachusetts.  These letters appear in New England 
     Mill Village, 1790-1860, Gary Kulik, Roger Parks, Theodore Z. 
     Penn, eds., (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1982). Used by 
     permission and edited by Old Sturbridge Village.)
  2Melinda M. Edwards b: 21 Nov 1809, Gilmanton, NH d: 10 Feb 1875, 
     Concord, NH; parents: John Edwards and Betsey Powers; married 
     1846: James S. Blodget.
  3Niece – Sabrina Bennett b: 18 Nov 1818 d: 22 Dec 1860, Haverhill, 
     MA; parents Richard Bennett and Ruth Edwards; married 1857: 
     Oliver Turner.
  4Bristol, New Hampshire.}