Lowell³ May 9^th 1851

Dear Parents

    Jane called to see me last week and brought me a letter from you with which I 
was very much pleased;  she did not stay but a few minutes with me for they were in a 
great hurry;  she said you were all well, and that you wanted to have Arvilla⁴ come down 
here;  I should like to have arvilla here with me very much, but I am afraid that she would 
not stand it while she is so young and her health being poor into the bargain, I think that 
you had better keep her with you a year longer at least, if she could once get through with 
the task of learning she would do well enough, but that is a very severe trial to a young 
girl especially in the summer time;  it is so different from any thing she has been 
acustomed to doing that I think it would be rather hard for her;  I think that I shall come 
home in a year from this spring, and by that time I hope that you will be settled so as not 
to have to work so hard as you have done,  I want to see you have a good little house to 
live in and not have to be crowded as you have been,  I have got about over my cold that I 
had when I wrote to Lele⁵ and my health is pretty good;  there has just been a cry of fire 
and I have been down to see whare it is;  I hope it will not do much harm  my roommates 
are all gone to meeting to day and I am alone.  I should like to step in and see you how 
you get along some days; I hope the carrs⁶ will be so much pleasenter riding in them than 
in the thrilling old stage.  but I do not know as it is of much use to ever think of going 
home so long before hand, I should be very glad to come this summer if I could but I 
supose I cannot,  I donot love to write for I cannot think of any things to write about, I 
had rather work in the mill a week than to write a letter,  you must not blame me for not 
writing oftener and better for I do as well as I can and that is very bad,  I am getting to be 
rather dull  lately my mind is engrossed with evry kind of a thing but the  right things I 
wish I could take that pleasure in reading and writing that I did when I was at home, but I 
cannot and never shall again,  I want that you should write again very soon for I am very 
anxious about poor Hellen⁷  I wish she was here with me and had never known any more 
 

  ^{1Amy Melenda Galusha b: 16 Apr 1825, Berkshire, VT d: 9 Oct 1869, Berkshire, VT.
  2Parents – William Galusha b: 1796, VT; occupation: minister; married 1825: Polly Larabee
     b: 4 Feb 1797, Weathersfield, VT d: 8 Dec 1874, VT.
  3Lowell, Massachusetts; occupation: mill worker
  4Sister – Arvilla Galusha
  5Brother – Aaron Leland Galusha b: 14 Sep 1832, VT; married: Sarah Armstrong.
  6Railroad cars
  7Sister – Helen Galusha}
 

about Bill Kendall⁸ than I do  I wish that old mother Thurber had staid in Wisconsin, I 
wonder if her husband is dead  if he is I am glad of it and I should not care if she was, I 
wish to mercy that my poor Hellen was away from the nasty stinking stew but it is all in 
vain to wish. I donot know but you will think that I am getting to have a very bad 
disposition, but you cannot tell how agravating it is to think of, if H was dead I should 
feel at rest about her, but she is with such a tribe as she is and no one knows what they 
will do to her, or how much she will suffer in their hands.  I donot believe that they are 
possessed of human feelings, they are worse than brutes to my mind  they do not care 
how much they abuse and trample upon Hellen or how much trouble the cause you.  I 
donot know but my feelings are to much wrought upon but I declare I cannot help 
thinking that it is so,  I wish I could see you and talk with you if it were only for half and 
hour,  I have been thinking of going to Rhode Island to see cousin Benedicts folks but 
donot know as it is best, I believe I must go to Boston this summer for I have never been 
there yet and I have very grate curiosity to see it, but perhaps I shall not;  O I want to tell 
you that the Whigs have lost Mass slick enough  we have a democrat governor and all the 
rest are democrat or freesoil,  I supose you have heard of the fuss that they have had in 
Boston about the fugitives,  a great many people think that the manufacturing business 
will have to be given up entirly by the north on acount of the southern market being soo 
poor  the southern traders have all left Boston and gone to New York on acount of the 
fuss about  slaves;  Mrs Peirce went home three or four weeks ago  her foot was the worst 
looking sore that ever I saw, she did not dare to stay aney longer, I told her of Sands 
Sarsaparilla, but she has no faith in patent medicine of aney kind, and would not try it. 
Mrs Thomas⁹ and her family are all well I believe.  Rhoda has not been very well this 
winter  she does not work in the mill now  she lives down to Lawrence¹⁰ Jane looked so 
natural I almost imagined myself at home when I saw her, it makes me real home sick to 
see aney body from the vicinity of home so that I donot care about seeing them unless 
they can stay long enough to see me and tell me about matter and things. I was sorry that 
you sent me all the sugar you had for I get along very well  I have enough to eat ane that 
is good enough for me,  I am very sorry that it hurts you to write, for youre writing looks 
as well as ever it did and I donot see but youre composition is as good as ever,  I am very 
glad to here that you have such good friends,  youre flour was much cheaper that it can be 
got here  I hope that God will take care of you and that is all that I can do for you,  I am 
glad that Fathers health is as good as it is, and hope he will not be any worse off but I fear 
you will boath work so hard while you are building that you will be sick,  I wish that it 
was done with;  I hope that you will have a good sabath school but do not want that you 
should join it if it is a going to be an injury to youre health.  give my best respects to 
Maryette Levins and tell her that I should be glad to recieve a letter from her  she is a 
good girl I always knew.  give my love to all enquiring friends

                                                                    Amy M Galusha

This letter is written so bad that I am ashamed to send it.
 

  ^{8Brother-in-law – William Kendall
  9Mrs. Mary M. Thomas b: 1818, VT; occupation: Boardinghouse Keeper; Tremont Mills #19.
  10Lawrence, Massachusetts.}
 

Dear Arvilla

     I read youre letter with pleasure the other day and was glad to here that you have 
got so well over the meazles; you must be very careful and not take cold, and so must 
Lele.  poor Lele how is his poor sore toe, I cannot help thinking of him all the time for he 
has to work so hard,  you must be a good girl and help poor ma all that you can for she is 
old and all tired out with hard work.  you had better not come to Lowell this summer I 
guess but stay at home with ma and help her through with building and then come here 
and work in the mill a part of the time and go to school the other part.  but it is about time 
for me to stop scribbling or I shall have nothing to scribble on