Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1898-07-29
Erie, Pa, July %, 1898.
J Joseph +. Marshall and Wife

My Dear and Esteemed Friends: |
hope you will allow me to address you
as such for surely you have been more
than friends to my poor brother. l can
not form my thoughts into words that
would express in the slightest degree
my gratitude to you people. l hope
you do not think my brother was nat
urally bad boy. Believe me when l
say he was carefully raised by a chris
tian mother, but poverty came to us
and he did not have the will power to
contend with it, but left us two years
ago, which very nearly drove my
mother and myself frantic. He was
always the most affectionate child at
home and was very kind to my mother
and seemed to love me dearly and we
both loved him to fault. He was the
baby and our only boy, and God only
knows how we missed him when he
was gone and how we prayed for his
safety. l have prayed that some time
| might find him a good, noble man,
but God has willed it otherwise, and L
must now console myself with the
thought that be died not as he lived
but good boy, poor fellow. He was
only eighteen years old the 25th of last
March. o, how 1 have wondered where
he had gone and why he left US.
l went to work yesterday for the first
since | heard of him. / became so
nervous and did not sleep from Satur-
day night until Tuesday forenoon,
when l took drug to produce sleep
| was working here in this house when
my poor mother died and everyone is
so kind to me. 1t does seem terrible
that my poor brother should do as he
has done, but great many things hap
pen in our lives of which we will never
know the cause. Did he know you
heard from me at all. | did get ready
to go to plymouth Sunday night but
was afrai would not see him alive as
l could not get there until sometime
close to twelve o'clock. and by your
letter l see l could not have gotten
there in time TO talk with him.
This is certainly the most terrible
thing ever experienced, and it seems
as though my heart would burst. |
received tie pictures and it was SO kind
of you to have them. l could hardly
hope for them when l asked you for
them. L would not recognize a feat.
ure as that of my brother, but | sup
pose his suffering was so terrible that
it changed every feature L have a
picture of him, taken at sixteen, just
before he went away Did he know
you were taking picture of him fol-
me? can only think of him as a
good innocent boy, and Mr.. Marshall
if you knew him as | remember him
you would wonder how he ever came
in the plight you knew him. But ht
is my brother, whatever his faults may
have been, and | loved him more thar
| can tell, and my grief at his sac
ending no one will ever be able tC
imagine. We have sister bu
she is married and travels all the
time and l cannot locate bel
just at present. 1 think by The
middle of December / will be abl,
to visit Plymouth as L want so much Il
meet the kind people who so kindl!
helped my poor brother. l can not fee
i'll towards MIR. Logan for every mar
must protect his own property and NJ
doubt had my brother asked him, HI
would have assisted him without hi
stealing. l hope he will not feel that
hold any grudge against him or fee
that he is responsible for my brother
death, but forgive him as freely as n
forgave my brother. Oh! That thl
, might be warning to boys who long t.
roam through the country and are dis
, contented with their homes. Remembe
me to DIR. Wilson and say to him tha
my brother. hope to meet you al
some time. Have written to Fathe
, Moench. May God bless you all AIT
may you never know grief so bite
as mine is my prayer for you all. Hop
| may hear from you again. L remain
! most gratefully and sincerely,
Yours humblY,
, Eta MULHOLLAN.
[ p. S.-If you look at my first lette
? you will see that | am not working il
a shirt factory, as the Independen
: stated, and that our mother died te
, months ago instead of two as the pape
r stated.
1 Prospective Groom Fooled Himself.
= \