It has fallen to my lot this morning to write, as William has a very bad cold which makes [added: him] quite sick for some days; he has been very busy for 3 weeks gathering corn, and just finished yesterday evening. he has not time to write through the week, and to day [today] he feels to [too] sick to do any thing but sit over the fire and drink hot tea and grunt, the corn crop has measured up very well considering the dry summer, though it did not quite realize our expectations, which you know always goes beyond the mark, The weather this fall has been very dry and warm, we have not had frost enough yet to kill the tomatoes vines, the ground is so very dry and hard that brother cannot sow [unclear: wheat ] Mr and Mrs Burgess are now on a visite [visit] to their children in this neighbourhood [neighborhood]. they are living in Kentucky , as they did not like Miss[added: o]uri Lotty was married in [unclear: Missouri ] , Travling [traveling] agrees with thim [them] very well, Mrs B [Burgess] is very flashy and looks younger than she did 10 years ago. they have not called on us yet. but they intend visiting

all their old neighbours [neighbors] before they return home. William Napier is married to a lady in giles county , he arrived at his Fathers last week with his wife, she is not very pretty, and is only 15, it is thought they will [added: live] on yellows creek , Mr Reynolds has received 3 or 4 letters from his brother Mark and family they are all doing very well. William Reynolds is married, in his letter to his Uncle he said he thought before he was married all he wanted was a wife, but now he wants every thing else.

[October] the 15. You will think it very strange that such a length of time should transpire, between the dates in my letter, we have had so much company for the last week, that I have no had time to write, Mr and Mrs Hickman and Rebecca are now at the furnace on a visit of 3 or 4 weeks they arrived at the furnace [added: on] tuesday an [and] called on us thursday evening, I returned home with them and stayed until sunday evening, Ellen and Rebecca came home with me [added: and] stayed until wednesday eveng [evening] as the gentleman were all at the forge. hunting for some days. We are all very much pleased with Mr Hickman , Ellen is very gay and fashionable Rebecca has grown very much, she is all most [almost] as tall as her sister, she is going to Philadelphia next spring, [unclear: Mrs V ] and [unclear: Mrs. ] Lee were here [unclear: yesterday ] on a visit to [unclear: Mrs. ] H , We are all to meet at

Dr [unclear: Hudsons ] , day after tomorrow, the gentelmen [gentlemen] are all to amuse themselves hunting, Old Mrs Hickman is still alive, she is a 100 and 4 years old.

We have had a great deal of rain for a fiew [few] days past, which is the first we have had since July, that was sufficient to [unclear: lay ] the dust,

We are all well, and every thing is going on as usual, Wm [William] sends his love to his niece and nephew They all join with me in love to you and family.

Your sincere sister

M [Margaret] V Bell

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Charlotte Tn [Tennessee] Novr [November] 17 1839

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Mrs A [Ann] Jane Bell Cornplanter Venango County Pa [Pennsylvania]