Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Anna Aitken in Dunfermline to John Pitcairn, Jr. Aitken thanks Pitcairn for his kind offer to be her escort, however she is sorry to say she has already booked passage with the Cunard Line. She intends to write to Miss Franks Liverpool today, requesting that she secure a place on the Perthia, which sails on the 14th. Maria Hogan had led Aitken to expect a visit from Pitcairn, but his letter settles the question. Aitken reports that her brother’s health is now much...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. “G. R. Starkey, M. D.” letterhead. Starkey received his wife’s postal with “big feelings of satisfaction & gratitude.” The fact that she has improved so quickly, even if only a little, gives him hope that her symptoms were caused by nervous exhaustion resulting from the “long continued & severe pressure” she has been under. She must not let anything interfere with her recovery; She...

Scope and Contents Letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. Seal pressed into the upper lefthand corner reads “CAREW” (or “GAREW”) surrounded by a laurel wreath. Dated “Sunday Eve,” no month or year. Starkey notes that another week has passed and remarks that it doesn’t bother him as much as it bothers Caira to think how little time they have left in this world. He knows they will remain on earth as long as they have something to gain, and he is “painfully...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. “G. R. Starkey, M. D.” letterhead. Starkey has just received Gertrude’s and Pauline’s letters and was glad to find Caira in good health. Starkey has been sick all week and decided to go to bed last night instead of attending the social meeting at the Donaldson’s as he had promised. Two nights ago, he attended a discourse by Mr. Giles in the new temple where he ran into the Dr. and Warm (?)...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. “G. R. Starkey, M. D.” letterhead. Dated "Tuesday 7th, 1875." Starkey has received Caira’s letter and is very distressed about her eyes. He hopes she has sent for Gertrude. He inquires what Dr. Malcolm says about Dora being sick again. The fog and rain in Washington seem to mirror their “mental clouds,” and Starkey hopes everything will clear in a few days. He read in the paper that Novella...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. “G. R. Starkey, M. D.” letterhead. Dated "Wednes. 17 1875" Starkey has received Caira’s letter. He feels it’s been a long time since he’s been home. He was sorry to read the little ones are sick, but Caira hasn’t given him any data by which he can prescribe treatment. If necessary, she should send for one of the doctors; He sent each of them a postal this week. Starkey himself felt sick...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. “G. R. Starkey, M. D.” letterhead. Dated "Friday 19 1875" Starkey is sending another letter and apology. He is glad he wrote to Caira this morning before receiving her letter, as his advice that Miss Solter not come may carry more weight. She will be disappointed if she arrives with the expectation that Starkey can help her find employment. He wishes she had stayed in Europe. He tried to get...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. Dated “Tuesday 23d” Starkey has received Caira’s letter. He presumes she has received his P.O. order and past three letters. He is distressed that her eyes are troubling her again, and he writes that if Vineland is a “healthy place,” it has “failed to produce its legitimate effects upon our family.” He wonders if there is a treatable reason for the family’s ills. He is glad Mrs. Solter has...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D.C. to his wife, Caira Skelton Starkey. “G. R. Starkey, M. D.” letterhead. Dated “Wednes 29 1875” Starkey has received Caira’s letter and is worried about the state of her “distressed shipwrecked body.” He hopes it is only the result of extreme exhaustion, and that her vigor will return after a few days “free from care” at the home of their friends. If Caira has no objection, he thinks Dora and Cara should accept the invitation to...

Scope and Contents Handwritten letter from Dr. George R. Starkey in Washington, D. C. to his son, George G. Starkey. Oval seal with either the word “Bath” or “Sath” in the center pressed into the upper lefthand corner. G. R. Starkey has not heard how G. G. Starkey is finding his skates. He wants to know if they are “possessed with the ‘total depravity of some other inanimate things’,” and if so, he would like G. G. Starkey to send some drawings illustrating their “mischievous propensities.” He hopes G. G....