1891 Philadelphia PA Parsonage Letter Tabor Presbyterian Pastor Skillman Church For Sale

This letter captures an incredibly specific, real-world piece of American history. Rev. Skillman is away at Mountain Home in the Pocono Mountains. In the 1890s, before air conditioning, affluent families or city workers with sick children fled the oppressive, disease-ridden summer heat of Philadelphia to prevent \"summer complaint\" (severe infant dehydration/cholera). Anna is relieved that her sick daughter Margaret is in the mountains, noting that Philadelphia is simply \"too hot to wash!\" (Rev. Willis Bishop Skillman, born 1854, was a prominent Presbyterian minister. He graduated from Princeton University in 1877 and was ordained in 1881. He served as the lifelong pastor of Tabor Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia for nearly 40 years). Anna Walker Gayley Skillman (His wife, and the Author of this letter) is exhausted, nursing a one-month-old who is suffering from a bad case of constipation. She was managing the parsonage (the church-owned home) at 1808 Christian Street while her husband was away. The baby is Willis Rowland Skillman, he was born on July 10, 1891. When Anna wrote this letter on August 12, baby Willie was exactly one month old. (Historically, Willie would grow up to serve in World War I and write a book about the American Expeditionary Forces). The envelope addressed to Rev. Willis B. Skillman /Mountain Home, Monroe Co., Pa. - postmarkedPhiladelphiaAUG 13, 1891 with a LONG LETTER that reads as follows -- 1808 Christian St., Phila.,Aug. 12. ’91. -My darling Willie:I begin this withthe fear that I will not be ableto write much for the baby hasbeen asleep a good while & I thinkif he wakens he will probablytake all my time till bedtime.First of all, I suppose you want toknow about Margaret. I have notheard today I am sorry to say. Ido so hope she will content herselfthere — for if she won’t stay there I thinkyou will have to take her toMountain Home — for I think she is toosick a child to come to this hot city.Willie Bell has been right sick. He goesto the Bank but he looks very badly.He thinks of going out to see Margaretsome day this week. I would gobut I think it would make her sounhappy when I left. I hope tomorrownight I will be able to write yougood news of our dear little girl, it makes me so happy to hear such good news of David. Willie has had such a poor day. I have had him in my arms nearly all the time. His bowels have not been moved in two days. This afternoon Mrs. Hayes was here & advised me to give him a soap & sweet oil suppository, which I did. It caused no action of the bowels but seemed to give him such great relief that he fell right asleep & has slept ever since. I think he will come all right next time he is nursed. He did have such a lovely ride yesterday afternoon. It was so delightful to get out & breathe some fresh, pure air. I was very tired & so I slept much better than I have been doing. The Hunter sent me a delightfully broiled tender loin, steaming hot, for my supper. It seemed to go just to the right spot. Horace comes every morning & goes errands, & holds the baby while I get the most urgent part of my work done. Miss Winnie has gone away so Mr. Stevens has spent the last two evenings in the study among your books, preparing for tonight\'s talk for Mon. night. The baby was asleep - so we had prayers. It made it seem like home once again. Last night the baby screamed so after his ride that had to get to bed as quickly as possible. Tell Mr. Stevens he would make a first class burglar. He goes in & out around the house so quietly that I hardly ever hear him. I had such a delightful call on Monday from Mr. & Mrs. Summey. They are house hunting. They are disgusted with Carpenter St. They say it is so rough - that they cannot even allow the children to sit on the steps. The only thing that keeps them down to one is labor church. The people I believe are enthusias-tic over Mr. Moss. The only ones whom I have seen who are not are Mrs. Summey & Mr. Stevens. Mrs. Summey said \"he was very good but he is not like our own.\" Mr. Chas. said \"he has a fine delivery, a good voice, had some fine thoughts & beautiful language, but it was along spiritual lines that I did not like him.\" He says he is a delightful man socially + every one speaks of his being so fine looking. He certainly has an unusually fine voice—it is so full + rich—+ with the windows down + both children romping I caught a number of words + sometimes sentences. I am so glad that he is liked. He was at the Minneapolis Convention + looked everywhere for you. He went through the whole Pennsylvania delegation. When you did not go up to get your telegram he thought you had gone home. There were 219 at S. S. & many teachers were away. Mr. May-berry + Mrs. Summey had classes Mrs. McKaull has never put in an appear-ance this week. She told the freezer she wouldn’t come here on Mon. because \"it was too hot to wash!\" When Horrice went to hunt her she found she had moved—but no one knew where. I know she didn’t want to come because Susie wasn’t here to do half her work for her. Last year she made such a fuss because I didn’t help her as Susie did & you know never came near me to iron + besides that left all the clothes on the line for me to bring in. You remember Susie went home two weeks before us, so I had a big wash + this hot weather was making it very disagreeable so I thought it was best to give it out instead of having a stranger in the house—+ having to start that big range—& then cook meals so through Mrs. McCurdy & Mrs. Hunter I heard of two sisters, highly respectable young women, members of the Westminster Church, who have recently come from Ireland—& who live at 1918 Montrose + make their living by taking in washing & ironing. They have some very good patronage. They do the washing & ironing for the Rev! Mr. Graham\'s family. When one of the sisters came this morn. she was so unlike the typical washy-woman that I felt sort of dazed + had an almost irresistible impulse to ask her if I should not carry the wash home for her. When I asked her name she said that it was Mary Boyd Gannon; that her mother\'s family were Irish but her father\'s ancestors came over with William the Conqueror + the family had lived in the County Kildare for six or seven hundred years. + then informed me that she was very proud of her family. I should think that a family who had lived in Ireland for 600 or 700 yrs. were pretty near Irish by this time. And this \"lady of high degree\" betrays her Celtic origin much more plainly than her Norman blood. However if she does my work well she can have all the Norman blood she desires. Mrs. MacMillan\'s mother was here yesterday to see if you could officiate at the funeral of her baby grandchild. I am very tired now, so will stop. I will not seal the letter if I have the opportunity will give you Mr. Stevens\' report of tonight\'s service. With love to all kisses + a great big love to David my heart for you I am your loving wife, Anna - I forgot to tell that Bert Gannon wrote such an exceedingly nice letter to Mr. Hunter. Mr. Hunter is so happy over it He has organized 12 schools & visited 150 families & has travelled in his cart 850 miles. He is now revisiting the families & schools. He has never had an experience, he says, that has been so helpful to him. He sent special love to you. I was much disappointed about Minnie Metzgar. Do get me a good girl from the country if you can. Do not have any thoughts of having Annie Bird. From something Mrs. Hunter told me. I know you would be as unwilling as I to take her back.... Code JSB 341