Schweitzer family letter, January 3, 1873

English Text

Mühringen, January 3, 1873 Dear Luise and family: I returned from my trip yesterday. Dear Ernestine read your letter to me then. We are very glad that you are doing fine which is also the case with us. You were worried because we did not write to Robert - that only happened because of inopportuneness. And so one always worries to no avail. Currently we are again worrying about a letter since - for 5 weeks we have not received a letter from our dear Isak. God willing, it will arrive soon. If you should get one, please let us know immediately. We are pleased that you did not go to the wedding. Constant traveling does not work. About 8 days ago Sophie departed with her [illegible] daughters from here. We cannot do anything now. We will give her shoes for Isak. Today is Sunday when there is much to do, only that you are content. In the meantime be well, I remain your father H. Schweizer Best regards to dear Julius & Mother & Sofie My dear ones! We will already answer your dear letter today so that you really have no reason to be dissatisfied. A letter from home on a Saturday is indeed a great pleasure. It was ill-judged that you had concerns. I wrote indeed very clearly that our dear parents had no time to write then. Did Robert bring the gazette [?] soon? Dear Louise, there are again news to write about. Last Sunday Veit [&?] Leni Hertkorn [?] bought the house for 4200 fl. I do not begrudge them to get such a nice house since they were almost walled in. So with patience one is [illegible] amply rewarded. The house would have also had more buyers. Bertha von Safensberg [?] also wanted to have it as well as some of the other locals in order to reestablish a business. We prefer this buyer who is also in his first year of marriage. Jacob Roßenfeld from Konstanz got engaged to Emma Kiefe from Baisingen this week. She gets 18000 fl., however, Jakob might not have much less. You will [illegible] get a card from Emale, everybody is curious how it [he?] will look like. Berthe hopes to find a suitable one soon. Regine was very lucky, her groom was supposed to get 2 girls from here already: the Schanetle [?] and Auguste Bloch – and now Regine is the lucky one. Schanetle has not been here since his wedding, one does not hear much, there will be enough in Rexingen. Will dear Julius and dear mother also come back home on Saturday? I sent the skirt [or jacket?] only yesterday, I did not have much time. I wrote a short note in a hurry since dear father was not at home. How does it go with the boarders [?]? Are they satisfied? Tell Mr. Steil that he will be led to the [illegible] when he receives the desired objects. I also think that it has no hurry. Please return the greetings. Do the Ettlinger R[illegible] no longer come to you? Did you check a little regarding the other bill or has the business improved as I hope. Dear Sophie will probably help you a little when you have so much to do. The neighbor might also be of help, maybe she comes now for cleaning? We also got a letter from dear Berthe this week. We expect good news from dear Isak daily. God willing it will also come soon. The Americans as well as the Germans will probably leave next Friday. Thank you to [illegible] who brought us two Hutzellaible [=fruitcakes]. What does Amalie Schwarz say, she has gone through a lot. Best regards to her and also to her sister. I am again in a hurry otherwise the letter will not be mailed out today. We also expect to read much pleasant news from [illegible] you. I send you all my best regards and wish you to keep a good Schabes, I also intend to do the same. Yours Ernstine Schweitzer Extra Greetings for dear Sophie. [in Yiddish/Judeo-German] My dear Luiselchen I do my best to reassure my children and make things pleasant for them and that’s why you’ll be getting a letter from us tomorrow in honour [lekoved? Line is cut off] of the Sabbath, which, we thank God, will find you well. Confirm that for us and also that dear Berthe is well. I’ve come down with something that keeps me from sleeping. More good news from good old Isak? I hope to God to hear from him soon. You were asking after my cough. They say that I can drink tea with milk and cream bonbons of all kinds which we’ve managed to get hold of with the help of Ernestine, who might be offended if I didn’t mention her. Anyway, the goose neck is stuffed––with ground meat, yet—and will sure be good tomorrow. We saved it from the goose that we sent you—how did you like it? We have 3 more. Your father wants to take this letter to the post office, so wi[cut off] very well and enjoy life: don’t spend all your time thinking of home and husband. Sophie is very pleasant to talk to. I hope to hear good news from you soon, your mother [Signature in Latin characters] Greetings to your mother [-in-law] Many regards to Sophie, and also your parents [-in-law] [signed] Malchen Schweizer

Original text