All handwritten.
Hiawatha, Feby. 1, 1904
Dear Mr. Thompson:-
I have your letters of the 23rd, 27th & 29th and will take
them up as soon as I find time to digest them. They are full of meat and I thank you for the pains you have taken in preparing them. The leaves from the Candor Bible came all right—but you should have kept them longer. I shall accept your suggestion and send you the manuscript for examination when ready to print. That will be better than [sending it with this.] The photographs are fine and very cheap. But the lower end of the board including the signatures is too dim to make a c[ut from.] The consent of both Adrian and Coert (?) will work out all right I [expect] .
About the Candor Bible.
It has come down in the usual way from father to son as follows.
Adrian who died in Allegheny Co. in 1826.
His son William m. Jane Smith.
Their son Aaron m. Mary McMinn (?)
their son John m. Margaret A Bailey and
their William now has the Bible in his possession.
(p.2)
I have the line of another son of Adrian of Allegheny as follows.- Aaron b. Sept.8, 1780 died Oct. 26, 1826 & was buried with his father. He m. Rachel Gordon and I have a record of their two sons Joseph & Garret to the present. Those of this line & of this present generation first put me on track of the Candor Bible.
Garrett the 2nd son of Aaron Aten & Rachel Gordon married Margaret Crawford and ________
I think you have unravelled the puzzle as to the identity of Adrian of Allegheny Co. He was the youngest son of Adrian Aten and Jacobje Middagh and the record of his children in the Candor Bible was made by or at the instance of his second – the children there mentioned having been born in___________ There yet remains the question about Vader Hendrick & Mader Mary … It would be strange if this remarkable record should contain a false note, and I don’t believe it does, but we may not be able to solve the question it _________
(along the side of the page): I hope you may soon recover your good health & in the meantime do not work too hard over these questions.
Sincerely yours, Henry J. Aten