Letters from Grandmother

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The headstone of Delaware Watson Pruett at the old Giles-Watson homestead

Delaware Green Watson (~1848-1915) was born as the first of five children of John Watson (1820~1870) and Permelia Giles Watson (1821-1882). Young Delaware grew up along Cherrystone Creek in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Her father, John, was a tobacco farmer and a stonemason. In 1860, they moved south near Tompkins Branch of Banister River to the farm of her other great-uncle, John A. Giles, Jr. In 1865, Delaware married Ephraim Thomas Prewett (1840-1907), who had just returned from service in the Confederate Army earlier that year. Together they had ten children, nine of which lived to adulthood. Between Ephraim’s generation and his children, the spelling of their surname changed from “Prewett” to “Pruett.” Their five sons and five daughters were as follows:

  • Sidney “Sid” Jackson Pruett (1867-1929)
  • William “Willie” Thomas Pruett (1868-1945)
  • Charles L. Pruett (1871-1875)
  • John Ballard Pruett (1873-1960)
  • Rebecca “Becky” Louise Pruett (1875-1907)

After Delaware became a widow in 1907, the family began to correspond with postal cards. In 1910, she lived in the Wilmer community along the Irish Road with her son Joe and daughters Ida & Lillie. The following letters were written between 1908 and 1915, during the last few years of her life. She wrote often to her grandchildren, Nina Pruett (1909-2000) and Aubrey Pruett (1910-1966), who were toddlers at the time. They were the daughter and son of John B. Pruett and his wife Mittie Watson Pruett (1875-1946). The letters also mention Sue Watson Pruett (1854-1933), the wife of Willie Pruett and the sister of Mittie. Lastly, any mention of “Alice and her folks” refers to my great-great grandparents, Dock Meadows (1882-1942) and Alice Pruett Meadows, with their children Oscar and Cassie Meadows.

One last note to keep in mind, Delaware was actually illiterate. Her letters were dictated to one of her daughters, either Ida or Lillie, who wrote out the messages for her. So, while these are authentic perspectives into her life, it is not her direct handwriting. However, this style of phonetic spelling and casual cadence reflects her speaking voice and an older dialect of the Piedmont region. I have added punctuation for easier reading, but I’ve kept the original spelling. Here are thirty-six letters in all that were sent by my great-great-great grandmother, Delaware.

Hello Nina how are you? Well I hope. I am about like common. It is a cold old rainey day on me. I wish you had been up hear to day to helped me eat chicken hash. Well I have no news to write. I quilted me a pretty bead [bed] quilt this last week. I want to come down thare as soon as Joe gets his buggy at home. It is at the shop, but dont wate for me. You must come as soon as you can and tell all the rest to come soon. By by from Grandmother. Write soon.

Hello Aubrey. I hope you are well and dont kill your self at work holling [hauling] rocks and running wire fences. Are you done planting corn? We are done planting corn. Tell uncle Willie and Dady that we have plenty of tobacco plants at this time. How is Uncle Willie’s back? I hope it is well by this time. You all come and write soon. From Grandmother.

Hello Nina how are you? I am not any better than I was when your Daddy was hear. I dont see as the Doctor done me any good. I am not in the bed, I can set up yet. I want to see you coming to see me with that doll of yours. You must come soon to see me for grandmother is not long for this world. She is very short come and write soon. From Grandmother.

Hello Nina, how are you? Well I hope. I am not well. My cough aint no better then it were when you were up here. Well our tobacco done all right. Thay were 655 pounds, brought 74 dollars. You must come and go to the xmas tree and see old Sandy Claus. Alice come Saturday before last and brought the 2 little ones with her and left the 2 grone ones with Dock and thay come Sunday. Well come soon and write soon. From Grandmother to Nina.

Hello Nina, how are you by this time? I am getting on veary well to night. Joe got home from Danville sund [Sunday] in the evening and brought me a bag of cheese and I eat a bigg supper to night–cheese and stewed chicken. I wish you had ben up hear to tack [take] supper with me. Tell Lillie we are getting on fine up hear. Tell her to do what you tell her to do and dont be lazy. Well you must come soon and wright soon. By by from Grandmother.

Hello Nina, I hope you are well. I am not well. I hope you and mother will come to see me before the weather getts too cold. I have no news to write about all that I hear is about the war and corn shuckings. I would have looked for you all Sunday if it had not been raining. When any of you all comes, you can bring me a bottle of Laxfos. I am not out yet but if I live I guess I will want some more. Well tell all of them hello for me and you all must come and write soon.

Hello Aubrey, how are you? Well I hope. Be a good little boy and not cry. You must come soon and see my two little fat piggs that I got last week. Tell Daddy and Uncle Willie I would a have looked for one of them if it had not been raining to day. Well you must come joust as soon as you can and tell all the rest to come. Write soon from your Grandmother.

Hello Nina, hope you are well. I am about like I was when Willie was hear. I am just as weak as eve and my cough dont get any better. Alice’s children was sick last week. I dont know how thay are by this time. No body has not got the smallpox up hear yet but Claude. Tell them thay must come and bring you to see me soon. Well you all must come soon. Write soon from Grandmother.

Hello Nina, how are you? Well I hope. I am sick; been up in the bed all the week with a bad cold and sore throat. I have no news to write. You must come and see me. Tell all the rest thay must come. Well good by come and write soon. From Grandmother.

Hello Aubrey, I hope you are well and gaily this morning. I am not well. I am vary feable. I hope the hot weather is not goin as hard with you as it is with me. If you was hear you could get a few cherries but thay are most gone. Tell Dady to bring you all to see me soon. Write soon. From Grandmother.

Hello Nina, how are you by this time? I am setting hear like I am all ways, all most dead. I have been wanting to come down there and go and see the docter, but I have not got no body to go with me. I want some of you to come Sunday I can tell you more than I can write. Well you all must come soon, write soon. From Grandmother to Nina.

Hello Willie, how are you? Well I hope. I am as well as common. I hope your jaw has got well by this time. You sed you had sold another load of tobacco for a good price. I am glad some body can get something if I cant. I have no news to write. I have to set in the corner and I dont gather no news. Tell all hello for me and you all must come and tell me something before long. Tell Susin I sed I wish she would cut me a mess of sallit and step and bring it some day. I think it would be delicious. Alice and her folks is all well. Well I will close for this time, you must write soon and come real soon. Your mother to my son Willie, by by.

Hello Aubrey, I hope you are well. If you can go to Chatham and stay all day I know you can come to see me. Tell Mother and Daddy to bring you to see me soon. I got the Laxfos all right. Well the cabbage plants are all dead in the bead [bed] but 2 are [or] 3, and the most of them that we planted is dead. Tell Uncle Willie I hope his bad cold has got well. Tell him to come soon and bring Aunt Sue to see me. You all come soon and write soon, from Grandmother.

Hello Aubrey, I hope you are well and gaily. I wanted to come down thare this week but thay are so bisy I wont get to come this week, but maybe I will get thare some time. You make them bring you up here soon. Thay will keep you down thare till you will forget that you have got a grandmother. Come and write soon. Grandmother.

Hello Willie, I am just setting hear. How are you? I recken you are most done planting tobacco by this time. We have not made eny hills yet and the plants are just like they was when you was up hear. Thay dont grow a bit. I dont recken that we will get eny planted at all this time. You all must come soon and write soon. From Momma to Willie

Hello Aubrey, I hope you are well. I am not well. I have had a pain in my side. I wish you was up here to eat peaches. I hope the rain has not washed you away yet. Thanks for that little melon that you sent to me by Nina. I eat it and it sure was good. Oscar and Casy [Cassie] come the other day and [b]rought me some water melons. I wish you had been here to helped me eat them. Well you must make Mother and Dad bring you and Nina and Mother to see me soon. From Grandmother. You must write soon.

Hello Aubrey, I hope that you have got well by this time and if you are not well you will have to do like I do when I get sick. You will have to send for Will Parich [Parrish]. You must send me a card as soon as you get this and let me know how you are. I am about like I have been. Just setting hear. You all must come as soon as you can. From Grandmother to Aubrey.

Hello Nina, how are you? I dont feal no better than I did when you was hear. You and Aunt Sue and Uncle Willie must come soon before the weather get two cold. It is getting pretty cold up hear now. Well I got my wheat in the ground before it rained. Nina, one of my cats is sick, but if it dies I will have plenty without it. Well you all must come soon. Write soon, from Grandmother.

Hello Nina, how are you? I am about like common. Hope you are well. Well Nina you must come and see my little calf. He is a beauty. I hope I will get some milk now. Cassie Went to preaching yestday and come to see me. Well Nina, I have plenty of Lilac and Blue Lillies blooming now. If you was hear you could get you a turn [ton]. Well you all must come soon and write soon. Tell all the rest to come. From Grandmother.

Hello Aubrey, how are you? You must come and stay a week with me and help me pick up apples for my hogs. Tell mother and Aunt Sue they must come and tell me something. I cant go any where to hear any thing. Tell Dadda not to kill his self at work. You all must come real soon and write soon from Grandmother.

Hello Susin, how are you by this time? I hope you are well. I dont feel so good to night. Tell Willie hello for me. Tell Mittie hello for me. Tell John hello for me. I am expecting a xmas present from all four of you. I have got three hens a laying. How meny have you got? Well I will close for this time. Rite soon and come soon from D G P to S H P

Hello Willie, how are you? Well I hope. I am not veary well. My cough is veary bad. Well I have no news to write. I looked for some of you all to come to see me at holiday but it came and went and I never saw no of you. Well I will close. You all must come soon and write soon. From Mamma to Willie. By by.

Hello Aubrey, how are you? I hope you are well. I am not well to night. I have not killed my hogs yet. Thay are so fat thay look like 2 males and my pigs can stand up as high as a man. Say you must come at xmas and go to the xmas tree if you can. Tell Aunt Sue and Uncle Willie thay must come soon and tell Mama and Dady to come soon so By by. Come soon and write soon from Grandmother to Aubrey.

Hello Willie, how are you? Well I hope. I am mighty doty. I was sorry to hear that you was so tired. I have got my wheat cut and stacked. I have got one 100 and 48 shocks. I wanted to come Sunday before last, but it was not so I could come and yestaday I went to see Adrian Hurndon [Herndon] buried. You must come soon and dont wait for me. From your mother to Willie. By by.

Hello Sue, how are you getting on? Well I hope. I am getting on veary well now. I have bin to Whitmill [Whitmell] this week. I was veary glad to see my old friends one more time. I am coming down on a spree to see you all before long. I have sold 19 chickens and I have a yeard full left. Well my garden is veary common. I have a veary nice lot of sweet potato slips ready for sitting out now. Well you must come seal soon and rite soon. From DG to Sue.

Hello Willie, how are you? I am not no better. The doctor was here yestday, but I am about like I was when you was hear. You all must come soon, from Mamma to Willie. [Postmarked June 29, 1909, in Dry Fork, VA. Addressed to Mr. W. T. Pruett, Chatham, VA, in care of J D Mitchell.

Hello Nina, how are you? Well I hope. I can make out to holler at the hawk yet. I have 36 little chickens and the hawks has got 11 for me. You must make some of them come and bring you to see me. Dont wate days and weeks and months before you come. Tell all of them to come. I am coming if the time ever comes. From your Grandmother to Nina.

Hello Aubrey, how are you by this time? I hope that it dent make you sick coming up hear the other Sunday. Also hope that it dent give you a bad cold. You must come and see me again soon from Grandmother.

 Hello Aubrey, how are you? Tell Dady he ought to bring you up to the picnic. I told Uncle Willie he must come and bring some of you, but I guess he will be at work. Well come real soon, write soon. From Grandmother.

Hello Aubrey. I hope you are well. I hope the Jack Frost will not get you while you are curing tobacco. You must come up here before the weather get cold and bad. You must come so I can talk to you I had rather talk to you then to write. You all come and write soon, from Grandmother.

Hello Aubrey, I hope you are well. I am not well. Here is some rabbs [rabbits] for you. Thay are all that I have to send you [the card design is Easter Bunny themed]. Well you must make them bring you up here soon. I have a few little chickens now, but I think thay will cry their self to death. Come and write soon. From Grandmother.

Hello Aubrey, how are you? Hope you are well and gaily. I dont feel vary well. I was sick last night and never slept any. You must come real soon. I wish you would come and stay with me and keep the hawks away. Thay have about got all my chickens and I am almost crasy. Well you all must come soon and write soon. From grandmother.

Hello Aubrey, how are you? I am sick this morning, but I am setting up. I am afraid that I will get like I was the other summer. Well I wish I had you and Nina up hear to stay with me when thay are off at work. Cassie Stayed with me last week. Well I dont get any milk yet. You all must come and write soon. Good bye from Grandmother.

Hello Nina, how are you? I am as well as common. I look for you yestday. I stayed here by my self yestday for the rest to go to preaching and it look like you might have come and stayed with me. Tell mother she must come and bring you and the baby real soon. Tell Uncle Willie he must bring you and Aunt Sue to see me and tell him not to be long about it. Well I have no news to write so I will stop for this time. You all must come soon, write soon. From Grandmother, by by.

Hello Aubrey, I hope you are well. I hope you can help Daddy cure tobacco and help him catch horn worms, but dont let the worms toat you off. Thare is so many worms up hear I am afrad to travle about. Well one of my cats is dead. Cassey is all the cat I have now. Well you must come tell all the rest to come. From Grandmother

Hello Aubrey, how are you? Well I hope. I dont feel well this morning. Say, if you have got large anough to go to town and drive the horse, you can come up here and see me. I have got two chickens this morning. Well I have no news to write, only thay are looking for Robert Giles to die. His father is at his bed side. Come soon and write soon. From Grandmother.