Letters from Simon
A True Story of Love
by
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My Dearest Nora;
In feebly attempting to appeal to yours, the purest and dearest of all affection and devotion to my very inmost being, -my sore and wounded heart, I feel a sense of little joy mingled with great sorrow and doubt.
Joy because it has always been a source of perfect delight to write to you. Because the few letters that I have recvd from you, have been so well composed, so interesting, so attractive, so dear!
Alas! except the last one, which has so heavily burdened my heart that interest and attraction for all things have vanished from me. My fondest anticipations, my greatest pleasures and enjoyments. The object of my sincerest, my only affection and never-ceasing love, all disappear from my sight like the sparkling dewdrops which fall and nourish Nature’s verdure for a few hours and then are secretly and silently wafted forever.
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About the Book
We never knew our grandparents on our mother’s side. Simon (a.k.a. Jack) and Rebecca (a.k.a. Lessie, Nora) both passed away while our mother was still a young girl. However, after our mother’s passing, we discovered that she had been holding on to scores of love letters her father had written her mother during a long courtship. Clearly, letters are missing, and she only had a couple of letters Lessie had written to Simon, but these letters have allowed us, if only on a small scale, to learn something of their character. It is a fascinating peek into the challenges, hardships, family dynamics, and faith of one South Georgia couple living in poverty.
Simon and Rebecca’s grandkids
About the Author
Simon Peterson was born in Douglas, Georgia in 1888 and died 1936 of pneumonia. He was married to Lessie Rebecca Carelock and the couple made their home in South Georgia. The couple had one daughter, Juan Jose Peterson, who was left to the care of an aunt at age 12 following the untimely death of her mother and father. Juan preserved the letters Simon had written to Lessie during their long and arduous courtship. Her grandkids discovered the letters in 2011 following her death.