P.S.

Samuel Chew Jr. (1871-1919) wrote quite a number of letters to his father, primarily from boarding school, but also from locations abroad and during times when Samuel Chew Sr. was traveling. His letters reflect a genuine love and respect for his father and the rest of their family, while also providing an amusing perspective on the mind and occupations of a pre-teen boy of the 1880s. This letter contains one of the best post-scripts I have ever read: "P.S. I have had one misfortune in playing with fire crackers so far and that is setting a tree on fire, trying to make an opossum get out of it's hole." (July 4 [1882])



In a letter from August 23, 1881, Samuel writes very sweetly: "Dearest, I wish you lovely Roses --ect. I do not think they ever get picked ecept when Harry or Mr. Carr picks them--sometimes my eye catches on some roses and then I think how you would pick them or have them picked and then I pick some and wish you were there to help me." He then laments the condition of President Garfield: "I am sorry to say that on Saturday the President was doing quite well and yesterday he went down to gloomy, and today the case is still critticall." His post-script reads "P.S. I hope you will be careful in assending and desending mountains." His father was, at the time, traveling in Europe, and was perhaps taking in some mountain air to improve his health. Samuel Sr. was often on trips to various springs taking the healing waters.

In another letter, Samuel Jr. discusses being scolded at dinner, which caused him to leave the dinner table early. He sends his father love and signs off with the post-script "P.S. Charles shot Tim last night." No further comment.


His sense of humor makes these letters a joy to read. There are many more gems in this series of correspondence.

Chew childhood

I find it interesting that the voices of the Chews' children turn up in the collection, usually in the form of writing exercises, like the one below, or a section written on a parent's (usually a mother's) letter to a family member. These glimpses of children are formal since formality was expected in such exercises. However, they do indicate that the Chews' children were eager to please the adults around them and to communicate with loved family members, whether a father away on business or an out-of-town aunt or uncle.

Elizabeth Henrietta Philips, daughter of Henry and Sophia (Chew) Philips, wrote this exercise at the age of eight.


Incidentally, this document also illustrates the Chews' propensity for careful note-taking. The back of this exercise was re-used to make notes on shares of stock, presumably held by Sophia, and used as a wrapper for financial documents.