Letter. Asbjørn to Anders ROE (27 Aug 1886). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.
Dear Son Anders and family, God's grace and peace.
A long time is now gone by since we have heard from you as you from us, so I will then try to send you some word about how we live and say that God's mercy is excessively great over us and especially me in that I may keep my health as also my housefolk. But an intense and long lasting drought we have had this summer in connection with intense heat. The thermometer has varied around 90 degrees the greatest part of the time. Big fires have raged in west and north and east of us for several weeks so we became almost choked _____ of the smoky settlement. _____ ignited 4 times in the town but it was fortunately put out so there was no substantial damage caused.
With regard to the year's crop then, so it hopeless a time, but God who bears all things by his powerful Word sustained the plant life through the drought so it became about half crop of everything except the winter wheat, it yielded over 20 bushel per acre. We had 5 acre and got over 100 b. Of spring wheat 68 b. so we get good living. The quality is good. Of _____ hay about the half of corn and potatoes likewise, namely satisfactory. I have recently gotten a letter from Ole Arvold in Roche a Kri who _____ that the settlement was quite besieged by forest fire _____ mentions he not if any damage in the settlement but that all their hay by the Wisconsin River got washed away. The last month we got rain so the soil is now thoroughly soaked so we hope on little after haying on clover.
Health conditions have been tolerably good in our surroundings. Anders Grøthe's wife has been and is still sickly of nerves and mental illness. Deceased are not many. Halvor Rolevsen is recently dead and before the harvest I followed old Hofmand to the grave. An unknown person was killed by a car near Amherst.
And now I would also like to tell you my dear son and your other siblings there that they above all not forget the soul's salvation but pray God the Holy Ghost, who can convict you of sin's greatness and its merited punishment and _____ and grace's greatness in Christ which goes far over all the world's sin. Diligently consider God's holy word. This is the instructor when the Holy Ghost for? salve our eyes with the right eye salve so we can see into God's loving Father heart, there will so gladly receive all lost sons and daughters; He wants no sinners death but that all should be converted and live. _____ to that end has Jesus by His death _____ all access to the Father's heart.
And now my dear Anders I send this letter to you for the purpose that you can give me information about how Knud has stood it this summer and how your sisters have it. Dear, write back soon. You can believe that I, your old father remembers you daily in my prayers to God, that it must go you well both for time and eternity. I myself stand as on the grave's edge and wait for relief from this life and when God has given me a living hope to go saved out of this evil world which thinks to rush on its last dregs so it is my highest wish to see my own flesh and blood also saved. To close to family and siblings loving greeting from us all here and last from me your old father.
Asbjørn H. Raae
Amherst 27 August 1886
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