Amanuensis Monday - A Nine Year Old Girl writes to Hawaii in 1865

San Francisco Feb. 20^th 1865

My dear Auntie,

I was disappointed

that you did not write to me.

I think that the pictures of Lydia and

the Queen were good, I would not have

known Lydia if Helen had not

told me. I have got a good

many friends here, I will tell you

the names of some of them, Flora and

Ada Smith, Mary and Kitty

Osborn, Lillibell Rosa Blankman

How is Jennie Annie and Bernie

Parke.  Helen wants to know how

Mary Hopper is.  Give my love

to Lydia, Jhon, Willie, Sam.

Goodbye from

Annie B. Aldrich

This letter was written to Mary (Jones) Dominis in Honolulu, Hawaii from her grandniece, Annie Aldrich, who was about nine years old.  Annie was born in Hawaii, but removed with her family to San Francisco.   Annie’s mother was Elizabeth (Holt) Aldrich, the only surviving child of Mary’s sister, Ann Marie (Jones) Holt.

Annie mentions Mary’s daughter–in-law, Lydia, who's brother was King Kalakua.  I’m assuming that the Queen mentioned in the photograph must have been his wife, Queen Kapiolani.   

I love the lack of punctuation marks such as commas and question marks, and the lined stationary.  Her only misspelling is the name “Jhon”.  However, I’m very impressed with the beautiful penmanship.  I cannot use a fountain pen as well as this little girl! 

Hawaii State Archives, Queen Lili'uokalani Collections,
M-93, Box 11, Folder 93
Letter from Annie Aldrich to Mary Dominis, 20 February 1865

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo