Lenawee County Michigan Knapp Family Letter

Chicago May 7th, 99 (year date is possibly wrong, very hard to read)

Dear Brother,

I write A few lines to you hoping they will find A welcome and be accepted as from A brother that feels near and dear to you all I left you all unexpectedly again but I hope you will not disown me I would like to come and see you all and I will next fall if I live and shall expect to be wellcomed by you all you have always treated me as A brother all of you and know how to sympatise for me for god knows that I love you all Father Brothers and Sisters and always tried to love my wife and I done every thing that I could do for her comfort

still she seemed dissatisfied with me and I put up with it all as long as I could until she told me she never would wash my shirts for me Again and I thought to kep her promise good I would go where I could get my washing done and live in peace

if I had my children with me I would ask no more for this world for they are as dear to me as my own life and I live in hope that she will give them up to me as to my wife she cannot say that I have misused her and speak the truth for it was always my delight to please her and to make her hapy. and also her brothers and sisters and all of her friends and connescions (very hard to read)

not with standing my love and kindness towards her and my children which I always delighted to please and which I love as dear as my own life and still love although she has caused my ruin and degraded me and been the cause of all my misconduct my caracter is undobtably ruined for that place I shall lay up nothing against my wife myself and hope you will all treat her well welcome her under your roofs

I am willing to forgive her and wish her well and she shall never suffer if I can earn money enough to support her I shall pay her way if it is in my power I will go and see her in the fall and try to get the boys if she is willing to give them if not I will give her money to school the boys and clothes it is of no use of Lucinda and me to try to live together and never as long as I live will I marry another woman I will spend the rest of my life in singleness and enjoy my self as well as I can

I am well and hope that these lines may find you the same will you except (accept ? hard to read) this as from an affectionate Brother and beg A forgiveness of you all father brothers and sisters and want you to write to me imediately write to Chicago, 229 two hundred and twenty nine Randolph Street you will find one half bbl (?) of fishin the Express office of my own catching for you the charges paid divid them with all Father must have the big trout you must scald the brine on them and put it on them cool if you write in time for your letter to get here it ???(cannot read) week I will get it I will leave here next monday give my respects to all tell me all about my family and their situation

from your Brother
Abm Knapp Jr.

I could not stop reading this one, I typed as close as possible to the original, the handwriting was sometimes very hard to read, even after trying several times.

Thank you Carol. This is very touching.
I copied this just the way Carol sent it to me, with the exception of removing one word that was written twice in a row. The spelling and lack of punctuation, I left as Carol wrote believing this is how she found the original written. The one exception is that this was all in one paragraph. I broke it up simply to make it easier to read.  

The italicized parts are Carol's comments.