| Descendants of Daniel Fink |
Transcription of letter from Emma A. (Johnson) Davey to Marie (Johnstone) Dominy:
(Transcriber's Notes: There were very few capital letters to begin sentences, or puntucation. These were added for clarity and meaning. Spellings or misspellings left.)
Pasadena June 29__26
Dear Marie, You were a little late writing but am so glad you could go to see your brothers and sisters. You wanted to know what nationality we are. American of course. Your maternal great grandmother & suppose your great grandfather was of the same nationality. They came from Holland not they, but their ancestors and were Revolution stock some of thim leaving their horse and plows in the field and going a way to fight one of the battles.
Your great grandmother was left a widow with seven little children the youngest only 7 days old on a farm in Ohio. She raised them all but one and gave them, for those days, a good education, raising flax and wool to make them
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clothes, weaving and dying both woll and flax. When I was twenty [Transcriber note:1870], my sister Mary and I make a visit to the old farm and saw the old log house then standing but my grandmother was living in a frame house on the same farm with her son Daniel. He had 3 daughters and one son, and what a lovely visit we had! Your great grandmother's family name was Ganter or Gunter, I think the first. Her name after marriage was Fink. The farm where we visited was in Canfield, Mahoing Co, Ohio. Your grandmother and grandfather were married in Canfield and their marriage license is, I still suppose, in the court house.
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Your great uncle George Fink was a 49er and went from Canfield to California in one of the famous covered wagons. was six months going across the time of the the great gold excitement. He never came home but allways wrote to my mother until a few years before her death. In the last letter in closed was this add I am sending you. How little he thought that after many years it would travel across the country. You were so good sending the pictures back that I will send this for you to return. He was a bactheler Johnson on your grandfather's side. Your great grandmother's name was Perry, Catherine Perry, but your great grandfather's names I am a little mixed on for one was Henry and the other
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Daniel. Both were family names and both had two sons by that name. Forgot to tell you that your great grandmother Fink's given name was Susan. Your Johnson ancestor came from England and were given much land on the Western Reserve in Ohio. They owned land in the east, out where cannot remember, but were well thought of and when coming from England were given twice as much land as the minister because they were blacksmiths and were considered more necessary in the country. If I remember the land was cow pasture. This grandmother Johnson (my grandmother) had fifteen children but land
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on the Western Reserve was not very valuable then. Have a friend in Cleveland who still owns some of the land her grandmother coming all the way from Connecticut on horseback, the saddle now in the museum in Cleveland. How I loved to listen to the stories of the setling of the new country. Think I have somewhere carefully put away a picture of the Johnson coat of arms with their history. If I find it will send it to you but did not suppose anyone would ever care for it. The Johnson family lot in Woodland Cemetry is in Section 40. If there is anything I have not told you, ask me. If you think your sister would care to read this letter, you may send it to her if she will be kind
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to consider it answer to the one she wrote me. Letter writing is hard for I know of so little to write of not because I would not like to write to her and I would love to get a from her. But please send her my add. Not long ago I gave away a family bible that had been in the Davey family 150 years with the dates of their births and deaths. They brought it from England. Allie was the only heir, and she would not have it. Like myself could not lift it around and no room for it in our little houses. Gave it to a friend who was so kind when I had the broken limb. He had a large collection of interesting things said he would rather have that than a farm. It was a very interesting thing, illustrated with wood cuts
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but to heavy for a woman to lift. They can afford
a room and cases for these things. Keep your letter. Some day you may
want to refer to it. It has no money value for there is none in the
family unless your side is the lucky posessors. With much love am as
ever your aunt,
Emma
with much love, believe this is the day of the
birthday dinner. I wish I were there. Keeping house for one is not
very interesting.