(To see all of the letters click the “Ada’s Love Letters” link in the upper left column on the page on the categories list.)

When we last left off with William and Ada it was 1873 and he was writing how he hoped she would want to marry him and not “get out of the notion.”  William mentioned that the next winter would be better than all, hinting they would be able to spend it together instead of writing letters to each other.

They must have been together, because there is a gap in the letters.  This letter is from 1876 and from the way William is writing it seems as if they’ve grown closer to each other.  He speaks of their time together last winter.

Peaches are good

Apples are better

If you like me

Write a letter.

-Will

Russell Station Ohio

Feb 7 1876

My Dear Ada,

I am at home again and have my health and I am determined to write you a letter tonight.  We had company this evening and they just left.  So it will make me rather late untill I get through with this letter, but I don’t mind that.

A week ago tonight I was with you at this time but tonight I am far away from you and will have to write instead of talking to you.

I can’t enjoy myself so well in writing to you as I can when I am with you.  I wish I was with you tonight again.  I think I would enjoy myself better than I did Saturday night.  I wish I could see you as often as I did last winter.  Then I could enjoy myself, but this wishing will not do any good so I might as well quit.

I might go down and see you oftener if I just would think so, but then if I will have to wait four years yet it will take many a time don’t you think so?  It did not take me very long to come home last Monday, or to Hillsboro I mean.  I think I’m at home when I get there.  I did not come home until way after night.

I stopped in Hillsboro awhile and when I got out to Houghland it was just about time for meeting to commence so I stopped there and did not come home until after meeting.  Did you go to meeting that night?

They all went to bed now and no body up but myself and I am going to stay up until I get this letter finished.  What was it about that letter Ada that you got to talking about when I told you what Dane Pene told me?  I was going to ask you about that and forgot it.  I often think about them letters that you wrote and did not send.  I think you might let me see them but of course you know best about that.  This now fuels me in the mind of last winter when you and I used to sleigh ride.  I took a little sleigh ride today.  I thought about you then, how you used to sit in the trough and talk.  I can almost see you yet.

I will close for the present.  It is getting on towards yours bed time now, twelve o’ clock.  I hope you will write soon as you get this Ada.  I would like to hear from you so well.

Your Will

Remember oh remember.

The day when first we met,

When we were perfect strangers,

That day I’ll never forget.

I thought it might be time to share another letter from William to his beloved Ada.  (You can see all of the letters here, just scroll to the bottom to find the first one.)

This is the last letter Ada saved from him for quite a while.  The next letter is dated 1876.  There’s no record of what passed during those years between 1873 and 1876, but by the next letter you can tell a lot has changed between them.

This letter is kind of funny.  William hopes Ada won’t “get out of the notion” of wanting to marry him, and once again he laments that he hasn’t gotten another letter from her.  (We are so spoiled in the age of cell phones, and text messages, and instant communication!)

Russell Station Ohio
Saturday Nov 15th 1873

Ada

I guess you want care much if I write an other letter before I get an answer from you.  Maybe I will not get one for a week or so yet but I hope I will get one soon.

Well Ada, John told me that they have got the word down where he teaches that we are married.  I don’t know anything about it do you?  I guess they thought we were to be married this fall and it is getting late now and they just imagined that we are married.  Well I would not care if we were.  It would be so nice Ada to have you with me all the time.  But the time is coming Ada when I can have you with me if you don’t get out of the notion.  You must not get out of the notion Ada.  I’m sure I won’t.  No body could persuade me to get out of the notion by no means and I don’t think you will get out of the notion Ada.

Two weeks ago to day I went to see you.  I wish I could be with you to night again.  I would be if you lived in Danville yet.  We had some good times last winter but this winter we will not be together so much and will have to make our good times in writing letters this winter, but next winter will be better than all don’t you think Ada?  Jane Penee & Anda are not married yet.

I got home all right that Sunday evening.  It did not rain as much as I thought it would when I left you.  Supper was just over when I got home.  Father asked me how all the folks were in Petersburg when I come home.  I told him they were all well.

Have you learned that song yet?  But I guess you can’t do much with it unless you had the music.  I wish you could sing it, it’s so nice I think.  The tune is so nice.  I’m going to send for the answer to it before long called Birdie Go Tell Him I’m Coming.  I will copy it off and send it to you when I get it.

Well Ada I guess I close for this time and wait until I get an answer from you.  I believe I have told you all the news.  I don’t think I have forgot any this time.  I would like to tell you but I can’t do it well as I can talk at it, that is all, but you know that I love you and if I have your love I’m all right, and I don’t doubt that Ada for I believe what you say.

Goodnight,

From your Will, to Ada

I’ve tried to look up Birde Go Tell Him I’m Coming, and I can only find one solitary search hit on google.  It’s this link to purchase a waltz for $25 in the amazon.com used book section.  It has no picture and no further information past the title and date.  How strange that there would be no record of this anywhere else on the internet!  I’m so curious, but I don’t have $25 to buy it.  If anyone has any further info on this song then please do share!

I often try to imagine what life would have been like a hundred years ago, when a distance of 10 miles was a long journey.  What was it like to not be able to just pick up the phone and call someone, or drive right over to their house?  Not knowing if they are sick or happy or sad, or if they are even thinking of you as much as you are thinking of them.

It reminds me of a soldier away at war in our modern day, except obviously a soldier at war comes with a much higher risk.

I think William was distressed over the distance between himself and Ada.  I imagine what would happen if I could go back in time and explain iPhones to them.  No worries, you can just hit the Face Time button and not only hear each other, but see each other too.  That would probably have blown their 1870′s Quaker minds.

William is wishing for a letter from Ada, yet again, poor man.  This letter had an additional letter on the same paper, so I’ve included them both typed out below.

(First page upside down so you can see the flipped text at the bottom.)

Russell Station Ohio
Oct 26th 1873

Dear Ada,

I feel lonesome this morning.  I have not heard from you since I was down.  I don’t know what is the reason, but I don’t think it can be any fault of yourn.  It was a week since I wrote you a letter and no answer yet.  I am not satisfied this way, so I write you an other one.  It’s something strange to me that it’s so long before I got an answer from you here of late.  It never was this way before.  I would just as soon not write at all if not little sooner as to write and then not get an answer until I want to go down again and then I have to go and get it just before I start if I want one before I do go.  I am just about half mad but not at you dear Ada.  Bless me I don’t want to get mad at you but because I can’t get any news from you.  But maybe I will get a letter soon.  I do hope I will.

If I hear from you between this and next Saturday I will come down on Saturday and if not on Saturday I will come on Sunday morning.  The reason I don’t want to come before I hear from you is because I don’t know whether you are at home or not.  You were talking about going away when I was down.  I don’t know now whether you went or not.  If you write a letter this week after you get this address it to Hillsboro. I will get it then on Saturday if it want take it a week to get there or this one that long before you get it.  If I [don't] get a letter this week from you I will come down any how if I think you are at home.

I hope things will come out all right so I Can come on next Saturday.  I would like to see you again.

Good bye,

From your Will

Monday 27

One year ago to day I was with you in Danville.  The season I remember so well.  Thomas Anda & me walked over to meeting that day and it was my birthday.  I did not think about it once that day.  This is my birthday again.  I had a dream about you last night.  I went down to see you and I did see you in my dream.  I dreamt of getting a letter from you last night also.  That is a pretty good sign I will get one to day.  I hope I will.

Yours forever

Will, to my dear Ada.

(To read the letters in order click here, then start at the very bottom of the page.)

(To see all of the letters and related posts click on “Ada’s Love Letters” over there in the left column.)

From all of my recent family tree research I learned that in 1873 at the time of these first letters Ada was 21 years old and William was 23 years old.  According to some brief Google searching the average age of marriage for Quaker couples during this time period was around age 25, so it looks like Ada and William were right on target. He mentions having to wait four long years to get married–I  wonder what exactly they were waiting for.  Guess we’ll never find out, unless it was for Ada to turn 24 years old for some reason.  Tradition maybe?

In my family tree research I found out that Ada is the 24 great-granddaughter of the viking king of Denmark, King Svend.  (See previous post!)  I’m still on a geek high.  This is the coolest thing I’ve ever discovered.

Ada is only her nickname.  Her official name is…brace yourselves…

Atlanta Hortense Johnson.

Her name has to have some kind of meaning, I can’t imagine why her parents would choose such a name out of the blue.  Her parents were average named people–Silas and Ann.  Her siblings all had regular names too, and then…Atlanta Hortense.  Eeek!

Here is William’s second letter to Miss Ada.

Russell Station Ohio
June 16th 1873

Miss Johnson,

I will try and write you a few lines today to let you know that I am well hoping this will find you enjoying the same blessing.

I started to write you a letter yesterday and got it about half don then I had to quit in order to get on the train in time to go to Hillsboro.  I wished I could have finished it for I saw Jesse in town.  I could have send it with him so handdy.  I suppose you would have it by this time now if I had.  I did not expect to see him there though or I would have had one written.

Well Ada I don’t know when I will be down again.  I don’t think though that I can come in this month for we have to be so busy at our corn the rest of this month and part of next I suppose, but I will not make any calculations to come until the first of next month.  I hope Maggie will be well till then so we can have a better time.  I would like to go to Jesse’s when I come again.

Well I guess I had better close for I can’t write what I want to and I don’t like to write when there is anything in the way that keeps me from enjoying what I do say. I could not write you a loving letter now and enjoy it like I use to, but I hope it will be better before long so i will close for the present. Hoping to hear from you soon.

Your best friend

Wm Wilikin

I wonder what was stopping William from writing the loving letter he wanted to write?  Maybe he wasn’t alone.  There were nine people living in his house in 1870 according to the census.  I imagine alone time was hard to come by, and I’m sure his brothers and sisters were curious about his letter writing habits.

In 1870 Ada had five people living in her house.  Her parents and her two sisters, one of which was named Maggie as mentioned in the letter.  Maggie was about four years younger than Ada.  Her other sister was several years older, so maybe she had moved out by 1873.

I’ll post letters #3 and #4 soon!

The love letters between William and Ada have prompted me to peer into that branch of the family tree a bit more.

I decided to do the ancestry.com 14 day free trial last night to see if there was any new info on there.  I have some basic info about that part of my family, but not a lot of details.

Well, as it turns out I stayed up most of the night finding out all kinds of cool things about Ada’s family.  Most of my family tree branches go back to somewhere in the 1700′s.  William Wilkin’s family line all comes from Germany.  It was like a bunch of Germans came to New Jersey, met up and got married, and moved to Highland County, Ohio and then continued marrying each other.  So, William…German.

Ada on the other hand…wow.  Ancestry.com is so neat–it has every record linked up so when you enter a name it automatically puts information right at your finger tips.  All you have to do is click and discover.

I followed Ada’s family line all the way back to Gloucestershire, England.  Apparently my ancestors were the Berkeleys, of Berkeley Castle.  Their names are things like “Sir Thomas The Observer Berkeley” and “Maurice The Magnanimous Berkeley” and apparently they were important historical figures.  How cool is this?

I had a major geek out moment…I’m still having it, actually.

Since they were important people there are all kinds of stories and records and paintings.  There are pictures of their burial places.  The family records exist back to the year 900-something.  Holy crap!

Their castle still exists today.
New life goal: Visit Berkeley Castle.  Check out the website!

Ada was harboring all kinds of interesting things in her family heritage.  I’m so amazed that these are my direct relations and I’ve never heard a thing about it until now.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get anymore interesting…it got more interesting.  I kept following the family history of the Berkeleys back farther, just curious exactly how far back in history these records would go.  Know what I found?

Vikings!

No shit.  My 28 times great-grandfather was King Svend Ulfsson of Denmark.  He’s said to be one of the last of the great Nordic Vikings.

Brain explode!  (I only know he was my 28 times great grandfather because ancestry.com actually calculates your relation to each person once you put the info in your family tree.)

According to a study of his skeleton he was tall and walked with a limp.  I prefer to imagine him like Eric from True Blood.

I can read all about his history, see the coins he had minted, read about his battles.  I can’t even explain how exciting this is, or even why reading about my dead ancestors is so exciting in the first place…but it is.  It really, really is.

My 27 times great grandfather, the King’s son, was named The Staller Eadmon.  Somehow The Staller battled his way over to England, where he spread his seed and ended up creating that famous Berkeley line of ancestors.  The Berkeley ancestors eventually had a son who decided to leave England, and he sailed into New Jersey.  Then his children got married and moved to Highland County, Ohio…and soon there after Ada and William met each other and started writing their letters.

Here’s my 17th great grandfather The Third Earl Sir James de Berkeley.  He lived from 1355-1405.

This is my 10th great grandmother Isabella Berkeley who lived from 1631-1664.  She wasn’t much older than me when she died.

Her grandson Philip came to America.

I wish I could afford an ancestry.com membership.  Too bad it’s rather expensive.
What happens to your family tree info once you cancel the free trial?  I’m sad it will probably disappear.  I can’t imagine trying to write all of this info down somehow, but I don’t want to lose it.

I’ve been expecting some very special old family letters that my cousin said he would send me.  They were in my mailbox when we got home from the zoo!!

I’m kind of confused now as to who is what in my family tree.  The love letters are between Ada H. Johnson and William Wilkin.  I recognize both names from our family tree, but I don’t know exactly who is who.  I have a lot of information in a file folder at my parents’ house.  I must check it as soon as possible!  Wilkin is my great-grandma’s maiden name, the great-grandma named Rosie.

So, until I figure out who is who on the family tree I guess we won’t know the ending to these letters.  Do they get actually manage to get married in the end?  Suspense!

I can tell you that William and Ada were Quakers. They met Sunday meeting, but after a short while Ada’s family moved across the county.  I wish I knew how old they were when writing these letters, I will try to figure that out.  For some reason they had to wait four years to get married.  The first letter is in 1873 and the last letter is in 1876 and they are talking of planning a marriage date at the end.

I have the first letter ready to share with you.  I have to warn you, William is not the best writer and he’s kind of redundant.  He even apologizes for it in some of the letters!  I really enjoyed reading these letters, all the same.

I have 12 letters.  Two don’t have dates, the rest I’ll post in chronological order.  Some letters are missing…in one letter he references a previous letter, assuring Ada that he burned it with a candle since it was meant only for his eyes…!  All of the letters I have are from William to Ada. There aren’t any letters from Ada, so we’re left to imagine what she may have written.

This is a map of the places mentioned in the letters.

William lived in Russell Station.  Fairview is the location of the post office where he went to check for new letters from Ada.  Hillsboro is the central town where William also had family he visited.  New Petersburgh is where Ada lived.

Funny how the distance from Russell Station to New Petersburgh was such a long way in 1873, it kept two lovers apart.  Today it’s probably a 15 minute drive, maybe less!

Here is the first letter.  I typed out the letter below so that you can read it easier.

Russell Station Ohio
April 27th 1873

Miss Johnson,

I feel as though I aught to see you to day.  I am used to seeing you every Sunday, or did when you was in Danville.
(My sister Mary from Blanchester is here, she was trying to see what I was writing just now and made me make a mistake.)  I wish you was in Danville to day.  I think I would be there too this morning.  I expect Andy is there now.  I forgot to tell you in my other letter whether he ment to see Mary or not, but I think he was there last night.  That was his time, anyhow.

I guess I will go down to Hoghland’s to meeting to day.  I have not been there for so long, they want know me if I don’t soon go.

Well Ada, I feel lonesome this morning.  I wish I had another letter from you.  I would be so glad to hear from you again, but I look for another letter.  Before long I think I will come down in about two weeks.  The 10th of May if I can and if it will be convenient for you to be at home.  I can’t stay away much longer.

Ada you don’t know how well I would like to see you.  Ever of thee I am fondly dreaming. Yes I may go where e’er I will, I cannot help but think about you. I often think about what has past since I went to see you.  I always enjoyed myself so well when I was with you.  It don my heart good to be with you or to see you, for you looked so charming and pleasing and always bin so kind to me, how could I help but love you after all this and a great many more things.  Besides, my dear Ada, I do love you sincerely.  I love to think about you and better than all I love to be with you and talk with you.  I must come and see you before long and I will if I can.

I expect you won’t look for two letters to your one, but I wanted you to know when I was coming down so you could write one and answer in time.  You need not be afraid to write any thing you want to say for nobody want get to see my letters.

I will have to quit for this time.  It’s about meeting time.  I want to get there before taking up hat time if I can, so I will close hoping to hear from you soon.

Truly yours,

William