A Letter from Kit

A letter from Kit

By: Andrew Speelman

Period 4 11/15/13

Dear Walter Perkins,

Hi….  How are you, and how’s the neighborhood since I left?  My journey to Connecticut was long and hard but I’m glad I'm finally here.  When I got here it was hard to adjust, everything is so different.  I'm learning how everything works here, and what is expected.  I’m still trying to fit in, and feel kind of alone sometimes.  Mercy or Aunt Rachel always help me get through the rough times.  I just found out why my Uncle Matthew is always so angry, he wishes there was a boy to help him out at work.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a boy in the family any more, he did have two boys but they both died at young ages.

  All the work I do here is kind of the same, I work in the fields plus do the housework.  We all have to pitch in and help, and there is a lot of work to be done. There is only one man in the house and that’s Uncle Matthew so, we all have to work really hard to get everything done. My new life here is very different from my old life back in Barbados.  Now I have to work to get things instead of just asking my slaves of nurse maid.  Do you still use slaves and nurse maids?  What are you up to now in Barbados? I felt bad when I disobeyed Uncle Matthew; we were all supposed to be working and instead all the girls were trying on dresses.  When Uncle Matthew walked in, he was very upset  and Aunt Rachel took the blame so, we would not get in trouble.

  I've met a lot of new people here and learned a lot about them too. Some people I’ve met on my trip are John Holbrook, Captain Eaton, Mistress Eaton, Nat the Captain's son and more. I’ve heard stories about others like Hannah Tupper,  she lives by herself with some cats by Blackbird Pond. Everyone is saying she is a witch because every year the house floods and she disappears.  When all the water is gone she comes back and cleans the house.  It’s kind of weird because she refuses to move somewhere else and when she disappears no one knows where she goes to.

  Like I said before I feel very alone,  and think I’ll always be the outsider.  When I first got here my cousins and Aunt Rachel were happy to see me, since we had never met.  Uncle matthew definately wasn’t too happy about me moving in.  I was mortified and very uncomfortable. To him, I am just another mouth to feed and someone else to be cared for.  On Sundays, we go to Church meetings that’s where I met William Ashby there. Later that day, William asked Uncle Matthew if he could call on me. William is nice and very rich.   His dad gave him tons of land so, he could  build his own house when he was ready.  We spent a lot of time together but, talk very little, and now William want to build a life with me. Uncle Mathew is deciding if William is the right person for me to marry.  I think I want to marry him.

 The most important people in my life are my cousins, Mercy and Judith, and my Aunt Rachel Uncle Matthew.  They all help me so much when I'm sad.  Sometimes I get in trouble with Uncle Matthew but,  my Aunt Rachel always makes things better.  Uncle Matthew is very protective, sometime to protective I think but, I guess that means he cares, which is a good thing.

 I miss my life back in Barbados but, feel like I'm starting to get use to my new life and think that I like living here.  One thing is for sure, I’m very lucky to have such a great family. I still miss my mother and grandfather  a lot but, hope they’re proud of how I handled things and the person I’ve become. I look forward to hearing back from you.

MIss you lots,

Kit