In 1910, Matthew and his family moved to the United States. From what my dad has told me, they stopped in Canada first, because they had family there. Then they settled in Marshall, Michigan. I don't know the exact date they left England, but I can tell you it was in the early part of the year. The next letter I will be posting is the first letter I have written by Amy Nelson. Her hand writing is very difficult for me to read, so my transcription will probably have a lot of "..." in it.
I'm going to spoil her letters (the second one is also by Amy) and tell you what I have figured out happens in a short amount of time.
Amy writes the address that she's writing from on her letters, whereas Matthew puts the address he's writing to.
On January 19th, 1910, the family was some place called Green Lane.
Shortly after the family arrived in Marshall, their oldest son John fell down some stairs and hit his head. He died two days later from complications from his head wound.
The doctor who examined John said he had diptheria. It is my belief that he probably fell from the stairs because his illness made him faint or dizzy, but it's possible horseplay was involved.
Once the doctor made his assessment, the family was quarantined. They were not allowed to leave their house to hold a funeral for John.
On January 21st, 1911, Amy gives birth to a daughter, Maraget.
Diptheria - Google Health
Update: I Googled Green Lane, and the only location that came up was Green Lane, PA. Although, it is possible that there was another Green Lane in Canada or somewhere else that has since been renamed. This could mean that the family actually left England in 1909. Maybe they spent Christmas in Canada? I'm not sure how safe it would have been to travel the Atlantic from November to January. Either way, I don't have any letters (as far as I know) that explain what happened. If anyone has any information (again), please feel free to put the information in the comments.
Update: I Googled Green Lane, and the only location that came up was Green Lane, PA. Although, it is possible that there was another Green Lane in Canada or somewhere else that has since been renamed. This could mean that the family actually left England in 1909. Maybe they spent Christmas in Canada? I'm not sure how safe it would have been to travel the Atlantic from November to January. Either way, I don't have any letters (as far as I know) that explain what happened. If anyone has any information (again), please feel free to put the information in the comments.
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