A family letter more than a century old

When Linda Toner's grandparents passed away, her mother inherited a number of family items. Eventually, those mementos were passed along to family members, including a letter that is more than a century old.

The letter Toner has was written by her great-great-grandmother, RoseannPurdon. It was written to Purdon's son, Thomas,and his wife Alice. The date on it is December 12, 1898.

"The letter has no punctuation in it," Toner said. "So there's no indication really of when a sentence ends and when a new thought begins."

The letter conveys the day-to-day lifestyle at the time for the Purdon family, who were farmers, Toner said.

LISTEN TO WHAT WAS IN THAT LETTER HERE

If you have a special letter or email to share for this series, you can contact the producer at jan.lakes@cbc.ca