I was to go to my aunt Emma and uncle Edward. It came about in this way. A letter was sent telling them of the terrible wagon accident that killed Mama and Papa. They wrote at once kindly offering to care for me. Uncle Edward, who was my father’s brother, was a minister. Some years ago he and Aunt Emma traveled north to start a mission school for Indian children. Just as they would take me in and care for me, so they took in and cared for the children of the Indians. Mama and Papa always spoke kindly of Uncle Edward. “He means well,” Mama had said, “but he has a weakness. Just when something must be done, he cannot make up his mind.” “Emma makes up for him,” Papa had answered. “She is strong enough for the two of them.” It was Aunt Emma who wrote: September 3, 1839 Coldriver, Michigan My dear Lucy, Your uncle and I were greatly sorrowed to hear of the unfortunate accident that befell your dear mother and father. The Lord has gathered them into heaven. We must not question His ways.
