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H bMS Am 1118.95, Box 9

Susan gave birth to her first child, Ned, in 1861, and "Aunt Abby" was apparently in Amherst in the summer to attend the birth. An entry in Jay Leyda's The Years and Hours of Emily Dickinson quotes the following letter by Samuel Bowles to Austin Dickinson on June 6, 1861:

'Aunt Abbe' was around last night, & awaits call [to Susan Dickinson's lying-in]. She has left a former place to be in readiness. I will leave word before I go with Mr Bryan where she can be found, & with directions to him to speed any message you may send, while we are absent... Peace, & Joy & Hope & Faith be with you all. (2:29)