These letters were written to John S Haslam and his wife Mary Ann Kay Haslam. The letters were written by his cousins, the children of Jane Haslam Hardman. He was raised with them, and considered them his brothers and sisters.

Hamsterley Colliery
June 8th, 1882

Dear Brother and Sister,
We received your kind and welcome letter, and was very glad to hear from you once again, as it leaves us all very well here at present. Thank God for it. Dear Brother, we thank you very kindly for the album and about the city in which you live, and that you are so nicely situated, and that you have an acre of land to grow potatoes and vegetables, and lots of other things that you did not mention. Dear Brother, Brother Giles sent me one of your protraits, but it is so long since I saw you that I hardly know what you are like. Dear Brother, I should be very glad if you could take a trip to England once more to have a look at you. I think it would be a happy meeting, together once more. Dear Brother, I must say that you have bested me with your children. I am father to 14 children, 7 dead and 7 living, and 2 daughters married, and I am grandfather to 8 chilldren, so I think you have bested me a long way. We are writing to Brother Giles, to tell him that we received a letter from you, and we will send him your address, and tell as much about you as we possibly can. Dear Brother, we hope that you will not be long in writing to us again, and let us know how you are getting on. Dear Brother, we received the newspaper and Juvenile Instructor very kindly. So, Dear Brother, I think we must conclude with our kindest love to you all, praying that we shall meet on earth again. May we all meet in Heaven, where parting is no more, so good night from your affectionate Brother and Sister, Rodger and Emma Hardman.

Address - Hamsterley Colliery
New Row
Near Ebchester Station, County Durham

Flint Hill, No 1
New Row, Difton
November 28, 1882

Dear Brother and Sister,
We write these few lines to you, hoping to find all well, as it leaves us all the same here at present. Thank God for it. Dear Brother, we have removed from Hamsterley to Dipton, and we like the work very well, and father is still working Deputy work, and it is a six foot seam. Dear Brother, when we received your last letter you said you had a ___ cataract in your right eye, and you did not know whether you had to go through a operation or not, but we hope by this you will be alright again. Dear Brother, we hope all the family is well, and it is a blessing that we have the everlasting Gospel preached to us by Jesus Christ. There are many hundreds that never hear the word of God, nor has a Bible to read, and we ought to be thankful for all the priveleges we have to the people in Eastern countries. The last letter we had from Brother Giles they were all pretty well, and Sister Betty and all their family.

Rodger and Emma Hardman
Address - Rodger Hardman
No. 1 Flint Hill, New Row
Dipton, County of Durham

Hamsteels Colliery
September 24, 1883

Dear Brother and Sister and family all,
We write these few lines to you, hoping to find you in good health, as it leaves us all well at present. Thank God for it. Dear Brother, we were very sorry to hear of you being blind yet, but we hope that you will ___ for you can see again, and thank you very kindly for the books and newpapers you sent us, for that is a very good sermon that President Taylor got in, for it is worth reading of the book you sent, too. We were very glad to hear of your having excursion trains in your country, for we very often have them here, to all parts of the world. Dear Brother, you talked about the weather in your country being warm at present, and in the nights they are cool and pleasant, for they are just about the same at our place. Dear Brother, we cannot make it convenient at present, but we shall let you know again the spring time what we shall do. Dear Brother, we have the Latter Day Saints preaching every week at our place every week, and they preach outside, and they always have a good company to hear them, and they preach some very good sermons at our place. Dear Brother, I was very glad to hear of my cousin, Job Openshaw, living against you, for it will do me good just to see you all once more, for it is so long since we saw each other. Dear Brother, we have never heard anything about any of my brothers and sisters in Lancashire since I wrote last. I don't know what is the matter with them. So we conclude with sending our kind love to you all, hoping to hear of your seeing once more. So, no more at present.

Brother and Sister Rodger and Emma Hardman

Dear Brother, send our kind love to cousin Job Openshaw and to his wife and his family, if he has got any, and to all my relations. May God bless you all.
 

Bromley Row
Darcy Lever
Nr Bolton
Lancashire, England

Dear Brother and Sister,
It is a long time since I had a letter from you, but I suppose out of sight, out of mind. I have got all my sons and daughters married, and I am now living alone with myself only, with a grandson. Jane keeps a boot and shoe shop, and Joe keeps a provision shop, and Margaret is dead, and Alice lives close by me, and John is a colliery manager. Giles was left a widower a few years since with __ children, and he keeps bearing up poorly, and your sister Elizabeth lives at Hindley, and James and Sarah are both dead, and Roger lives up in Durham. I am getting on in years, and am plagued with the bronchitis. Hoping you and your family are all well. I remain your dear Sister,

Elizabeth Haslam
(Thomas Haslam's wife)

3095 Bridgewakes St.
Hindley nr Wigan
Lancashire, England

Mrs. Mary A. Clausing
Dear Sister,
We received your very welcome and interesting communication a few days ago, and we feel very thankful to you for your prompt reply, and for the valuable information you have imparted. We were all very sorry indeed to learn of the death of our Dear Brother, but all our lives we are in the hands of the good Father of our existence, and all our days are numbered, and the bounds of our habitations is set. And while we sorrow at the departure of our loved one, he has only gone a little before us, perhaps to await with anxiety our joining him. Would you kindly inform us if he died in full fellowship, and in hope of a resurrection with the Just. We humbly bow to the will of God, and say thy will be done. We have lost the address of Rodger, and if you could send it to us we would be very much obliged. We thank you for forwarding our address to our Dear Niece. We should like to know more about my brother's family. If you could, let us know how many are still living, and we should be glad to hear from any of them at any time, and we will answer all correspondence possible.

The wife of Thomas Haslam is dead and buried, died nearly 12 months ago. Did not hear anything about our Brother's death until we received your letter, and we feel to thank you very much. I am now getting old myself. I shall be 66 next birthday. My husband died about 4 years ago. We have 10 children living, all married but 3, and at present we are all enjoying good health, and doing moderately well. We are Methodists in religion. Hope you will continue to write to us, and we will do the same. We sincerely trust you are all and enjoying good health. There are two Mormon Elders labouring in this town, and there is a nice little branch of Saints. But there are very few Latter Day Saints left in England now. We were highly pleased to hear of my Cousin Job. Give him our love. Tell him we should like him to write, and send us one of his photos. We will send you a newspaper by this mail.

Accept of our best love, and give our kindest regards to all our relatives and acquaintances, your dear friends and kindred. I will try to send you and Job one of my photos before long.

Your loving Sister,
Elizabeth Meyers

93 Bridgewakes St.
Hindley
12 February 1891

Dear Sister,
Yours came duly to hand, and I was very glad to hear from you. I am also very thankful for the photo you enclosed, and as you have sent one, I am anxious to have one or two of my nieces' photos, if it is not too much trouble for you to get them taken. I enclose two with this, my 5th daughter and her husband. I have altogether ten sons and daughters, 7 of whom are married and 3 at home with me, 1 son and 2 daughters, and myself a widow, but we are all together except the one whose photo this is, and she is only some 12 or 13 miles away. We have had a very severe winter here, hard frost, plenty of snow, and all that may be said to comprise a winter. I have been very ill now for some three months, and am very bad yet, but as soon as I possibly can, I will get out and get my photo and send it you on. I shall have to make a journey of three miles in order to have it taken, so you must wait patiently until I am well. Hoping that you are all well, and that God may continue to bless you with health, and wish all spiritual blessings that we may meet on the Eternal Shore.
I am your affectionate Sister,

Elizabeth Meyers

Mrs. Clausing.