Dear Kinfolk,
 Here are copies of letters from the attic of Helen Augusta Wood Stage (Mrs. Albert Jackson Stage) written from 1885 to 1897. I hope you find them as fascinating as I do.
 As closely as possible I have copied the exact wording, spelling. capitalization and punctuation. Most of the writers did not use punctuation. For clarity, I have sometimes punctuated and sometimes left three spaces in instead of two between sentences. Some of the writers used capital letters indiscriminately and I have done as each writer did. Underlining has been used wherever I could not decipher the original handwriting or when I was in doubl about my interpretations. I have used script typing for the actual handwritten letters and courier print typing for my comments.
 As you read this chronicle of those late days of the nineteenth century you may find people and facts you would like to know more about. If so, write to me and I'll be glad to help you sort out who's who among our ancestors. In fact, I am "climbing the family tree" this year and hope to produce a copy of my findings for all of you who eoule like to have one.
 This is the realization of my long-time dreams - long before Alex Haley's "Roots".