Dear Ad ,

Joe left with Claddie today for Richmond. Anna comes over here to stay tomorrow. They did not dare to bring Claddie over here to stay, Joe's fear of re-infection by diphtheria. But I think that was groundless alarm, as we took up our carpets and washed everything that was near the sick children.

I need scarcely tell you that our home will never be like the old home of a year ago. I really think we were one of the happiest families on earth, now we have only the memories of that happiness. Our Eastern visit caused us nothing but heartaches from first to last.

Eddie complained of not feeling well the last day on the train, while Clive¹ was really quite sick for the last two days. Still Eddie said nothing about his throat being sore until the next day after we reached home. When I looked into his throat it was nearly full of white membrane and with that peculiar odor I shall remember to my dying day. We sent immediately to town for medicine and began using them and continued their use on the children without any change to the last. Eddie was much sicker than we knew at the time, although one night I was much alarmed about him. At last after we considered him as several days on his road to recovery, he broke out from head to foot with scarlet fever. Clive, we think, had it first of all and very light. Allie had a little membrane & was sick a few days while Eddie was sick. So much time elapsed after that before Charley and Coy were taken that we thought they were not going to have it.

When Charley was taken & very sick at first, the 3rd day our medicine began to give out and Dan sent Joe for the Dr. He came and was in a great hurry to get back to a case in town. He said he thought Charley's a very bad case of tonsilitis and that he would be all right in 3 or 4 days and not to feel alarmed. I told him what I thought about its being diphtheria or scarlet fever or both. He said "no" that Charley's pulse was natural & that he had no fever. While really his pulse was low from exhaustion & his fever was all internal. He left some medicine and Dan took him back to town.

When Dan got to town he heard that a man was going to jump a ranch he had just bought, so he went to the Dr. and asked him if he thought Charley was in any danger, if not he was going to Del Norte to attend to the ranch. The Dr. said "go on he will be all right when you get home." So Dan went on & never saw Charley again alive. When the Dr. left that night, he said that...

(the rest of this letter is missing)

From the Colorado Independent December, 1882

Last Tuesday morning McCoy Newcomb, aged eight years, died of diphtherial scarlet fever, after a sickness of eighteen days. The malignant type of disease required quick burial, so the same evening, just at sun-down, after a very short service at the grave, the body of Coy was laid beside his brother Charley. just twenty four hours later, and after a short burial service at the house of Mr. Ed Newcomb, the body of Leslie Hyde was placed beside those of his two cousins. Leslie, youngest child of J.R. and Anna Hyde of Richmond, Ill., was three years, two months and twenty-eight days old. His disease was still more complex than that of Coy, as Leslie had three to fight against, diphtheria, scarlet fever and croup.

There is good reason to hope that the disease has run its course in the two households and that they will soon be in good health. As nearly as it is prudent, Rev. Gilchrist will preach a memorial discourse at the school-house. The sympathy of friends is with these mourning parents, and especially for Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Newcomb in this their double affliction.

La Jara, Colo.

July 12 87

¹ Clive -- forth born son, Clive Newcomb (1881-1893)

Letter courtesy of Peggy Newcomb Barr
This page was produced by Bob Newcomb in Brea, CA