A Woman of Independent Means (3 page)

Please know that I share your loneliness and grief every hour of the day, even though I am busy with my own family. We are looking forward to having you with us next week to share your first grandson's first Thanksgiving.

Your loving daughter,

January 10, 1911

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

 

On this date a loan of $20,000 (twenty thousand dollars) was made to Robert Randolph Steed by his wife, Elizabeth Alcott Steed. To be repaid at the rate of $1,000 (one thousand dollars) a year for twenty years.

WITNESSED BY: Annie Hoffmeyer, housekeeper
Hans Hoffmeyer, gardener

May 1, 1911
Dallas

Board of Directors
Dallas Country Club
Dallas, Texas

 

Dear Sirs:

Thank you for your prompt attention to our application for membership. Enclosed please find a check covering our initiation fee and the first month's dues.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Robert
Randolph Steed

June 10, 1911

Received of Robert Randolph Steed the sum of $1,000 (one thousand dollars). Balance due: $19,000 (nineteen thousand dollars).

WITNESSED BY: Annie Hoffmeyer
Hans Hoffmeyer

August 8, 1911
Dallas

Dear Father Steed,

I am sorry to learn of your illness, and I hope you will soon be well enough to resume your place on the school board.

Please allow us to help you and Mother Steed in any way we can. A life devoted to public service has its own rewards, I am sure, but freedom from financial worry is not one of them.

In the two years since we have been married Rob has made a substantial place for himself in the real estate profession. I know you are disappointed he did not follow in your footsteps but had he chosen the field of education, he would have always lived in the shadow of your success and now he enjoys the sunlight of his own.

I trust you are as proud of him as I am—and will tell him so when you see him.

Rob brings with him my love and heartfelt wishes for your recovery.

September 10, 1911
Dallas

Dear Heart,

How sad to be spending nights in this house without you. I am overwhelmed by its loneliness. However, I realize that your father's estate makes demands that need more immediate attention than mine.

Now that I am again so visibly with child, I am trying to abide by convention and confine my daily circuit to our property. However, it was so beautiful this morning I could not resist taking Robin out in the surrey for a drive along Rawlins Street. To my delight there was a “For Sale” sign on the corner lot we have so often admired. In your absence I felt I had no choice but to make an immediate offer. Fortunately propriety does not prevent a woman in my condition from spending money.

Hurry home, dear heart—to reclaim the legacy of my love.

Ever your
Bess

December 20, 1911
Dallas

Dearest Papa,

We are so pleased you will be spending Christmas with us and bringing Miss Bromley with you. She sounds like a lady of admirable qualities. I visited in Mineola several times as a school-girl but the only Bromleys I remember were girls my age. Perhaps your Miss Bromley is an older relative.

Your namesake is doing fine. Even at the age of six weeks he has your dignified manner. He never cries, but his very presence is a command for our total attention. His older brother does not seem the least bit jealous but treats the baby as just one more curiosity in a world which has suddenly become accessible now that he is walking.

I have been meeting almost daily with the architect who is drawing plans for our new house. Building will begin as soon as he agrees with me on the plans—early in the new year, I trust.

A kiss until I see you.

Your devoted daughter,
Bess

January 2, 1912
Dallas

Dear Mavis,

Imagine my surprise when the Miss Bromley my father was escorting turned out to be my croquet partner of so many summers ago.

Watching my father with you, I began to think of him as a contemporary—an unsettling but ultimately rewarding experience. I have never seen him in better spirits and I am convinced the credit goes to you.

I can imagine the talk your friendship is causing in towns the size of Honey Grove and Mineola. To be frank, the disparity in your ages did not go without comment even in a city as large as Dallas, but perhaps that was my fault for planning an evening at the country club. Next time you visit, I expect we would all be more comfortable dining at home.

It was a joy to see you again—and to see my father so happy in your company.

Affectionately,
Bess

January 10, 1912

Received of Robert Randolph Steed the sum of $5,000 (five thousand dollars). Balance due: $14,000 (fourteen thousand dollars).

WITNESSED BY: Annie Hoffmeyer
Hans Hoffmeyer

July 18, 1912
Dallas

Dear Mother Steed,

Our new house is nearly completed, and we hope you will share it. It is larger than the house where I spent my girlhood, but then Dallas is larger than Honey Grove so more is expected of us.

My father's marriage to Mavis Bromley has left me feeling somewhat bereft. I was still very dependent on my mother at the time of her death, and now in a strange way I feel I have lost my father too. This is no reflection on Mavis. I delight in her quick wit and unfailing good humor but there are times when I long for the advice and guidance of an older generation.