A family has been reunited with an emotional letter penned by one of their ancestors some 130 years ago.
In a remarkable turn of events the letter ended up some 1,700 miles from where it was originally written, discovered folded up inside the pages of a Bible from 1880 that was found gathering dust in a thrift store.
Now the letter and its emotional contents are winging their way back to the writer’s family.
The advent of the digital age has made letter writing all but obsolete for a significant number of Americans. In 2021, a CBS News survey of 1,717 adults conducted by YouGov found that 37 per cent of those polled hadn’t sent a letter in the previous five years, while 15 percent had never sent one in their entire lives.
But there was a time when letters represented the primary source of communication for friends and loved ones separated by geography. They told stories and provided insight on the human condition.
That was something Marie Racine was reminded of one day in 2016.
Earlier that day she had found herself pursuing the bookshelves of a hospital auxiliary thrift store in Campbell River, British Columbia, when one book caught her eye: a bible.
“I don’t know why I was drawn to it because I’m not really religious,” Racine told Newsweek. “When I peeked inside, I could see that it was from the 1880s, and since it was on sale for the low price of $8.00 CAD, I figured why not take it home with me.”
Racine confesses she has always had a “love for antiques” with many a day spent looking for “interesting items” in second hand stores. She didn’t realize quite how interesting this particular item would prove to be though.
“When I got home, I was flipping through the pages and I found the letter tucked deep inside about 400 pages in,” she said. “At first I saw the number 94 and I thought it was written in 1994, but after seeing the penmanship and the paper it was written on, I realized it was 1894!”
Henry Harris’s penmanship was superb. However, it made deciphering the letter difficult for Marie Racine.
Marie Racine
Though she was impressed at the penmanship, Racine said it made the letter “hard to decipher.” She made out the name “H. Harris” and was able to read the letterhead, which mentioned a place called Denmark Hill. Googling it, she discovered the letter had likely been written by someone at King’s College Hospital in South-east London in the U.K. but the trail went cold from there.
“I thought the letter was neat, so I tucked it back in the Bible and put it on my bookshelf,” Racine said.
That was where it remained until a couple of days ago when a Facebook marketplace advert posted by someone selling another Bible from the 1880s got her thinking about her own discovery eight years ago.
“I decided to see if anyone on Reddit could possibly tell me more about H Harris,” she said. “Within a day, the internet did not disappoint.”
One user was able to run the letter through AI software which confirmed what had been written. The contents painted a vivid picture of one man’s struggles:
My dear Irene,
Thank you for your letter and the flowers – almost the last breath of summer. I am better but very weak and shaky. Certainly a more lasting shake than I had sixteen years ago – still I hope to run on a little longer. I quite forgot your birthday this year & have just done so in an odd moment. Was very ill then.
Tell the children I am always pleased to hear from them, am glad to hear Charlie is settled at work and trust all will go smoothly and successfully with him.
(PS I think this summer has been a friend – I have not been far, and have really been ill since the middle of July – Perhaps things will be a lot brighter soon again.) I am not writing much yet. It is one of the most inconvenient features of my illness, the difficulty of writing.
Love to Tom and all the babies”
From that, another Redditor user was able to track down more information about the author, who was identified as Henry Harris.
“He was a physician and a liberal party member who practiced in London. We found out that he was incredibly short but still very respected in the medical community,” Racine said. “He passed away of tuberculosis on April 26, 1895 not long after this letter was written. He was 57.”
Knowing that the hopes Harris held of a recovery and the idea that things will be “a lot brighter soon” made the letter bittersweet. There would be one more twist though, courtesy of Reddit.
Using the same ancestry website that they had used to find out more about Harris, the second Reddit user was able to trace his family line to his great granddaughter Lesley. She then appeared on Reddit to confirm Henry was her great grandfather.
Dr. Henry Harris’s short stature was due to a spinal condition. He became known as “the little doctor.”
Marie Racine
Racine got in touch with Lesley who provided photos of Harris. “I found out that he was known as ‘the little doctor’ with a spinal condition that made him small, he had five children, and that reading the letter made her emotional.”
Having learned everything she wanted to know about the man behind the letter, Racine decided there was only one thing left to do. ” I told Lesley that the Bible and the letter belong to her and her family. I do not want to keep something that belongs to someone who clearly should have it back,” she said.
Though Lesley offered money for the letter’s return, Racine refused, explaining she is “all about good karma.” Quite how a letter written in London ended up 4,700 miles away in Campbell River is unknown but Racine has a few ideas.
“After the Second World War, many British immigrated to Canada for a new life. Maybe one of them brought it over,” she said. “I know that many families traditionally kept important documents in their family Bible and perhaps one of his descendants moved here and brought the Bible with them.”
The 1880 Bible and a picture of Henry Harris. Marie Racine discovered the tragic results of the ill-health Harris spoke of in his letter.
Marie Racine
Whatever the case, at the time of writing it’s heading back the other way. “I wrote a small letter, tucked it inside the Bible with her great great grandfather’s letter and wrapped it up for mailing,” Racing said. “This is being returned to her as a gift from me and my heart.”
