On March 21, 1900 Maaike Dirks van der Wagen, wife of Jan Tietes Fennema, wrote a letter to her brother-in-law Gerrit Tietes Fennema and his family. A copy of this letter is archived at the Heritage Hall of Calvin College Archives in Grand Rapids, MI.
The letter is very hard to read due to old spelling in combination with poor handwriting. Quite a lot of words and various sentences are simply illegible for which reason the letter is not quoted literally but instead a summary was made.
As mentinoned, the letter was addressed to Gerrit Tietes Fennema and his family. They are said to have emigrated in 1881 to the U.S.A. and settled in Michigan. Maaike kept them posted on what had been going on in Hallum. The day before, March 20, 1900 they received a letter from Gerrit. Apparently they had been waiting for it a long time:

We have read your letter with joy and in good health and we are very pleased to learn that you are all in good health too.

Jan & Maaike and family had good reasons to be glad that they were in good health:

Today the death-bell is clanging again, the earth has opened its mouth again and the deceased will be put in it. This time for a man you will still know. It is Arjen Dijkstra who used to work as a laborer for Johannes Boersma. He died of pneumonia in seven days while it was only some time ago that his daughter’s husband died of the same disease.
You were asking about Johannes Boersma*. He doesn’t live anymore and passed away in September 1899 in Marssum at Metje’s home but he is buried here. He wasn’t sick, just totally worn out like what happens to a flower. Metje had her hands full with him and had to take care of him like a child. He left Metje his goods which he received from Oense, seven thousand guilders. Metje has 4 children, 2 boys and two girls and Tjalle also has two boys and a girl and is expecting another one every day.
More people died here recently. Teke ..., Albert Koopman, Hotze Tjepkema, but he hanged himself. His wife died of pneumonia. Eelze Sinnema, Meindert Zuidema’s Antje and at this moment Doeke Jippes is facing death. Gabe Hessels de Groot lost his wife. She was in hospital in Leeuwarden, common practice these days. Her mother, who was living at their home, became not well while Sybrigje was in hospital and passed away too.Sybrigje died at 12.30 pm while her mother, old Botje, was taken to her grave at 1.00 pm..

From across the ocean Gerrit Tietes Fennema apparently had asked about the Boer War in South Africa:

Yes, the newspapers write a lot about this unjust war. We have had two prayer services for them in the Christian Reformed churches in Netherlands. First when the war broke out and then again two weeks later. Every Sunday the Domenie prays for them with the congregation but we fear the worst. It is such an unjustified situation, because all it does is costing tears and sights and blood. England is so mighty and the Boers are so little in number. When we think about it, it is a sad thought all night and day. Oh, if only the Lord would grant a miraculous solution, but everything seems dark before our eyes. They have left Bloemfontijn and the English have entered there without resistance. They are collecting money for them here.
Schoolmaster van Pleysen went there last year with his family. Two sons of Gerrit Oenses, son of Take Boomsma, are there.

The letter continues by filling their relatives in on family matters:

The children of Yde and Saakje** are doing well. Aaltje has four boys and a girl and they lost one girl. Pieter has two children. Ybeltje has a boy, Freerk. Jantje married Aldert Tjepkema, son of Hotze. They don’t have any children. Tjitte neither and it doesn’t look like they will get any. Tjitte is doing well as a farmer and has 11 cows and many sheep.

The next part of the letter is almost illegible. It seems to tell about some people who had died but the names are not clear. Maaike wanders off a little and is philosophizing about death before she continues with family matters again.

We didn’t know that Ybeltje  had married again. Where did see find this husband? You sure have a lot of little ones already who call you Pake and Beppe. We wish them all blessings and prosperity.
We don’t have any married yet. Ybeltje will be 25 on May 19th; Pietertje became 23 last November; Dirkje will be 17 tomorrow, the 22nd, and on the 30th of this month Tiete (see picture) will be 14. Pietertje will stay with the same farmer. She has been there for 3 years. Dirkje will work at Korlenis Meekma and Ybeltje and Tiete are still at home. Jan gets a lot of help from Tiete. He is a slender and nice boy and gets along well with livestock, sheep and lambs.
We gained twelve lambs with thirteen sheep. One died. We also have a yearling again. For two years now the Lord has blessed us and we owe Him all the thanks and honour.

Now I will tell you something that will come as a surprise to you: Tiete Jans has lived here for 39 years, they are your parents, and Jan Tietes next May for 26 years but that is the end of it. We will move May 12. Douwe Wynia died suddenly in April last year on his way home. It appeared that he was deep in debt so everything he owned was sold. Then we hard a dreadful time from April to October..

The last page of the letter tells about the hard times which Jan & Maaike encountered but it is not quite clear what it is all about. It seems like there was big trouble in selling or buying a house and land but who owned it or was buying or selling what…? The letter tells the story but, alas, it is illegible.

Maaike ends her letter saying:

We received your letter on the 20th. Don’t wait that long next time.

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*	Johannes Tjalles Boersma (1829-1899), married to Barber Enneus Rijpma on May 15, 1862 in Oostdongeradeel.
**	Yde Pieters Talsma x Saakje Tietes Fennema. Saakje was a sister of Gerrit and Jan.

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