Letters to My Son

This book is by my Great Great Grandfather, John Bemrose, who wrote a series of letters, 60 in all to his son, Weightman, who was experiencing as we understand it today a rough time in his teenage years. So his father wrote him this series of letters, based on his own life and times in his own teenage years in England and America, during the early 1800’s, explaining about the family name, his schooling, indenture in apothecaries (Druggist) and finally his runaway via a ship to the Americas, his voyage, arrival and subsequent joining the American Army, his experiences of the those historic times in America and the wars with the Seminole Indians. My Grandmother Dorothy Pride Lee, (granddaughter of John Bemrose) with the help of a secretary retyped copies of these letters onto a stencil and ran them off on a Roneo duplicator and bound them into a book; of which one copy was given to my mother Ann French (nee Lee). Later, years go on and technology improves, our son (Stuart French) thought so much of the family book he thought that it should be printed for all to read so he scanned it and printed a copy. His mother, Rosemary did basic editing but it was decided to keep with the style of English words as written to maintain the time of the letters. John Bemrose it appears was an articulate and God fearing man of his day who maintained his diaries. It is very sad to say along with his letters their whereabouts are not known. His thoughts of the times especially his time in the American Army, the Indian Wars, his Senior Officers, Slavery, Florida and its future are well recorded in these letters. In his conclusion he writes:- And thus the copies of the 60 letters written to my Son are taken so that all or any of my other children might peruse them and, should they do this only out of curiosity, I hope that they may derive some benefit as well for, by looking steadily at the faults and mischance’s of others we must in a measure become more cautious.