Grief and Loss

Image of cemetery cards from the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Newburgh, NY.

"The hand of the Lord is still heavy upon me. Little did any of us  anticipate the painful duty which now dwells upon me. The will of the Lord be done. My dearest [lie] to earth on Sunday. Leah C. is no more." - December 9, 1849. View entire letter

These were Thomas Jessup's last words concerning the loss of his wife, Leah Catharine Deyo Jessup. By the time of Leah Catharine's death at the age of 31, she had lost both of her children. Little Tommy, of bilious fever and the infant Mary, who lived just three short months.