A Love Letter to Dr. Lauderdale

A letter and envelope once intended for Dr. Edward Lauderdale is now in the historical files of the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.

Here is a transcription of the letter:

Gretna Green

My Dear Sir,

I sigh for thee, I sigh for thee,

And oh you may depend on me –

I’ll weep for thee, I’ll die for thee;

And that will be the end of me.

Long has this tender feeling dissolved my heart. Long have I sighed to call thee mine – can tears avail? Our ingon patch is broad and long – Can sweetness touch thy heart? Our lasses tub is deep and full -Have soft petitions power to move? Come to the mush pot on our stove.

And if with these I now can charm thee,

Come quickly with thy love to arm me –

That I may conquer every foe,

And call thee mine, while winds do blow.

Molly Sweet

Though Dr. Lauderdale never married, it appears that long ago a young lady was quite fond of him. The letter was from someone who called herself Molly Sweet, from Gretna Green. Learning more about Gretna Green and its symbolism, we have to wonder if there was a cryptic message that goes deeper than a simple love letter: the original Gretna Green is a location in Scotland along the border with England, where English couples would go to get secretly married to avoid certain restrictions in England (e.g., age limits, parental consent). "Gretna Green" eventually became adopted as a slang term for any location that allowed marriages for non-residents. Of course, "Molly Sweet" (if that was her real name) could have been writing from Scotland, but is that likely? We actually do not know if the letter was ever delivered, or what Molly's true motives were. 

Dr. Edward Lauderdale was a physician who became noted for caring for Sandusky patients who were stricken with cholera during the epidemic of 1849. Dr. Lauderdale’s office was in the old Post Office. In 1850 Dr. Lauderdale moved to Detroit, Michigan, and served as Detroit’s city physician, Wayne County Coroner, and later as Assistant Surgeon in the 24th Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. Dr. Lauderdale died in Pontiac, Michigan in 1883, and he was buried in the family lot in Temple Hill Cemetery in Livingston County, New York. 

Dr. Lauderdale’s name is included on the historic marker at the Cholera Cemetery which lists the names of the doctors who helped Sandusky residents during the dreaded cholera epidemic of 1849.