For Amelia Caroline@[Elihu Doty], Letter to Amelia Caroline [Doty-Dubois], 2 August 1848, Doty-Dubois Family Papers: Correspondence 1846-50, Personal [Misc.], Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, New York. This letter was written in blue ink on the front and back of thin paper of 5 5/16" x 8¼".

Pa Doty, far away in China, wants now to write our little letter to his dear Amelia Caroline. Dear Pa and Ma Dubois in their letter told us about dear Amelia, which made us very glad. Pa and Ma Doty were very glad to hear that little Amelia learned such pretty verses as “Suffer little children to come unto me” and others. They were also very glad that dear Amelia prayed for them and remember them, and that she prayed for others, for ___, that God would give her a new heart. This is right. Dear Amelia ought to pray to God to give every body a new heart and make them good and happy. Dear Amelia must every day pray to God to take away her own naughty heart, and make her a new and good heart, and help her to love Jesus.

Dear Amelia must be a good child. She must love Pa and Ma Dubois very much and pray for them too, and she must always obey them.

A while ago Pa Doty wrote a letter to tell dear Amelia that she had a pretty little baby brother away here in Amoy. He is not here any longer. He was sick, very sick, and died. This dear little body we put into a grave in the ground and God our Heavenly Father took his precious little soul to heaven. He is very happy there with Jesus. Does dear Amelia know that little children often die, and that if they are good and love Jesus, their souls will go and live with Jesus in heaven? Pa Doty wants dear Amelia to love Jesus very much. Then when she dies, she will go to heaven, and there will be her little baby brother, and her brother Ferris, who went to heaven a good while ago, and her own ma, who also died when Amelia was a small baby and went to be with Jesus, happy in heaven.

This is Pa Doty’s little letter to Amelia Caroline. Pa and Ma Doty loves Amelia very much and every day prays to our Heavenly Father to help her and so does Pa and Ma Dubois. And dear Amelia must love and obey them and try to make their hearts glad and not sorry. Pa and Ma Dubois will kiss Amelia many times for Pa and Ma Doty.

Amoy August 2nd 1848