Urspringen, April 22, 1856

Beloved Sons!

In reference to my letter of the 27th of last month, in which I told you that I received the 1000f, I can now tell you that the check for 1187:30f has arrived. This money is being safely kept for you. I will await your instructions as to what you want me to do with it. If you want me to send it to you, it will probably be best to take it to Würzburg and have a check made out for San Francisco to the order of you.

Dear children, your upright, devoted manner takes years from my life. I must admit, words cannot begin to describe my good fortune to possess such noble and good children. I am so fortunate to be able to say that each of my children seeks to outdo the other in goodness. This Passover, Max is home with us. We are so pleased with him. He is very much like our dear Seligmann in his behavior. David, on the other hand, considers himself to be the mirror-image of Sigmund. David is very wild, but he is also very clever and bright. He is also very teachable. We also receive much joy from our daughters. Yesterday, Gutmann was here with his younger brother and his sister from Karbach. We were all sorry that you both could not be here with us. Gutmann is very intelligent and is truly a fine young man. Regina has a nice future to look forward to. The wedding date is still not definite, since, as you know, in Bavaria the permit of residence is very hard to get. Still, we have high hopes that the wedding will take place this summer.

Dear Sigmund, I am surprised at the progress you have made. I can hardly believe you have made so much money in such a short time. I am always concerned, however, that you are not paying enough attention to your health. I am also worried about the danger you face in such a wild area. It is still my strongest desire that after you have a substantial amount of money, you come back to Germany and establish yourself in Frankfurt, London, or Paris. Then Max can join you. He is such a promising businessman and would serve you well. Also, now that peace has been restored in Germany, business is again very good. We will talk more about this later. For now, dear children, pay attention to your health. I pray for you all the time. Through you, I receive my happiness.

Your father,

Aron Heilner

My beloved sons, Seligmann and Sigmund!

If you only knew how often we all have spoken of you during this holiday. And what we have said about you would make you both very happy. We are so proud of you. I am especially happy to see how much younger your dear father acts just because of you. For that, I thank the Lord a thousand times. How often your father has said, “I am not worthy of the many blessings God has given me.” He thinks often of the time when we can all be together again.

I also hope that the dear Lord will permit us to be together again. Our girls are thrilled to have Max home during the holidays. They enjoy him so much. He is very tall. Caroline has also grown to be a tall girl. She is taller than Regina. They are all such good children. We want the dear Lord to always keep us well so we can continue to enjoy the good things that come to us. Things have gone well for us, so far. I must admit that my desires, as well as those of your father, are concentrated on you. All our happiness comes from our children; and thank God, we have much reason to be happy. Our two little ones imitate their older brothers and sisters.

Dear Seligmann, please take care of yourself and your less experienced brother. Pay attention to your health. We are holding you to your promise to visit us sometime soon. I hope your business goes well because I know you want to become a wealthy man. I hope you will. I hope you will do well and come back and live closer to us. Tell us everything that is happening; for, as we said, our happiness ' comes from you.

Our Regina will make a very good wife. Your dear father, who is so special, often says, “I love Gutmann like a son.” I cannot tell you how proud I am of Caroline. She is so in love with her big brothers and can hardly wait for our dear Seligmann to come home. I am also so proud of you, dear Sigmund. I hope that you, too, will come home in a few years and again be with us. Your desire to have Max with you can only be realized by coming back to Germany and establishing a business. Max feels he will do better here, and your dear father is completely against him going to America. I wish you the very best. Please stay healthy and may you continue to be happy. I kiss you and send you my greetings.

Your eternally loving mother,

Nanni Heilner

My dear, good brothers, Seligmann and Sigmund!

Since our dear parents have told you everything, I will just add my sisterly good wishes and kisses. We are all well and happy, and we hope the same is true with you. This holiday, Max is with us. He is so much fun. We only wish you were here too. I am so anxious for you, dear Seligmann, to come home to us for a visit. As soon as you have earned a great deal of money, Sigmund, I hope you will also come back to visit us. Live well, my dear brothers.

Your loving sister,

Regina

Beloved brothers!

I have been home since last Friday, and find, thank God, that our dear family is well and happy. I have been reading all the letters that you have sent to the family while I have been away. They have given me so much pleasure; and they show me even more how much you care about us. You are such good businessmen. I am deeply complimented that you want me to join you in California. I thank you so much for wanting me, but I feel I can achieve my objectives much better on this side of the ocean. I want to be where I can visit our parents and see that they are taken care of. I feel I can be of more service to you by being close to our parents and watching after them. I must be with the Oppenheimer Company one or two more years. It is going very fast and soon, I will be ready to make my way in this wide world. Take care of yourselves and do well in your business. This is the wish of your faithful brother,

Max

Beloved brothers!

Since our Max wrote so much and left me so little room, I will leave a short greeting and wish you the very best. I hope everything is fine with you. We are anxious to see you soon, dear Seligmann.

I send you my kisses,

Caroline

There is no room left for me. I send you my greetings. Live well. I think of you often.

David

Sophie also sends her greetings