[from Rev.??? Edwin Jackson; printed letterhead and black (mourning) border]

77, Withington Road,
Whalley Range,
Manchester.

April 4. 1901.

Dear Dr. Watson,

It is with the deepest regret that I have heard of the heavy blow which has fallen upon you & your family, & I hasten to assure you of my sympathy in your great sorrow.

Brought into close contact as I was with Mrs. Watson during her days at the College, I learnt very soon to admire & love her for the sweetness & gentleness of her character & her intense devotion to the interests of the young men whom she cared for with so much tenderness.

Mrs. Watson was one of whom everyone spoke well - so far as I know without exception. Your home is impoverished by her removal, but heaven is made more attractive to us when we realize that our dearest friends are there, & oftentimes we are cheered by the hope, the assurance that through infinite mercy we shall one day rejoin them there.

That our loving Father may minister unto you His richest consolation is the prayer of

Yours very sincerely
Edwin Jackson

[from Professor Arthur Peake; black mourning border]

57 Withington Rd.
Manchester

April 4th. 1901

My Dear Dr. Watson

At such a time as this human comfort seems a vain and empty thing. In the presence of life's great tragedies silence seems to become us better than speech. Yet we should like to tell you, what indeed you already know, that our heart is with you in your desolation, and that we do not forget you in our prayers. For her whom we have lost there can be nothing but thanksgiving, that she has passed into that home, which is our dearest hope, where in spirit she had dwelt so long.

Among all the good women whom it has been my privilege to know, she stands out among the very best. She was a true saint, who walked humbly with her God, and spent herself in active devotion to His service. I feel her unpretentious goodness at once a stimulus and a rebuke. I do not know that the trite saying "Earth is the poorer, that she is taken from us", is really true, for while to you who lived with her this must be true, yet to us she will remain a sacred memory, enriched with that reverence and tenderness, which death only can give. But certainly the assurance that she will be there to welcome us makes heaven itself more homelike. We have not lost her; it is the triumph of Jesus that even the grave is radiant with hope. Only a little while, and the dear friend we have loved so much will once more greet us with the old smile and kindly word, as she has herself been greeted to our Father's house.

With our kindest love and deepest sympathy
yours affectionately
Arthur S. Peake

I shall be with you on Saturday about 12.30 and will gladly take whatever part you may wish

[from Rev.??? George Bennett; black (mourning) border]

28 Trafalgar Square
Scarborough

April 10. '01

My dear Dr Watson

There will be many prayers offered on your behalf in this day of your great sorrow and mine unite with the many others. Your appreciative and tender spirit will, I know, realise its loss so acutely, but it will also enable you with its knowledge of the Divine Father to view the bereavement in the light of the Easter Eve - the day you placed the loved form in its last home.

Your heart & judgment have long been skilled in the Lord's ways & yet nothing comes so near as the actual tasting of the event. May you be enabled now to copy your Master: even so Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight.

No one can speak to the broken heart as can the Son of Man and He Who knows you so intimately will speak to you healingly.

With all prayer & sorrowing sympathy

Believe me dear Dr Watson
so[?] remain
yours truly
George Bennett

[from the P. M. Manchester District Committee]

132 Raby St,
Moss Side,
Manchester,

15 Apl. 1901.

Dear Dr. Watson,

The Committee of Manchester District at its Meeting held on Friday the 12th inst., requested me to write you and express its deep sympathy with you and your family in the very keen bereavement that you have been brought to experience.

Knowing some of the excellencies of your dear wife, the sweet purity of her character, her devotion to her Saviour and to the interests of our Connexion, the brethren were painfully conscious that the Church has suffered a very heavy loss.

Yet the brethren are fully aware that it is yourself and your family, whose home and lives were made so bright and joyous by her presence and tender Christian love, that will be affected as others cannot.

They trust that you all will find strength and consolation in your sorrow by the Grace of Him whom she delighted to serve and whose love has taken her nearer His throne.

I am Dear Dr. Watson, on behalf of the Connexion,
Sincerely yours,
Andrew Latimer