Rebecca Gratz to Maria Gist Gratz - September 04, 1839

Rebecca sends further condolences to her brother Ben on the death of his wife, Maria, and updates him on family news.

Deeply affected by the death of her estranged brother Simon, Rebecca gives her sister-in-law Maria a detailed account of his last days and expresses hope that the family's relationship with his children can be restored.

In this letter to her friend Margaret (Peggy), Rebecca bemoans the departure of her friends from New York and describes at length the 4th of July festivities in Philadelphia.

Myra Davis, nee Miki Heller, was born July 12, 1936 in Kovno, Lithuania, the only child in an affluent Jewish family. Her parents were Franz and Fanny Heller. After the Russian invasion in 1940, her family was forced to move from their large home to much smaller quarters. In 1940, they immigrated to Japan with transit visas and visas for Curacao, which were not used. Instead, they went to Shanghai, in 1941, after a year in Kobe, Japan, where Myra attended a French Catholic school.

In the French quarter of Shanghai, they lived comfortably until the Japanese occupation forced them into the Hongkew Ghetto. Her father, despondent about their impoverishment, committed suicide. When the war ended, her mother worked for the American Army and met a Jewish colonel, David Bare (phonetic), whom she married in 1947. The family lived in Beijing, China, Linz, Austria and South Carolina, United States. Myra became a translator for the American government, married Arnold Davis and they live with their two children in Boca Raton, Florida.

Recorded at the Rickshaw Reunion - a meeting in October 1999 at the Holiday Inn in Philadelphia of refugees who found refuge in Shanghai during World War II.

Rebecca tells her friend Maria about the current social events of Philadelphia, including a parade and a ball, and gives updates on the health of her family members.

Rebecca writes to her sister-in-law Maria, commenting on traveling British authors' impressions of America and tells her of a costume party attended by their nieces. She also asks Maria to entertain Charles Hoffman when he visits Kentucky for his literary tour.