As a New England farmer, write a letter to relatives in Europe describing your family's daily life as subsistence farmers

Dear Grandmother,

We miss you and send you our love. Life here is very hard. This winter the snow was 6 feet deep and didn't finally melt until May. It was terribly cold. Even with a roaring fire we all slept under six blankets and still felt the cold. We ran out of feed and had to slaughter our horse. I don't know how we'll get rid of the stumps on the newly cleared land.

Bartholomew, Rachel and little William all died from measles in December. A week ago Eleanor broke her leg and can't walk at all. There are no doctors here; I fear her leg will make her deformed. The parson says God is punishing us for our sins. But Alice and I go to church three times a week and pray constantly. I don't know what sins God is punishing us for.

Love: (your name)