ELLSWORTH — A letter talking about re-electing President Abraham Lincoln recently arrived at the Surry Road home of City Councilor John Moore. And no, the Postal Service is not to blame for the delay.

The letter was one of several dozen given to Moore by one of his cousins — a fitting sender, as the letters originally belonged to Josephine Cousens Moore, their shared great-grandmother.

Neatly folded and well-preserved for their age, the letters date from the 1860s, when Josephine was a young woman. Most of the letters were written between 1862 and 1867, and were sent to her by her older siblings.

Born in 1846, Josephine was the youngest of seven children born to Captain John H. Cousens and his wife, Emma G. Joy.

Josephine lost both parents at an early age. Moore said his understanding is Emma died after contracting a disease while accompanying her husband on a trip to New Orleans and John died in 1857 after being shipwrecked off the coast of Cornwall.

Though technically an orphan, Josephine was not without a home. Addresses on envelopes with the letters indicate she spent time in Belfast with a Captain John Dyer and his family, and also lived for awhile with her sister Emma (16 years older than Josephine) and Emma’s husband.

The letters cover a range of subjects, ranging from deaths in the family to lectures on what is appropriate behavior and attire for a young 19th century woman.

Though written and sent during the Civil War, the conflict is not often the focus of the letters. Josephine’s older brother John, a sailor, addressed the subject most directly in his letters.

Writing in the fall of 1861 from Liverpool, John said the “future looks dark for our country.”

“Still if it needs my help it shall have it upon my arrival,” he said.

John made good on his word after arriving back in the United States. He joined the Navy and for a time served aboard the sloop USS Sacramento.

In a letter dated Dec. 1, 1862, and sent from Portsmouth, N.H., John wrote that he considered the vessel to be “one of the finest in the U.S. Navy.” Though the ship was to his liking, daily life proved rather boring.

“All I have to do is go over to the yard once a day and report,” he told his sister. “Hard isn’t it?”

Later in the war, John transferred to the USS Galatea, a New-York built steamer. He wrote on Feb. 2, 1864, that he was glad to be on board the newly commissioned ship because he was “tired of doing nothing.”

Despite the monotony of military life, John was willing to put up with more of it in order to preserve the Union.

“I do hope this war will be over soon,” he wrote in October of 1864. “Still, rather than see the U.S. retreat one jot I would see it last the rest of my natural life. I think all we need now is the reelection of Mr. Lincoln to ensure an honorable peace.”

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