| Title: | G. [J.?], Fredricton, New Brunswick to David Carse, Lisowen, |
|---|---|
| ID | 1104 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | G.J/20 |
| Year | 1847 |
| Sender | G.J. |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer? |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Fredericton, N.Brunswick, Canada |
| Destination | Lisowen, Co. Down, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Carse, David |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | cousins |
| Source | Donated by Mrs. I.J. Beattie, 120 Carsonstown Rd., Lisowen, Saintfield, Ballynahinch, Co. Down, BT24 7JN, N.Ireland |
| Archive | Ulster American Folk Park. |
| Doc. No. | 9904058 |
| Date | 28/06/1847 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 07:04:99. |
| Word Count | 1818 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Fredricton 28th June 1847 Dear Cousin David I received your welcome letter of 17th April for which I feel extremly [extremely?] thankful it came in very good time I was in very low spirits & felt very home sick for a good many days before I received your letter. but the pleasing intelligence of my friends being all in good health and enjoying the necessaries of life had the effect of cheering me up I was a good deal surprised to hear that my brother Samuel had left for America I think it was the best thing he could have done there is very little to be made at home by working at the trade. I had a letter from him the week before last and another yesterday he is working in a town the [they?] call Wilmington in Delaware about 60 miles from Quebec he is getting very good wages but the work is very severe. The [They?] are repairing the ruins of a powder mill that was blown up some short time since I think it must be rather a dirty place to work. I have wrote to him to come to St. Johns and I will get him work then. He says he will work 3 or 4 weeks longer and then come on here. I should like to have him near and he is thinking long to see me he was reminding me of the pleasant days we spent together in childhood now that we are both away from our friends and all we and all we (sic) held dear. It would be great comfort [to?] both of us to be together and I am sure my father would be so glad to hear of us being in the same place I wrote to your brother Geo. [George?] last week I have not received an answer yet but am expecting [to?] by next mail he had a very narrow escape from being ship wrecked on his intended voyage to New Orleans I hope he will have better success this time Geo. [George?] is none of your cowardly lads or he would not have ventured on sea again, but I know he is too much of a sailor to let such a trifle as that frighten him every danger must be braved these bad times in order to obtain a descent [decent?] living I had a letter from my brother Wm [William?] and one from my cousin Jno il [John?] last mail and was glad to hear they were all well and prospects of a good crop this year Wm [William?] says he is getting along nicely since he got married I wish them every success. Tell your brother James to walk into the affections of some blooming young lady before the gray hairs begin to get visible in his head. Now that summer is come again and every thing looks green & pretty I must say that I am much better pleased with the country than I was. Now that I have got a few seconds to spare I will give you a short description of Fredricton. F.ton [Fredericton?] was formerly called Saint Anns and was made the seat of Government by one [Guy?] Carleton in 1782 it is 85 miles from St Johns by water and was supposed to be the head of the free navigation of the river. Fredricton is extremely pleasantly situated upon a beatiful [beautiful?] [broad?] and obtuse point of land formed by a bold curve on the south side of the stream commanding a view of the river and a beautiful little stream that branches into the interior of the country they call the Nashwaak. A range of moderately elevated hills bend around the southern side of the plain two miles long and half a mile wide thus encircled by the river and high ground a fertile and well cultivated track of land is occupied at its northern extremity by the Capital The streets are wide and parallel to each other and space is afforded by the cheap prices of land to favor the culivation [cultivation?] of gardens and the planting of ornamental trees which have added much to the beauty of the place The hills to the south are partly cultivated and occupied by the college and a number of handsome cottages from these hills then is a fine view of the river and the [fields?] bordering on the evergreen forest. Several of the buildings are of the best class The Government house the residence of the Lieutenant Governor is a spacious building of stone situated at a beautiful spot on the banks of the river at the west end of the town. Kings College is also a substantial building of [freestone?] and of a great architecture. it is 170 feet long by 60 wide containing 22 rooms for students a chapel two lecture rooms and apartments for the accomodation [accommodation?] of the vice precident [president?] and two professors The Province Hall in which the different legislation bodies assemble is a plain wooden building, yet very commodious the chamber of the legislative council is finished in good taste. The offices of the provincial secretary are built of stone as also the crown lands departments besides these there are an Episcopal church Scotch church (the one I attend) Methodist chapel Baptist chapel Roman Catholic chapel, Collegiate and Madrass schools Baptist seminary three Banks an Hospital alms house, Court House Jaol [Gaol?] and Market House The principal barracks are situated on the bank of the river in the town. they will accomodate [accommodate?] 1000 infantry and a company of artillery. the quarters of the officers open into a very pretty square surrounded by beautiful trees the shop I live in is directly opposite to the square the band plays twice a week so you may guess it is rather a pleasant spot in summer but dismal in winter. to persons who are fond of shooting & fishing and wild scenery pleasant excursions may be made during summer and autumn by hiring Indians with their canoes and traversing the rivers in the interior. They are fine fellows the Indians It is amusing to [see?] them relate the scenes the [they?] come through when out hunting. I was talking to an old Indian the other day about moose hunting he to [too?] told about a scrape he got into with a bear He said in very broken English one time I go a huntem [hunting?] moose, night came dane [down?]. Rain and snow come fast. Me no axe for makum [making?] wigwam, gun wet, no getum [get to?] fire, me very tired, me crawl into large hollar [hollow?] tree, I find plenty room, almost begin sleep, bye, om, bye [by and by?] me feelum [feel?] hot wind blow on my face, me know hot bears breath, he crawl into log too, I takum [take?] gun she no go. I tink [think?] me all same as gone all eat up then me thinkum [think?] my old snuff box I takum [take?] some snuff me throwum [throw?] in bears face he run out he no like it I guess, me lay still all night he no come in again every leetle [little?] while me hear him sneesum [sneeze?] morning came me fix hum [the?] gun and shoot him dead he no more sneesum [sneeze?] this time so me cut him up take him home to my squaw and my leetle [little?] papouces [papooses?] to feedum [feed them?] on Ill tell you a little about what folks have to do before the [they?] have their land ready for bearing crops The man who has been accustomed to work in good clear land when he migrates to this country the gloomy forest presents rather a strange appearance when he enters upon his grounds he finds not a spot where food can be raised the entire surface of the earth being covered with innumerable trees that have stood for ages and still seem to bid defiance to the [armies?] of axe men. The axe must be applied to evry [every?] tree for evry [every?] attempt to root them out except by cutting and subsequent decay has proved usless the trunk is cut from two or three feet above the ground the tree staggers and falls with a loud crash the axe man watches the direction taken by the falling tree calling out to his companions if he has any to stand clear of it (there is a great many killed by trees falling) here man seems to be contending with the trees of the forest as if they were his greatest enemy for he spares neither the young sapling in its greeness nor the ancient trunk in its lofty pride he wages war against the forest with fire and steel It is interesting to observe the rising of a settlement and the advancement of cultivation in the wilderness at first perhaps a solitary settler builds his little shanty amidst the stumps the walls of his dwelling are large logs piled on each other and dovetailed at the corners with a square hole cut through for a door and another for a window the cracks are filled up with moss this fabric is covered with the bark of a tree secured by long poles and with the furniture inside all his own making. a house is built for the cow another for the pig a few hens and geese are also provided with shelter as season succeeds season so the clearing is enlarged [while?] the plough is put in motion and field after field is seen bearing crop In the mean time other settlers make their appearance and take up the adjoining lands and a wide gap is made in the forest a log [school?] has been built and perhaps pretty well filled with [children?] [torn] a saw mill and [grist?] mill have been erected [the?] log house has now been converted into a pig stye [the?] [rector?] having removed to a neat framed cottage with clap board and shingles instead of slates [and?][torn] the log school house has been converted [torn] [torn] the roads have been leveled [torn] [torn] shops has been [opened?] [torn] [t---?][-agon?] [s-?] [torn] [-de?] for the neat wagon and sleigh. a house [torn] has been erected and a minister has been called [torn] [-ma?] of the post boys horn has been heard in the [torn] [-nally?] the medical man makes his appearance [torn] earning a livlighood [livelihood?] by a little farming and a [torn] practice the time in which all these operations [has?] been performed is comparatively short and [to?] change the produce in the features of the country seem [torn] [work-?] [torn] to my dear uncle and aunt also to Cousins James Samuel John Archibald Robert & Thomas and to all my friends write soon I need not say let it be a long letter I am Dear David Yours Sincerely G.J. envelope address: [Rev?] Mr David Carse Lisowen St.field [Rev?] Stewart Co Down Carse Ireland [Rev?] J. Carse [l-------?] [Carland?] [l-------?] |
