Home

CORVIZ

Main content

Title: John Gorman, Newgarden, Indiana to Philip Gorman.
ID1213
CollectionIrish Emigration Database
FileGorman, John/1
Year1866
SenderGorman, John
Sender Gendermale
Sender Occupationfarmer
Sender Religionunknown
OriginNewgarden, Indiana, USA
DestinationIreland
RecipientGorman, Philip
Recipient Gendermale
Relationshipbrothers
SourceT 1743/1: Copied by Permission of P. J. Balmer Esq., 53 Prospect Road, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry.
ArchiveThe Public Record Office, Northern Ireland.
Doc. No.8903091
Date06/01/1866
Partial Date
Doc. TypeEMG
LogDocument added by JM 15:11:1993.
Word Count1364
Genre
Note
Transcript Newgarden Jan 6th 1866

My Dear Brother Philip
I Think it
is not full time that we should
know wheather [whether?] we are living or
dead well Thank God me and
My family is all alive and well
I dont know wheather [whether?] you
have ever heard that I am
in the States we are now in
the state of Indana [Indiana?] we left
Canada 1 year 8 months ago
and wish I had left it
sooner I would advise no one
to go there except a man
That can settle down apon [upon?] land
and even for that this is the
Best country There is a great deal
better chance for a poor man to
get a hold of a peace [piece?] of land
hear [here?] for if you cannot bye [buy?]
you can rent there are two
Ways of renting here if the
Farmer finds Land horses seed
and utensils he gets the 2 thirds
and you one third for your
trouble and if you find all
But the land you get 2 thirds
and him one John Gilmer [Gilmour?] has
got ritch [rich?] by renting but he
finds seed and materiels [materials?] him
self and will verry [very?] soon be able
to bye [buy?] a farm of his oan [own?] but
for my part I can not boast of
my ritches [riches?] but thank god
I am not wanting we have plenty
To eat and drink we have plenty
of good Fat pork salted up for
ourselves and has 14 more coming
on This is a corn growing country
and when you have plenty of
corn you can have every thing
Fat hogs fat horses fat cows
Fat chickens and fat children
and a fat wife in to the bargin [bargain?]
that is how this country beats
canada the summer there is to [too?]
short to grow corn and the

#PAGE 2
winter there is verry [very?] hard apon [upon?]
cattle but for here there is
hardly ever more than a weeks snow
at a time and cattle can run out
mostly all the time and if there dose [does?]
come a bit of snow the [they?] can turn
them in to the corn fields where
the corn is gathered and the [they?] can
live well on the corn stalks as it
grows from 8 to 10 or 12 feet high
so it would take a deep snow to
cover that all up where in canada
the [they?] have to hand feed for 6 months
and the life is allmost [almost?] frose [froze?] out of
them in to the bargin [bargain?] but canada
is the best country for wheat as far
as I have seen it is a very uncertain
crop here I put in 30 acres last year
and it was not worth cutting
and verry [very?] little in the neighbourhood
any better but the year before it was an
excellent crop the [they?] will sow wheat
after wheat here for 6 or 7 years in
succession and tell you it is as good
the last year as the first and the [they?] will
doe [do?] the same with corn the corn I
speak of is Indian corn I have heard
of some places that has been planted
for 40 years running I will now tell
you how the [they?] plant the corn the
ground is ploud [ploughed?] and harrowed the [they?]
then mark it of 4 feet apart the [they?]
then turn and mark it across the
same distance the [they?] then get children
to go up and down and drop 4 or 5
grains on every crossing men comes
after and covers with hoes when it
gets cleverly up the [they?] goe [go?] through it
with a horse and little scuffle
plough and gose [goes?] through it every
week first up and down and
then across for 4 or 5 times one bushle [bushel?] of corn
will plant 8 acres and an acre will
yeald [yield?] from 50 to 75 bushels to the acre
Well I must tell you how hogs
will grow here the [they?] are let
run around to about the 1 of oct when
the corn begins to get hard then
the ones that the [they?] intend to fatten

#PAGE 3
the [they?] shut up and feed with as
mutch [much?] corn as the [they?] can eat about
a bushel and a half of corn to each
hog a week is as mutch [much?] as the [they?] can
eat and I have been told from
good athority [authority?] that each hog will
gain about 3 pounds a day corn
is all bought and sold and fed to
cattle in the ear whitch [which?] makes
it verry [very?] handy 1 ear will have
from 5 hundred to a thousand
grains on it I think that is
anough [enough?] about pigs and corn and
for oats there is verry [very?] little of
it sowd [sowed?] and it is no better
than your tailings I never seen
any oat meal since I came here
but we can raise verry [very?] good Potatoes
and vegetables of all cinds [kinds?] with verry [very?]
little trouble it is time now to
tell you something about our
selves our oldest daughter
Mary Sarah is Married 2 years
ago and is verry [very?] comfortable
she is in canada our second
Daughter Eliza Jane is to be Married
now in a few days she is in canada
also she is working at the Milinary [millinery?]
and dress making [dressmaking?] and running a
soeing [sewing?] mashine [machine?] for a store
in toronto and the people she
lived with would not part with
her for she was just like one of
their oan [own?] family and the lady she worked
for promised if she would stop
with her to she would be going
to get married she would give
her an outfit the young man
she is to be married to is verry [very?]
well off and a store ceeper [keeper?] and
he is a verry [very?] religious good
living young man a Member
of the Methedist [Methodist?] church and so
is she a member of the church
as well as her Mother and myself
Mary Sarah and her husband an [and?] Eliza
Jane was over here on a visit this summer
we are about 500 miles apart
our third Daughter Margret [Margaret?] is here

#PAGE 4
and going to school she is counted
the prettiest girl of the three and
might have been Married to [too?] if she
had a wished she could have been a
ritch [rich?] farmers wife if she had
liked now for our sons there is
Archy [Archibald?] William and John all verry [very?]
near young men and all three
about the one sise [size?] the [they?] are all
three as good working boys as any
Father need wish for then there
is three more boys and one girl
Joseph Philip Edith and James
all able to romp around James
is the baby he is 3 years old
Mary thinks we will give it up
unless you are a head of us [now?]
Philip I want to know how you and
your Family is getting along and what
family you have and how brother
Dan [Daniel?] and family is and where he is and
what he is doeing [doing?] and how Sarah
and her family is and how Mary and
her family is and how Eliza and her
family is and if you ever get any
word from Agness [Agnes?] if so send me
her address I am verry [very?] sorry that
none of you could ever get out here
and I am verry [very?] sorry that I never
could give any of you any help to
come as we had a long [wake?] family
to support and nothing to start on
and verry [very?] little help untill [until?] this
last year or two I would like to hear
about Ned [Edward?] Watson and family Henery [Henry?] and family
Robart [Robert?] and family John Carlile and Family
I would like to ask after a great deal more
if I had room Mary and the children all
joins me in sending our verry [very?] best
love to you all
John Gorman

please write soon