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Title: John Hall, Pennsylvania to Lytle Black, Chicago.
ID1316
CollectionIrish Emigration Database
FileHall, John L/63
Year1889
SenderHall, John L.
Sender Gendermale
Sender Occupationunknown
Sender Religionunknown
OriginMcDonald, Pennsylvania, USA
DestinationChicago, Illinois, USA
RecipientBlack, Lytle
Recipient Gendermale
Relationshipbrothers-in-law
SourceD 2041/13: Purchased from J. A. Hall Esq., 44 Taunton Avenue, Belfast 15.
ArchiveThe Public Record Office, Northern Ireland.
Doc. No.9311138
Date20/12/1889
Partial Date
Doc. TypeEMG
LogAction By Date Document added by C McK., 10:11:199
Word Count656
Genre
Note
TranscriptTo: Lytle Black,
602 W [West?] Adams Street,
Chicago,
U.S.A.

From: John Hall,
McDonald,
Washington County,
Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
December 20 1889

McDonald
Washington Co.
Pa [Pennsylvania?]
20th Decr 1889

Dear Lytle
Yours of a few days ago duly received I was glad to see by it
that you were working steady and enjoying good health and still
in love with this country. It is no doubt a very enterprising
country and if a man had capital there is no place in the world
he could make more out of it. There are so many schemes &
resources not properly developed. We have got Natural Gas into
our town a few weeks ago and it is creating a little bit of
a sensation around here and there are also some oil wells going
down & yielding a good flow which may tend to boom this part of
the country yet.
I had a letter from Adelaide last week She says Maggie and all
the folks at Eden Cottage are well. Jessie is in Dungannon now
and Susan is in England staying with a family called
Derbyshire. She went over with Miss Derbyshire who had been
visiting at Eden Cottage for some time. Adelaide is home from
London where she was on a visit to Lilly Mc Clackland (Devers)
and Annie is back from Chester she had been staying with Joseph
Lawson for a few months so they all had a great time visiting
last summer, but I suppose this is all stale news to you as your
old woman across the water keeps you posted on general topics
around home.
I have not been doing much this last while as my arrangements
were upset by my right hand man being hurt in the coal pit and
things are rather dead here about Christmas times; but I
intend if the New Year were once in I will make a
burst at something which will give me a little start, and see
if I can't make something out of this country yet. Of course
you can't understand what it is to be held in a place like

#PAGE 2
this; when one can never get ahead _ no money _ and no
resources and above all no intelligence which always keeps
a mining district hanging in a state between life and death
and now we have got the town incorporated the whole buz [buzz?]
is clamor [clamour?] about electing officers and there are
hardly half a dozen in the place could chorus to a hog's grunt
It makes me sick when I think of the class of wooden heads &
dummies are here and everyone thinks he is better than his
neighbor [neighbour?] so you may guess it is a paradise _ add to
this the streets knee deep with mud since 1st Octr and
not three continuous perches of a whole board walk in the town
and you can readily see why I am not in love with the order
of things generally in this locality; but I will just have
to grin and bear it until I get out of here which I hope
won't be very long now if everything goes as I expect.
I suppose you are busy on your rounds every day and
imagine you are taking in Cookstown, Stewartstown, &c,
but am sure you find travelling different
in this country from what it is in Ireland but there is
one thing you are pretty much your own master which makes
one feel more at ease and give him encouragement to make
the most out of his job.
John & Ada Keenan and family are well. John is talking
of going out to Nebraska in the spring _ he thinks there
is a good chance to do well out there & seems greatly
struck with it.
I am sure you will be tired reading this nonsensical
scribble but it is all the news I have on hand as there
is never anything very startling about here.
Write soon again and let me know how you are getting
along.
I remain
Yours sincerely
John L Hall.