| Title: | W.K. Harshaw, Paterson NJ, to John Harshaw, Ringclare, Co Down |
|---|---|
| ID | 1341 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Harshaw, W. K/16 |
| Year | 1894 |
| Sender | Harshaw, W.K. |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Paterson, New Jersey, USA |
| Destination | Co. Down, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Harshaw, John |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | T 1505/1: Copied by Permission of Ulster Folk Museum, Cultra Manor, County Down #TYPE EMG [W.K. Harshaw?], Paterson, N.J. [New Jersey?], 20 March 1894, to "Master John," [Harshaw?], [Ringclare?], [County Down?]. |
| Archive | Public Record Office, Northern Ireland |
| Doc. No. | 9005212 |
| Date | 20/03/1894 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 22:05:1990 JMR created 22:08:1991 SQ input 00:00:1 |
| Word Count | 902 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To: "Master John, " [Ringclare, County Down?] From: [W.K.Harshaw?] Paterson N.J. [New Jersey?] March 20th 1894 Master John I was very glad to receive your letter a short time ago, and to have such a full feast of neigh borhood [neighbourhood?] news as it contained. I spoke of so many people and places that I was well accquainted with that it was almost equal to a vist to them, and certainly had the effect of bringing them all distinctly to me with the old home feeling. You report but few deaths, so the whole impression of your record is pleasant, and enjoyable. Hence I have read and re-read your letter several times and always with renewed interest and satisfaction. I have only been getting Donaghmore news second handed [hand?] and occasionally from Robert, but it has an improved zest when getting it fresh and direct as you have served it this time. you give us the moving cause of your writting [writing?] at this time your having had a communication from Fred. and the request of Jane and Archy in that connection that I should dissuade Mrs Marshal from going out to Australia in search of Fred. I read your mess age [message?] to Mrs Marshal and allowed her to derive her own meaning of whatever meaning was in the communica tion. [communication?] She disclaimed all thought or wish or intention of ever going back to Australia, and seems to have a- bandoned [abandoned?] all thought of ever seeing Fred again. You write: "he (either Archy or Fred.) was afraid Mrs Mar- shall [Marshall?] might take the notion of going to Melbourne to find Fred. and keep him from getting into any situation." I can't understand this. was there any impression that Mrs. Marshall tried or would try to prevent Fred. getting employment? This would be most singular if true, or if it had any particle of truth, for in all explanations and references I have heard from Mrs Marshall I gathered that she was most solicitous to get Fred. into employment, and her great disappointment was that he had not succeeded in that respect. Mrs Marshall has been acting as "companion" to a lady here in paterson, who had got into bad health, or rather whose mind had got slight imbalance in connection with the death of her only son suddenly about 27 years ago. Not crazy, but a little flighty and notionate, and whimsical, making it des- irable [desirable?] to have a companion with her all the time. The people were wealthy so that Mrs Marshal's time was the life of a lady comparatively. I sent Jane a pa per [paper?] a few weeks ago with a lengthy obituary notice of the death of this lady from a sudden stroke of apoplexy. Since then Mrs Marshall has been out of employment, and has availed herself of the leisure to vist some Fourtowns friends in Albany - about 150 miles off. I think Mrs Marshall discharged the duties of the position she held admirably, and to the complete satisfaction of the family. I had a paper from her yesterday with a marked advertise- ment [advertisement?] in it showing that she is trying for a similar situation in Albany, although her object is to return here in a few weeks unless an opening should pre- sent [present?] in Albany while she is there. James Young and Joe Duff are the sick ones with you and when you speak of their feeble and failing health it makes me greatly long to see them again. But every name you mention excites this desire intensely in me - The Bradfords, Joesph Young, William Kidd, your Jennie, Bradford and the new accession to your house hold, the Fourtowns, Shinn, Mountmellicks, Mill- town [Milltown?] people - all, how I would like to see them again. These glimpses of coming Spring, as well as your letter, makes me think of the white roads amd the hawthornes of Ireland. It is sad to hear of the difficulties and the great lack of means that seem to rest on every- thing [everything?] connected with the Milltown, as if a blight had been send on everything concerned with it.<JUST the place above and beyond all places on earth where it might have been supposed that the reverse of this would have prevailed, for there we know the en- joyments [enjoyments?] of life had been planted in rich abundance, the generosities of existence practised, and there we know the honored [honoured?] and the sainted lived and moved and had their being. The whole place was consecra ted [consecrated?] [by?] pleasant memories. But, somehow, the shad- ows [shadows?] rest upon it, and hard and hopeless lines seem alone to pertain to it. I am sorry to confess an heir- ship to some of the same unfavorable [unfavourable?] fate, else the will of my heart would have been "to build again the waste of places of Judea", and to "rescue and raise again" the burdens of the Milltown surroundings. How many have I seen with, what I considered far less ability, and much less application and effort reaching the position of doing all that they pleased from a money standpoint. But with me this advan tage [advantage?] seems to have been denied me, and I so willing -so anxious to use it openhandedly, in the circle nearest me. How sad to learn the great gulf that so often exists between our wishes and their ac- [here the letter fragment ends] |
