| Title: | F Kirkpatrick, Kingston, to Rev G Kirkpatrick, Co Antrim |
|---|---|
| ID | 1618 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Kirkpatrick, Francis William/35 |
| Year | 1864 |
| Sender | Kirkpatrick, Francis William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | clerk in Holy Orders |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Destination | Ballymena, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Rev George Kirkpatrick |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | nephew-uncle |
| Source | D 1424/11: Purchased From Mr John A. Gamble, 44 Taunton Avenue, Belfast 15. #TYPE EMG Letter From Francis W. Kirkpatrick, Wolfe Island Parsonage, Kingston, Canada, to His Uncle, Reverend George Kirkpatrick, Hazelbank, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, Ireland, 8 Dec |
| Archive | Public Record Office Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9003068 |
| Date | 08/12/1864 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 04:04:1990 JM created 04:10:1990 CD input 08:10:19 |
| Word Count | 968 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Rev George Kirkpatrick Hazelbank Ballymena Ireland Wolfe Island Parsonage Kingston. [Cle?] Dec [December?] 8th 1864 My dear Uncle I intend this letter to come to you as a sort of xmas [Christmas?] box, you will at least acknowledge that a letter from me has in it one element of value. namely, rarity, [however?] deficient they may be in other respects - I really am ashamed of myself, for all the omisions [omissions?] in correspondence which I have allowed during the last 6 months. I have no excuse & therfore [therefore?] do not intend to plead any - the wisdom of this I hope you will admit. If I had any one to stir me occasionally on these points. It would be better for me & save my character. If I could only find a gold mine of my "farm" of 6 acres I think I wd [would?] follow aunt Kate's advice - but pending the discovery, I will be [have?] to reamin [remain?] as I am - I am sure aunt will give me a scolding for such a mercenery [mercenary?] thought as this - but here it is a stern necessity where dollars go more quickly than they come - I have cetainly [certainly?] a very nice place here, a very comfortable house & a garden which wd [would?] be a credit to the old country in [?] of fertility, & the only draw back a very small & a still uncertain [?] income to keep it up on. And I dare say that I will be able to manage it - as I am not very extravagant in any habits [?] I have just invested in a house - wh. [which?] I hope will turn out more satisfactory than my last speculation in that [line?] - my 1st house at [Comber?] The only mode of travelling at present is on horseback - the roads are next to impossible on account of all the rain we have had - no winter yet of any consequence - no snow that little frost, but there is a good time coming & we shall have plenty of both. I am going to take in George for a few weeks (John's sake of course not for mine - ) as a lodger he wants quiet in order that he may read John's law exam - & he may do that here at his heart's content & never see any to interrupt him - wh [which?] he cd [could?] hardly arrange in town he is to come down from Toronto on Saturday - He hopes to be admitted to the Bar in Feb [February?] - [?] - he is very highly thought of in Toronto & his master [masters?] there have made a great deal of him. If attentive & steady I have [?] expectation that he will get on well at the Bar, as he has such a good opening in Kingston where there are so few rising young men in his profession. George F. is hidden away at the end of the world somewhere, & we do not expect to see him till next spring - he has [given?] every satisfaction to the government in the work wh. [which?] he has done for them Canada, as you have no doubt seen is probably soon to undergo a bloodless revolution wh [which?] is taken every [?]ly & every body, considering the interests wh [which?] are at stake - we are going to have a Federal union of the Provinces, into a confederation - how ominous the names sound one almost naturally anticipates difficulties, but I hope the mistakes of our neighbours have been avoided - I have little news to give you - [My?] father & mother are I believe gone to Montreal for 2 or 3 days my father returned on Saturday night from Chicago a distance of about 7 or 800 miles, so that he has had plenty of travelling - He saw Tom while there - or [------?] went to see him - as his business did not I believe take him further than Detroit - Helen from Peterboro [Peterborough?] has come down for the winter replacing Annie who has returned. I am getting on tolerably well here & find the people very civil & attentive - the more distant part of my parish towards the foot of the Island I have not been able to visit for some time in conseq [consequence?] - of the roads my Church there is to be finished in the Spring, if we have the money - it is 10 miles from this & of course I cannot have more than a fortnight & afternoon service there - none of them had heard of the Church service in that neighbourhood before - I hope to bulid up a confreg- [congregation?] there tho' [although?] it is uphill work - to contend with all sorts of American dissenters who compose the chief part of the settlers on that part of the island. I dare say a good many real yankees will come over in the winter to our service, as they are not much look after at home - There is a clergyman of the Episcopal Ch. [Church?] at Cape Vincent I believe - that is directly across from this side due south. I have been told that the one there last was obliged to leave because he said grace at a Democratic picnic - his congreg. [congregation?] being a Republican that is being liberal is it not? I cannot write more at present - but will be encouraged to preserve in my good resolutions by hearing soon fr. [from?] you with best love to you all Believe me your att [attentive?] nephew Francis W Kirkpatrick As I finished this. I begin to have an idea that I wrote to you not long ago - Is it true? |
