| Title: | William Porter, Chicago, [U.S.A.?] to [Robert Porter?], [County Down]. |
|---|---|
| ID | 2157 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Porter, William/16 |
| Year | 1858 |
| Sender | Porter, William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unemployed |
| Sender Religion | Presbyterian |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, N.Ireland |
| Destination | Co. Armagh? N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Porter, Robert L. |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | D 1152/3/13: Presented by Mr Charles Best, Mullaghglass, Bessbrook, Co.Armagh. |
| Archive | The Pubic Record Office of Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9505146 |
| Date | 27/07/1858 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 05-15-1995. |
| Word Count | 1051 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To: [Robert Porter, Desert, County Down?] From: Chicago July 1858 Dear Brother I now sit down to write you a few lines hoping that the [they?] will find you all well as the [they?] leave me and all my family at present thanks be to the god of all our mercies and for his care of us unworthy creatures I received your letter some time ago and would have answered it before now but I had wrote to Brother Andrew about him coming out here as I was intending myself of going on a farm and I was wanting him to go allong [along?] but I have not got his answer yet although I am looking for it every day I had a farm bought of 80 acres of the nicest land you ever saw for $1400 dollars to pay 700 down and 350 in one year & 350 the next year but my wife was not willing to go alone to it and I have given it up for the present the reason that I would like to go to farming is that trade is become so bad here that the one half of the people cannot get employment I am not doing any thing nor did not since last [November?] and I dont like to be Idle although I could manage to live with[out?] work but the time seems so [--------?] Idel [Idle?] the Children is all [--------?]ry Ann was living with our Minister and family for some time but she is now at home and Sarah jane is with a Widow lady lerning [learning?] Millinary [Millinery?] and dress making and housekeeping in fact she is Just like a mother to her she has one child of her own a little girl of five years old she belongs to the same church that we do and the [they?] mostly come home with us on sabath [sabbath?] day to diner [dinner?] it is about 1/2 mile from Church and her place is about a mile from my house but I mostley [mostly?] see her 2 or 3 times [a?] week you say that mother want [wants?] to know of some place about Newry like where I live but that that is something I could not do for in the first place this city is spread over more ground than from Newry to Rathfriland it being more than 7 miles one way and about 4 another and it is laid off in sqares [squares?] of about 200 feet each way with streets of 80 [30?] feet wide and the whole city is as level as this sheet of paper and it has a population of 100000 one hundred thousand people which is more than ten times what Newry contain well I live about half a mile from the centre of business the houses here is not built close together unless in the very centre of the business and the street mostly planted with trees [-----------?] it looks nice in the seaso[-----------?] there is the lot that I live on is 44 by 100 feet a fence and I have 2 houses on the front of it all round 18 wide and 36 long with the end of them them and to the street although that is the front of all in front houses here the [they?] are 2 storys [storeys?] there is a 9 rooms apiece and I have a shop 22 flower by 36 feet on the reare [rear?] of the lot which plot does to work in the and 9 feet of it for cows with and Horse Carriage House I have a very good some covered carriage that will carry 6 people and nice not let one drop of rain at them either flowers we have not done anything lately only go growing round our accquaintances [acquaintances?] in it I had almost forget to mention about Joseph he is at school all the time but we have now vacation for 6 weeks and he is at home Just attending to little things about the house he has a pet Rabbit a young calf 3 month old and little sheep or lamb of a little over 2 weeks old that him and I found one day that I was out shooting in the woods and he is raising it as we have plenty of milk he wants to go on a farm for he says we have enough to begin with and he will be nothing else but a farmer we can keep all the cows here we have a mind to for we pay nothing for grazing them we have the largest and prettyest [prettiest?] Heifer of her age you ever saw she is as white as [--------?] and so is her mother she never [--------?]ing which is rare in this cold climate you want to know if we have coal in this country for the raising and that we have in any qanties [quantity?] any where threw [through?] Pensyilivina [Pennsylvania?] & Ohio and in this state about 40 miles from Here there miles and miles of coal we have almost any thing you have and a great more more [sic] in the vegetable way that you never see there and fruit in all veries [varieties?] and all kinnds [kinds?] such a [as?] belongs to warm climates I have rambled all over and to come to a conclusion I am going to write a few lines to Thos [Thomas?] Brown which I will send in this and you will send it to him and remember me to all enquiring friends and acquaintances. and I hope that it will find you well and father 7 Mother enjoying good health the children and Sarah all wish to send there [their?] love to you all I dont know whether you will be able to read this or not it is wrote with a glass pen on very indifferent paper with very poor ink and not a steady hand either but you will have to do the best you can every thing is plenty and cheap but money is very scarce here at present more so than ever I saw it and it is said that the wheat crop is not so good as usual but no more at present and I remain [-------?] very Your affectionate [Brother?] [William Porter?] |
