| Title: | William Porter, U.S.A. to Robert Porter, Ireland |
|---|---|
| ID | 2166 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Porter, William/31 |
| Year | 1872 |
| Sender | Porter, William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | Presbyterian |
| Origin | Chebanse, Illinois, N.Ireland |
| Destination | Co. Armagh? N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Porter, Robert L. |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | D 1152/3/29: Presented by Mr Charles Best, Mullaghglass, Bessbrook, County Armagh. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9011036 |
| Date | 02/10/1872 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Action By Date Document added by B.W. 06:12:1993 |
| Word Count | 1352 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To Robert L Porter [Desert, County Down?] From: Chebanse Oct 2 1872 Robt [Robert?] L Porter Dear Brother I now sit down with feelings of the deepest anxiety to answer your letter for I feel the responsibility of my situation in advising you as to your Coming here for let one gave [give?] another advice about anything & the[y?] generaly [generally?]have there [their?] troubles for there [their?] pains but as you still keep saying you will come here one year and have your Wife & family there I do say once and for all dont do it for it will be throwing 30£ or so away for nothing and if I understand you, you have none to spare you would if you come not be any wiser and then you would have to go back for your family and it is nonsense to come to look at it for we have a man here that done the same thing and went home after his wife & 3 children & now he is going back home for the wife cant be content after spending there [their?] means that I call foolish he had 500 when he came and is now 2 years and done nothing either make up your mind to stay when you come let the consequences be what the[y?] will or dont come at all for I have not slept this 2 nights pondeing on your situation and I have concluded that your [you're?] the very worst kind of a person to come to this country now I will give you my reasons for the same first you will have some money not enough to place you in circumstances that you would like and you will have more than would place you above working for a home and sup-ort [support?] for your family secondly and what concerns me most in [sic] [is?] your wife for if I remember right she is a woman that was not used to rough it or properly speaking do all her own work but keeping a servant girl to do it now if she comes here that #PAGE 2 will not be so for a girl here will get more 30£ a year and not good ones either so you see it takes an income to stand that and neither will you be able to keep a boy or even a Cub as you call them down of 4£ a month and then you cant get them for that unless it is a dane [Dane?] that you could not speak a word to for as soon as the[y?] are here a while the[y?] take up places of there [their?] own and still another thing I look at is your social life for when you come her[e?] all ties of friendship is broken off for all is strangers to one another and all is running the race of life independently you meet the same old faces & acquaintances from day to day. Not so here for we are an unsettled people like the Isra-lites[Israelites?] moving to anfro [and fro?] for even the Minister is not a fixture now as I said above you would not be the best kind of a person to come here but still if you could conquer your prejudices after coming here I mean comparing things here with what you left there you would be all right but you would be like some I know that everything there would look better after leaving it Just as death hides all the faults of a person for you need not come here thinking to see anything like what it is there roads Houses farms fairs or markets nor in fact anything for it is a complete change altogether now I will tell you that I am well satisfied with my circumstances and if you were in the same situation I question if you or your Wife would be Happy I an quite independent as far as worldly affairs is concerned but I never enter a church door nor is one day different from another as far as attending to my concerns about the place different now you would not like that at first but you would have to leave all these notions in Ireland. Now I will tell you what I would do in your place if I could not raise my family decently and save something for them too [to?] start them in the world after I would leave there if I had only so much as would bring them Here for when the[y?] are here no matter how young the[y?] can shift for themselves you may be better there but they will not and that is a great consideration there you think if you possibly can live and pay rent you #PAGE 3 are all right here if a man cant get rich in a few years he is all rong [wrong?] here the poorest boy may get equal to Q-een [Queen?Victoria viz to be president the present one was a poor mans son and that is something Now about this selling your place you say that some outside parties would pay 25£ and that the agent will only let you get 10£ Now the way that I understand tenant right he would have to let you dispose of it to [the?] highest bid-er [bidder?] provided he had no lawful objection & if he or any other served you or the person buying [?] notice to quit he would have to pay you for the land and your Improvements also or otherwise the Ulster right viz to sell the Highest responsibile [responsible?] tenant but how is it that you and him seems to be at variance or how is it that now when you have the place fixed up comfortably that you cannot do as well as others round about you do you not attend to your buisness [business?] or are you like father doeing [doing?] a little dealing when he should been [be?] attending to his farm if this is so quit it for one buisness [business?] is enough here or there now you complain of bad crops no one can help that but dont crop so much & raise stock for I see by the papers the[y?] are in uncom-on[uncommon?] price both cows & Horses & then you will not be depending or [on?] cubs of boys for work I have no one and keeps twenty head of stock I have only 12 acres in crop this year you want me to look out 40 acres for you but less than 80 would not do you any good and that you can but anytime for any one will sell here at from 6£ an acre up to 10£ ac-ording [according?] to the improvements such as Houses and fences &c &c Now this is all as I can write it to you and either make a resolution to come or quit thinking of it but settle down where you are pay every attention to your place and do nothing else for if you #PAGE 4 do I think you can do as well as any one that would get it and if you come here you will have to do it whether you will or no now this is a brothers advice that feels a great concern about you (more than you think for if you had come here younger if would have been a very different case. but now to think that you cannot be Happy & comfortable th[?] the boast very queer but dont let me discourage you but in the name of God come and I will try to take the hard corners of [off?] for you for what I can do I will do cheerfully to assist you to get settled I now will quit, I got a letter from sister Brown with yours which I will answer soon we are all well here at present my own health is better than for many years I sent home to Thos [Thomas?] Leslie some likenesses that you will see the[y?] are good ones and now with love to your Wife and all friend [sic] I remain your affectionate Brother William Porter |
