| Title: | Andrew Richey, U.S.A., to "My Dear Father and Mother" |
|---|---|
| ID | 2278 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Richey, Andrew/5 |
| Year | 1831 |
| Sender | Richey, Andrew |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | keeps a store with his brother |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Hopkinsville, Kentucky, USA |
| Destination | Ireland |
| Recipient | unknown |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | son-parents |
| Source | D/3561/A/6/1/10: Deposited by Dr E.R. Green |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland |
| Doc. No. | 9806848 |
| Date | 30/12/1831 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 25:06:98. |
| Word Count | 1688 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Hopkinsville December 30th 1831 My Dear Father & Mother I recvd. [received ?] Sister Eliza's letter some weeks ago in which she chides me for my long silence. I must confess I have been longer silent than I should have been, but I assure you it is not because I have forgot any of you no not a feature of your faces for even when asleep my thoughts rest with satisfaction & pleasure on my father's fire side. One of my reasons for not writing sooner was the expectation of Sister Eliza's letter as Br. [Brother?] Robt. [Robert?] in his last spoke of her writing. Another of my reasons were, expecting that Br. [Brother?] William would have written to either Jas. [James?] or myself before this time but we have not had a word from him since I came here. I thought if he had wrote I might probably be able to give you some knowledge of his intentions or at least I could have let you know the purpose of his letter. But I suppose as he had little to say in excuse for his conduct to you he has thought proper to be silent. You know he was always good at holding his peace when it suited him. I have wrote a long letter to him which will go in the same mail with this, in which I let him know my mind plainly. I let him know that I care not for corresponding with a brother who has yet to learn how to behave as a son. When I recvd. [received ?] Sister Eliza's letter I was confined to my bed with typhus fever. I had a pretty severe attack but with the blessing of God & the attendance of two doctors I was able to attend to business in five weeks. My fever had entirely abated in the first two weeks but it left me so weak & debilitated that it was three weeks more before I had gathered sufficient strength to attend to business. I am now entirely recovered & in good health & more fleshy than I have been for twelve months past. I have had a loud warning in my late sickness to attend to the concerns of my soul more than my body. When a person is lying on a sick bed it is then they feel that the whole world would be nothing to them if they were to loose their own souls. Dear father I recvd. [received ?] great satisfaction by sending your letter to Jas. [James?] which came at the same time Sister Eliza's did. Oh how thankful I should be that I have still a father & mother in the land of the living to advise & [admonish ?] me. I hope your fatherly advice to us may not be lost. Though I belong to no religious sect yet. I hope I have religious impressions that will never be obliterated but though I am moral yet I cannot say I am religious I know morality is very good in its place but it will not do in place of religion. I need advice I need admonition in the midst of a world where little but sin abounds (& indeed I must say it abounds greatly here for we have many infidels among us both in principle & in practice) & who is more fit to give that admonition than Father who I hope has not yet forgot me. I am almost at a loss how to express myself when I go to speak of the kind & affectionate treatment I received from Br. [Brother?] Jas. [James?] & Sister Eliza during my late illness particularly Sister Eliza as James had to attend to his business. She watched over me almost night and day with unremitting attention & attended to all my wants & endeavoured to cure my pain by every means in her power as if I had been her brother indeed. Yes I hope my Dear Mother will excuse me if I say she watched over me like a mother. Indeed I shall cease to have any gratitude when I forget her kind attention which in a great measure hastened my recovery as I wanted for nothing that kindess could suggest or medicine afford. Business is dull here generally at present. Sales not near so brisk as formerly & almost all on a credit of from six to twelve months. Jas. [James?] has not been to Philadelphia since the Autumn of 1829, but he has a partner by the name of Duncan that he sent to Phil. [Philadelphia?] the past summer to purchase goods which saved Jas.[James?] the trip but he intends going himself in the spring. Duncan is a fine steady young man who formerly lived with Jas [James?] as clerk but is now partner in a store which Jas. [James?] has in a small town about 30 miles from this called Princetown. I am just living on in the same way with Jas. [James?] as usual without any agreement respecting what I am to receive from him. My expenses for clothing are considerable as every article of that kind are dear & a person who has always to be in public has considerable expence [expense?] to keep himself in repair. Besides my doctor's bill will be considerable. I don't yet know how much as the doctors who attended on me are indebted to Jas. [James?] for store goods & I will not know the amt. [amount?] of my bill till they have a settlement. Br. [Brother?] Robert in one of his letters tells me that he hoped you had seen your worst days gone by but I see by his last that you have still your difficulties to contend with. Though the black mare was getting old you must have felt her loss. I was very sorry to hear that Br. [Brother?] Robt. [Robert?] Dickey was so harrassed about his rent. It is a distressed country in which you live & though I believe this country to be ten times its superior for the farmer, yet still I do not fell [feel?] free to advise all to come to it. This country is certainly not so healthy as Ireland & the farmer whose means are small has to contend with many difficulties here before he obtains easy circumstances & if he is not vigilant & industrious he will find the world getting ahead of him & foreigners coming here with scanty means will meet with many discouragements that they never dreamed of yet if the [they?] have good health & use industry they will certainly live well but they can't lay by much money indeed I may say none at all. I hope you have sold the Broomhedge land to your mind before this & if you have I hope you will have more ease in your circumstances. The past summer has been very wet & tobacco & wheat in consequence of so much rain are not near so plentiful as formerly but the farmers have made abundance of Indian corn upon which the [they?] depend for food as much as the Irish do on potatoes. At first I did not much relish the corn bread but I am now as fond of it as any Kentuckian. I have almost forgot the taste of oat bread as I have not seen a bit since I finished what was baked by your fire side. Flour is tolerably plenty & what you would call cheap though it is much higher than formerly. It is now worth from 3« to 4 dollars per 100wt. [weight?] & that is reckoned an enormous price here. My Dear Mother wishes to know if she may ever expect to see me again. Tell her she may rest assured that there is no thought gives me more pleasure than that of seeing you all by a father's fire side but I cannot just say the exact time when I expect to have that pleasure. I had almost forgot to tell you that we were very surprised one day last Sept. to see Uncle Alex Richey [Ritchie?] come into the store. He came on foot & in no very decent repair. I can't tell you how I was astonished to see him he appears to take the world as easy as ever though I cannot tell how he gets along though he staid [stayed?] a week with Jas. [James?]. I could get little satisfaction from him. He said he was going to Charleston to see a Mr. Belshaw a relation of his. He said his wife was dead & that he had nothing to bind him to his own country. He still looks keen & lively but is a complete profligate. Brother Robt. [Robert?] in his last letter says that I should not forget to make mention of Mr. A. Wilson. I always have wished to be remembered to all enquiring friends. I always have held & still do hold Mr. Wilson among that number but to mention individually all that I consider friends would certainly take up more paper than I have to spare. I am afraid this check writing will give you trouble to read it therefore I must bid you a far distant adieu. Give my kindest respects to all my enquiring friends & remember my love in the kindest manner to Bro. [Brother?] Robt [Robert?] & Sister Eliza & Amelia Br. [Brother?] & Sister Waugh & Br. [brother?] & Sister Dickey & all my uncles aunts & cousins individually & as for Br. [Brother?] William I will write my respects to him in the letter which I send him. Dear parents accept of the sincere affection of your loving son Andw. [Andrew?] Richey [Ritchie?] You may expect a letter from Br. [Brother?] Jas. [James?] shortly. He is as fleshy as ever. Br [Brother?] & Sister desire to be remembered to you all. Their family are well except that the children have got the chincough or as the [they?] call it here the hooping cough. yr [your?] affectionate son A. [Andrew ?] Richey [Ritchie?] |
