| Title: | Andrew [Robb?], Florida, to "My dear Mother". |
|---|---|
| ID | 2307 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Robb, Andrew/39 |
| Year | 1857 |
| Sender | Robb, Andrew |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Gainsville, Florida, USA |
| Destination | Newtownards, Co. Down, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Mrs David Robb |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | son-mother |
| Source | T 1454/3/1-12: Copied By Permission of Dr J.C.Robb Esq, M.B.E. M.D. M.C.H., 21Cambourne Pk., Belfast. #TYPE EMG Frank Robb, Australia, Also Alexander Robb, Nicola Lake, British Columbia, to the Robb Family, Dundonald and Ballysallagh, 3rd November 1805 to |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, N. Ireland |
| Doc. No. | 8816083 |
| Date | 19/11/1857 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 12:10:1989 LT created 07:06:1990 IH input 07:06:19 |
| Word Count | 1337 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Gainsville Florida 19th November 1857 my Dear Mother I have been in receipt of your very kind letter - sometime, it is I think almost one year since I wrote last, this has been one way and another a busy year for me, I have had to study some, and make myself familiar with matters altogether New I have not heard from P.M. Bryson since your letter, I suppose however he is in New york long before this time, the New york Banks - indeed Nearly all the Banks in the country are now paying the usual penalty of overtrading, they have ceased to redeem their bills with specie, three Banksin the city of Charleston south Carrolina [Carolina?] continue to redeem their Notes with gold and silver, all others that I have heard from have suspended, those revolutions in the commercial world have taken place before, and from the very nature of things commercialy [commercially?] speaking will take place again - this bubble would have burst long ago but california gold and other fortuitous circumstances kept it off till lately the south did not overtrade, they are an agricultural people on an immence [immense?] scale, their staples commanded fine prices in the markets of the world, they were very prosperous, till a panick [panic?] seized upon the northern mind and made their Banks cease paying specie, the southern Banks, from the nature of their bussiness [business?] connections with the north, had to adopt the same course of this state of things continues two or three years property of all kinds will fall down to its proper vallue [value?] if P.M. Bryson was in Europe when the New york Banks stopped payment (that is the true word) he would hardly make time I think to pay his friends in Ireland another three days visit - the bank suspension in 1837, embarrased [embarrassed?] our general government a good deal, measures were taken soon afterwards to prevent a similar occurance [occurrence?] hereafter, the "Independant [Independent?] sub Treasury was established" all duties have to be paid in gold and silver this money is carefuly [carefully?] kept by Government offices subject only to the drafts of the secretary of the Treasury this law was [roiled?], and sneered at by the whigs at the time, but it has worked so well, that all opposition has long since died away - I am affraid [afraid?] my mother that the income tax you complained of sometime ago will become an institution with your government, if our newspaper accounts can be relied on, I should think that England must spend many millions of Treasure and sacrifice thousands of men before she can restore peace and quietness to her East india possessions this derangement in the money affairs of our country as I think pressing upon the managers of our rail Road, the work is still going on, the track is graded and ready for the iron to within a short distance of this place, I have seen more Irishmen lately than in many years, their [there?] is a company of about one hundred and twenty working close[b?]y. the prices of Beef Cattle mentioned in your letter is enormous, a [at?] those rates poor people can eat but very little meat, in my stock I have I think about fifteen or sixteen four year old steers, quite fat, and what we call good Beef, when dressed they will weigh probably 400 lbs a head the price paid for such cattle in this place is only twelve dollars a piece - I have, or ought to have in the range, 250 head of cattle of all sizes, if the [they?] were sold at Belfast prices the amount would be very considerable - their [there?] is still a band of seminole indians in the south part of the state, two regiments of mounted militia have been sent down to the "[N?]ation" but have not this far been able to bring the indians into a general fight, this county furnished about 100 young men, I receive letters from their headquarters every week or two, the writer represents the country as being very low and in every respect very poor, when I was in south florida in 1838, I had no opportunity of seeing much of the country, being at military posts all the time, in the event of the indians being sent off I intend to visit it again, we had a very wet summer, and expected much sickness this fall and winter but have been agreeably dissapointed [disapointed?] the country has continued more healthy than usual our crops of corn have been very good but the cotton is what the Planters call short - I recollect the Robert Gelston you mentioned in your letter very well, he was I think the oldest son of old Mrs Gelston, he had a fight with Robt [Robert?] Moffet at a fair in Newtownards, which was talking about a good deal, at the time, I was a very small boy then Sister Betty wrote me a letter about the time he was married, if I recollect right his wife was rich, rather old, and addicted to some of those habits that old Father Mathew used to preach against, she Enclosed to me a marriage song made by Aunt mary to suit the occasion - I thought at the time if the [they?] could do no better in the way of making poetery [poetry?] than the sample sent to me, she ought to leave it alone for the future - it was miserable do [?] my mother you seem to think, your son James, is blessed with a happy disposition like his Father he always looks at the sunny side, "alexander it seems is less so" "myself you know nothing about in that way" I will, in regrad to myself as one of your duplicates - I must confess that I am not very patient when things go wrong I scold [some?] and swear a good deal, and "try again" your two sons at home have lived a quiet Cosy life - when compared to mine, I was thrown upon my own resources at a very early period of life, I was among relations but found little friendship and no sympathy their [there?] if my Temper which was never very good got soured and rather quick it had caused enough to be so, but I quite agree with you that it is a great blessing for a man to be possessed of a quiet easy dispostion, people say that the leading tracts of a mans character is always inherited from his mother, this docterine [doctrine?] can not be true, if it was so your sons would not differ in dispostion so widely - I must now my dear Mother relate an affair that took place which will I suppose surprise you a little /on the /8th/ eigh[th?] day of July A D. 1857 at Eleven o clock A.M your promising Batchelor [bachelor?] son Andrew Robb was married to Mrs Martha Turner, widow of Henry B. Turner deceased, I dont think it necessary to enter into lengthy descriptions of this maggiage affair, it was not done in the New york fashionable style - but in a plain and rather primitative [primitive?] manner, but as the same time a great superabundance of the good things of life graced the occasion, my wife was born in the states of Georgia, I have known her ten years she is the mother of some children & rather inclined to be fleshy, is about 39 years of age toreably good looking & owns in her own right some property, worth perhaps 8 or nine thousand Dollars - so, now I have told you that I am married and I am glad that it is commited [committed?] to paper - I would rather write a dozen pages on any other matter, I am indebted, two letters Ellen Murdock and will write to her soon my paper is nearly done I remain as ever your affectionate son Andrew |
