| Title: | J.M. Skellern, New York, to "Dear Brother" |
|---|---|
| ID | 2484 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Skellern, John/32 |
| Year | 1864 |
| Sender | Skellern, John |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | NYC, USA |
| Destination | London, England |
| Recipient | Skellern, Thomas |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | Photocopies Donated & Originals Held by Mrs Diane Tempest, 2a St. Johns, North Gate, Canterbury, CT1 1BG |
| Archive | Mrs Diane Tempest |
| Doc. No. | 212192 |
| Date | 28/11/1864 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 06:12:02. |
| Word Count | 742 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | $$H154 Part of the Diane Tempest Catalogue$$H New York Sunday 28th Nov.1864 Dear Brother, Nothing has given. greater pleasure than the receipt of a letter from you after so many years silence on both sides particularly was I pleased at it's enclosure of your wife's Cart de Visite indeed I would hardly know her, such a change years has caused in her - when last we met she was a thin spare woman but now I perceive a comfortable fat and healthy looking English woman. People here are quite the reverse a specimen I have is it in I thank you and her for sending it to me. I was sorry to read of your illness preventing you sending me on yours, I have delayed partly from replyin` to your letter long before this, awaiting your promised likeness, as you said in a few weeks you would send it but perhaps you were waiting my reply to your letter, everyday I am expecting it. I hope it is not missed it is so very long since I heard from (sic) for formerly you were very correct in sending letters. Many very many thanks for the various papers you sent me this past week I received two together - one illustrated. I send some occasionally to you but not at all equal to yours. I do not wish to send you any papers from this except some particular news is going as they are little worth. I was sorry to hear the calamaties befallen to your family, we are all "born to troubles". Your visit to Dublin does not surprise me. It is a bad and broken down place I hear from many. Who could that man be you seen at the College - he must know very little about me - as the time I left there the Society had not twenty pounds or even ten in it's possession, as the Secretary Max Ryan had absconded to America with all it's funds which was not much. I seen him here, I never received one or other neither was there any rule on their books to that effect to entitle me to it,whatever may be now I know not so Another reason of my not replying to your letter long before this was that I waited these several weeks for my son's likeness to send on to you, but as yet he has failed to keep his word so far, however I am compelled to enclose you one I have of his these two years past. I do not send it as any worth, it is so soiled, only that I may let you see the exact features of Your 2 nephews and your daughters their cousins. The oldest George has changed very much since this likeness has been taken, he is now growing monstrously fat. The other less fortunate in the world an exact likeness too (with the exception of a sore nose when he got it taken) I enclose also, i t is very poorly taken indeed. He sent it on to me with 2 more from Baltimore. You perceive that it is regimental. My eldest son is now about 31 years old, the other is 22 nearly. I trust to be able by my next letter to enclose you the 1ikeness of my old woman when taken and also that of the poor afflicted one, my daughter Maria, sorely affected indeed with a notorious drunkard and idler, particularly now at those calamatous times when everything here is so very dear owing to this dreadful war and likely to be more so. She may write you a few lines at the close of this letter as 1 will defer to finish it until next Sunday, awaiting another mail steamer for your letter and likeness - I wish you for the future to direct your letters and newspapers you may be kind to send me to the house of my son George Skellern No. 224 West 27th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, New York. They will be safer there for me - I begin to doubt very much if your letter may not have been kept here in this house by the person who is in the habit of receiving my letters, as some are not forthcoming, my son Charley has written to me also. The Skellern you seen in Dublin know nothing of my daughters husband since he was there 16 years ago, little they know what a drunkard he turned out. Transcribed by Jonathan Engstrand |
