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Title: Cassie Smyth, Chatham Ontario to ‘Dear Cousin Dear’ [?]
ID2621
CollectionIrish Emigration Database
FileSmyth, Cassie/46
Year1893
SenderSmyth, Cassie
Sender Genderfemale
Sender Occupationstudent
Sender Religionunknown
OriginEssex Co., Ontario, Canada
DestinationCastledamph, Co. Tyrone, N.Ireland
Recipientunknown
Recipient Genderunknown
Relationshipcousins
SourceCopyright Retained by Mr & Mrs J Smyth, Castledamph, Plumbridge, Co Tyrone, Castledamph@btinternet.com
ArchiveMr & Mrs J Smyth, Castledamph, Plumbridge
Doc. No.604001
Date25/11/1893
Partial Date
Doc. TypeEMG
Logunknown
Word Count623
Genre
Note
Transcript[Incomplete letter]

[Page 1]

Chatham Nov.25/93
Dear cousin Dear
At last I have got down to writing
you a letter. It seems a long time
since first I talked of answering
your letter. About two months ago
I was all ready to begin one day
had my paper out and was
hunting [sic] a pen when some friends came
in and of course I had to leave
it for that time; since that I have
never had an opportunity. Jim has
probably told you how we were
engaged all summer. I wrote two or
three letters for father [Father?] while he was
ill and some to Annie; that was
the extent of my correspondence
all summer until my return
here a week ago Thursday. Since
that I have been trying to pay off
some of my debts to my
correspondents.

[Page 2]
Have come back to Chatham to try
to finish up in shorthand, Intended
coming about the first of October, but
we went to the Fair instead, and
then on our return we found Mrs
Fox - Jim I think told you about her -
ill at our place. She is a full
cousin of mother`s [Mother’s?]. After
about five weeks of patient suffering she
succumbed to the disease and went
to receive the reward of a life spent
in God`s service. Death was a welcome
release to her.
I presume Jim has told you a good
deal about the Fair, I think we all
enjoyed ourselves. I know I did.
Belle and I had a little longer
than the rest in the city as we
stayed with friends for a week after
they left. We left home on a
Wednesday evening, travelled all night
reaching Chicago about half past nine
Thursday morning; the distance from
home is about 300 miles, probably a
little more. After securing rooms
in a hotel close to the fair grounds

[Page 3]
we sallied out to hunt [sic] a restaurant
at which to get our breakfast. Thanks
to the directions of the minister before
we left we had no difficulty in finding
one. After breakfast we immediately
went into the Grounds where we
stayed until about half past nine
at night. I am not very good at
describing anything or I would give
you a pen picture of what we saw
The scene at night was like fairy
land. The buildings were lighted
by electricity inside and all along
the tops outside were rows of electric
lights, the dome of the Administration
Building being almost covered with
them. The bridges were hung with
Chinese lanterns and the trees were
garlanded and festooned with gas
jets. All around the flower-beds were
gas jets also Lights were gleaming
everywhere from the tops of the
buildings to the electric launches
slipping so quietly through the water

[Page 4]
of the lagoons and ponds, making a
scene never to be forgotten. Friday &
Saturday we were on the grounds
again. Sunday Sara Belle and I went
to see our cousins who lived about
ten miles from the fair but only a
short distance from the heart of
the city. The boys went to hear the
famous preachers Moody and McNeil
We did not see them again until
Monday morning Then |Monday
night they and Sara started for home and
Belle and I went again to Mr Fair’s
where we stayed until the next
Monday. We visited the Fair two
days after that; the other days were
spent in visiting points of interest
in the city. We went up to the top
story [storey?] of one building 14 stories high
The Columbus Memorial Hall it is
called, a beautiful building built
mostly of marble stone. We saw
one building the Masonic Temple 21
stories high, but had no time to go
through it.

Transcribed by Gary Campbell