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Title: James A Smyth, Ontario to Mary Smyth, Castledamph
ID2748
CollectionIrish Emigration Database
FileSmyth, James Alexander/28
Year1900
SenderSmyth, James Alexander
Sender Gendermale
Sender Occupationschool teacher
Sender ReligionProtestant (Methodist)
OriginEssex Co., Ontario, Canada
DestinationCo. Tyrone, N.Ireland
RecipientSmyth, Mary
Recipient Genderfemale
Relationshipsiblings
SourceCopyright Retained by Mr & Mrs J Smyth, Castledamph, Plumbridge, Co Tyrone, Castledamph@btinternet.com
ArchiveMr & Mrs J Smyth
Doc. No.0604005
Date11/06/1900
Partial Date
Doc. TypeEMG
Log
Word Count1036
Genre
Note
Transcript[Front of envelope]
[Stamped]
Essex
JU 18
00
ONT

Miss Mary Smyth
Castledamfsh
Plumbridge
Co'Tyrone
Ireland

[Back of Envelope]
[Stamped]
Newtownstewart
[---?]
[---?]
AM
00


[Page 1]


Dear Sister,
Yours of the 29th of May, to hand
last week and I am glad to know you are
getting along all right in your new sphere.
I hope you will like it and get along
well. When you are away from home
you must exercise discretion in a good
many ways as you are always dealing
more or less with stranger [sic]. And may I
say something which is applicable both
to boy or girl, always be sure of the company
and associates with whom you are mingling
keep good company and, for goodness sake,
keep far from the boy or girl, man or
woman who is given to drink or other bad
habits. I notice in a great many of
the failures around home the cause
is attributable to drink.
Mary, you write a rather short letter,
perhaps you don't know how disappointing
it is to get one of these letters from
the post office and find that it only gives

[Page 2]
you a few lines of news. Now I don't infer that
mine are always overflowing with interesting
news for the simple reason that many of
the happenings here would not be of interest
to you but everything that is going on there
would interest me.
Likely you have received my letters informing
you of Belle going to visit you. I am
sorry I am not going along. I was speaking
to Belle and Sara Duncan on Friday
in town here. They are going from here
on Friday morning by way of new York.
Thence on the Steamship Fusnessia.
To Londonderry so all being well they will
land there on the 2nd or 3rd July.
I intended going down yesterday but I had
some business in school to do so then
I did not go last night as I would had
to walk back to day again. However I
am going down some night this week or
perhaps twice.
You may be sure I would like to be
going myself and this was my intention
all along until a few month [sic] ago but
I find I couldn't spare the cash
just now. At any rate it will not be
longer than this time next year until
I am going and perhaps it may be
sooner.

[Page 3]
Well my holidays began on June 29 and
end on Sept 4, so I have quite a while
to myself.
I hardly know how my pupils may
turn out. Their exam begins on 26 June,
so I have not long to wait. Your success
in teaching in this country and the
salary you draw depends in a large
measure upon the success of your
pupils at examination.
School teaching is no snof [easy job?]. There is
a lot of patience needed and it requires
a lot of drilling to get some things into
their heads.
I have [sic] about to use the strap once
a week. One boy get [sic] it regularly in that
period I gave him a good one on Thursday for
chewing gum in school. Last week I
gave it to him for [talking?] improperly to
the girls. On both occasion [sic] I think
he thought I had plenty of muscle. I
certainly applied the strap vigorously.
I did not have the occassion [occasion?] to punish
any of the girls physically, yet, but it may
not be long.
We have a gun club in town as you
probably have seen by the paper.

[Page 4]
We have considerable fun shooting every
Wednsday [Wednesday?] morning. I don't suppose
you have ever seen what they call
trap shooting. Well it is an object
something like a saucer and make [sic]
of such a substance that almost one
gram of shot breaks it. This object
or blue rock or target as it is called is
placed in a trap made for the purpose
and placed in a little box about [2?] ft
long and 3 1/2 ft high. The shooters
stand about 10 yards behind this box
and as soon as the call "pull" the
men pull the spring of this trap
and it sends this shell or rock
out with great velocity and it goes
about 60 or 70 yards before it falls
usually it goes about 4 or 5 yards above
the ground and at different angles.

[Sketch given here]
This would represent a cut.
Figures 1 2 3 4 5 denoting the [shooters?].
Box a.b. denoting where traps are usually 3 or 5.
The lines indicate the different angles at
which the shells

[Page 5]
go out. If you hit one it breaks it [sic] pieces
immediately. The total number of
shots fired on Friday evening was almost
400. It is great fun, on Wednsday [Wednesday?]
match I broke 11 out of 20, I broke
8 out of the first ten.
I left off writing and went to church
this evening so now it is almost 11 o'clock
I attended the Methodist church
tonight as there was a lady singer there
tonight and we all went to hear her.
I have just witnessed a death since I
came out of church. A man was killed
by one of the Express trains. He was
hit some place west of this station and
the train carried him to this station.
He was hit right in the skull and made
an ugly gash. He never regained
consciousness and died about one hour
afterwards. He died easily owing to his
not being conscious. So far nobody
knows him. Perhaps he may be identified
tomorrow. Such is life. We don't know
when our time is comming [coming?].

[Page 6]
I shall expect a great batch of news from
Belle when she returns. I will go down to
Woodslee and have about a day questioning.
We had several great celebrations
here over the victories in So [South?] Africa.
I am sure the young ones will remember
it as they get a half holiday on the
[majority?] of such events.
Probably you have received my
pictures by this time. How do you like
them? Willie Gilkison, if alive
would have told me what he thought
of them.
Now I think I have [ready?]
a fair letter. So write soon
giving me all the Plumbridge news.

Your Brother,
James A Smyth