| Title: | [?] Williamson, California to his mother, [Ireland?]. |
|---|---|
| ID | 3346 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Williamson/11 |
| Year | 1855 |
| Sender | Williamson |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | California, USA |
| Destination | Co. Armagh, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | unknown |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | son-mother |
| Source | T 2680/2/10: Copied by Permission of W. P. Williamson Esq., Ahorey House, Richhill, Co. Armagh. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9007151 |
| Date | 06/05/1855 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by JM 09:02:1994 |
| Word Count | 1408 |
| Genre | |
| Note | (one of the Williamson brothers) |
| Transcript | May the 6 1855 My Beloved Mother It dos [does?] Apier [appear?] that i have almost forgoten [forgotten?] you But i hope this Will excuse me for all Mother this leves [leaves?] me in good helth [health?] at present hoping it will find you and All my brothers and Sisters in the same Dear Mother I will relate to you as nere [near?] as Possible My miss fortuines [misfortunes?] and sickness for the last year every thing [everything?] prospered very well with me untill [until?] last August at that time i was taking [taken?] sick with A bad fever and ley [lay?] sick for three Months And I began to think after the first Month that my bones would be [---- buried?] in the wild plains of California, It put me in mind of my Mother and sisters and brothers I thought If i could onley [only?] see them i could die happy But by the Assistance of A good docter [doctor?] and A man to tak [take?] care of me I got well, There is some thing [something?], that I suppose will surprise you when i tell you that my Docters [Doctor's?] bill was the small sum of fifteen hundred dollers [dollars?] For the man to wate [wait?] on me and give me the madicens [medicines?] that was prescribed for me by the Docter [Doctor?], Both these Bills Amounted to Nineteen hundred Dollers [Dollars?], this maks [makes?] A whole [hole?] in the purse fast, But this is California Life and we must be contented with it, - I will relate to you some more of my miss haps [mishaps?] I suppose you have all herd [heard?] A Bout [About?] the aluir [alure?] of the Banks of california and the Atlantic Stats [States?] The faluar [failure?] of [Adams?] and Co Bank took me out of to [two?] thousant [thousand?] five huntred [hundred?] Dollers [Dollars?] of my hard Ernings [Earnings?] in California The same which i onley [only?] Deposited A few Days before the faluar [failure?] of this Bank, This Banking house was cald [called?] the best house in the State, These faluars [failures?] was in January last But as the old saing [saying?] is it is no use of cring [crying?] for spilt Milk, It ma [may?] not be all lost the roomer [rumour?] is the [they?] will pay twenty five cents on the Doller [Dollar?], and there is thousants [thousands?] of people in the [?] some fram [from?] twenty thousant [thousand?] down to one hundred Dollers [Dollars?] So you can sum it all up and it has Drenad [Drained?] my purse right well You wish to know a bout [about?] the quality of land it is very good land and is well A dopded [adapted?] for Almost every thing [everything?], such as barley whete [wheat?] corn potatos [potatoes?] rice shugar [sugar?] tobacco and [in?] all most all kinds of frouits [fruits?], you wish to know the qantity [quantity?] of land and how and what terms, I will first stat [state?] to you the situation of the land in this state and Every New State The land here belongs to the United Stats [States?] Government he grants every Citison [Citizen?] of his Domin [Domain?] to one hundred and #PAGE 2 sixty Acres of land and the [they?] go on and Improve it and when it comes into markit [market?] the price he is required is one doller [dollar?] and fur [four?] per Acre But I did not Squat on the land that i have got for this reson [reason?] the best of the land was all taking [taken?] up and Improved before i took the thought of Farming, So I selected A good location on the river and bought the improvements And his right to the hundred and sixty Acres, now you see when government cals [calls?] on me the price i have to pay is 51 Doller [Dollars?] and A fur [four?] per Acre and the privilege to purches [purchase?] as much vacant land as i plese [please?] of which there is thousands [thousands?] of Acres I give one thousants [thousand?] dollers [dollars?] for the improvements This is all i can give you in relation to the land Your further wishe [wish?] to know the nomber [number?] of cattle i have got the [they?] ar [are?] but few Now but when i rote [wrote?] you last i had thirty five hed [head?] of oxnen [oxen?] and cows Now the [they?] ar [are?] got down to the Small Nomber [Number?] of six I Sold them A long, after i got well, and dopesit [deposit?] the proceeds in Adams and Co Bank, Where Now the damd [damned?] villins [villains?] is living on the Spoil, This is California Life, Wee [We?] must not Cry it is our Luck - I have answered All your questions that know of in relation to the land and cattle you ask a gret [great?] many questions a bout [about?] William which I can not Answer I have not had any Letters fram [from?] William since I have been in the country I ust [used?] to get Letters from Sister Frances before she diad [died?] very frequently, and I have written to William severl [several?] Letters but he will not Answer them so i have don [done?] riting [writing?] to him, All the News i get from him Now is through Mis [Miss?] Amy Smyth, and she told me he had got married as i stated to you before, He marrid [married?] a An Irish girl and his three children wer [were?] all living yet you [expect?] much good [-ele?] a bout [about?] going to church I have not had my foot in a church in a number of years and how many years more it will be i do not know ther [there?] is plenty of [faded] goes to church I have sad [said?] plenty a bout [about?] church you must of Missunder stood [Misunderstood?] my riting [writing?] very much It Apears [Appears?] from your letter that i told you that Ms [Miss?] Amy Smyth was in California but if i sad [said?] so i did not [?] so instede [instead?] of being in California she lives in the state of Ohio with hir Ant [her Aunt?] in the same state wher [where?] william lives If I remember right i told you that i had letters from her and she told me the where A bouts [whereabouts?] of hir [her?] Brother John and where i would find him in California, So you see she is not in the State of California she is in the State of Ohio living with hir ant [her aunt?]. she lives A short distance fram [from?] where william does, I would like rigt [right?] well to have hir [her?] in California Not for anything but Aquantince [Aquaintance?] sake, Because I do not #PAGE 3 intend Marring [Marrying?], for the reason I am beging [beginning?] to look so old the girls would lugh [laugh?] at me to think of Marry [Marrying?], people taks [take?] me to be thirty or thirty five years old so i must live AN old Batchilor [Bachelor?] plenty or Mary [Marry?] You wish to know how far Mr John c Smyth is living from me he is living in the city of [?] he is in the store buisness [business?] and I believe is douing [doing?] well the last i herd [heard?] fram [from?] him he was well and request to be remembered to you all, Sacramanto [Sacramento?] is 45 Miles from where i live, Mr John wondres [wonders?] very much at not having a letter fram [from?] Mrs [wiley?] or some of the family when you rite [write?] to me i wish you would find out the reson [reason?] the [they?] did not Answer his letter, Ant [Aunt?] May wishes to know if I could give her some information of hir [her?] daughter I have not seen or herd [heard?] of hir [her?] since i have been in California Mr James Hill is making very good progress in the line of family give my respects to him and sister Jane and family you sad [said?] in your letter that Mr Samual Hill rote [wrote?] to me but if he did i have never received any from him if I had i would been very gld [glad?] had the plesure [pleasure?] of riting [writing?] to him and Answering his letters, I wish you to give my love to him and wife and the family |
