| Title: | Robert McElderry, Lynchburg, Va to Anne McElderry, Ballymoney. |
|---|---|
| ID | 3824 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | mcelderry, robert/25 |
| Year | 1853 |
| Sender | McElderry, Robert |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | businessman (dry goods) |
| Sender Religion | Protestant (joins The Presbyterian Church At Some Point) |
| Origin | Lynchburg, Virginia, USA |
| Destination | Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | McElderry, Anne |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | siblings |
| Source | T 2414/9: Copied by Permission of Dr. Helen Megaw, c/o 66 Malone Road, Belfast. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9007070 |
| Date | 24/09/1853 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by JM 25:10:1993. |
| Word Count | 937 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Lynchburg [24th?] Sept 1853 Dear Sister I have indeed been very remiss in my duty in that I have not written to you long before this time I could not nor cannot at any time write much that is to you of an interesting nature and except to say to you that I am well and in the land of the living I have not much else to say. I have as usual enjoyed good health since I last wrote to you. We have had a remarkably hot summer and a very dry one so much so that there will be a very short crop of tobacce [tobacco?] and the consequence is that it has gotten up to a very high price we had rain soon enough to make a good corn crop so there will be no scarcity of bread. Since I have been to the city of Lynchburg untill [until?] this summer I never have been out of it more than a mile on the first day of August last I took a trip to the Natural Bridge which is about thirty five miles above Lynchburg We formed a small party had some ladies along and of course enjoyed ourselves very much. The Bridge is certainly one of the greatest sights I have ever seen you can pass over the top and not know there was a bridge at the place but when you go close to the edge of the ravine and look down below it is enough to make any one shudder When we went down below and looked up it was realy [really?] a magnificant sight to see an arch so high so large and yet one solid [mass?] of rock. It is a great place for man to go and see his own nothingness man would labour for years and not produce such a work, but the great master builder had only to say let it be and it was There are a great many names cut in the rock at the bridge by people who have come to see it from all parts of the world but there is one name which stands high above all others and a name which people will ever love to remember it is that of George Washington it was cut in the rock by his own hands when he was a young man. The Bridge is so high that to throw a small stone over it requires an amount of strength which few people possess it is said that General Washington threw a silver dollar over it In going to the Bridge we took the canal boat which goes up through the mountains. along the way the seenary [scenery?] is splendid there is one place when going up where the mountains seem to stand up all round and leave no passage for the boat but after turning round a little corner a beautifull [beautiful?] flat country appears in view and after going through a narrow pass where the mountains seem to overhang the river on booth [both?] sides you leave the mountains away behind in the distance, Thomas Jefferson said that a sight of the Natural Bridge was worth a trip across the the [sic] Atlantick [Atlantic?] if it is I have been paid in one way for my trip across that place I cannot say that I am disposed to be greedy yet I should like to have a little more pay than I have yet received. Mr Peters had a very heavy affliction this summer his only #PAGE 2 son a boy of fourteen years died on the last day of July. Thomas said in his last letter that you looked for me home this summer and the [that?] Jane prophsied [prophesied?] I would be there at a certain time I am sorry to say that she has failed this time. I cannot go home at this time without ruining my prospects which are I might say at this time bright. I cannot tell you how it is at this time with me as I am not now at liberty to do so, I will let you know as soon as I can without violating my word. Perhaps I should not have told you even this much as it may excite your curiosity to [too?] much however I will tell you this much. I am not going to be married nor can I go home for some years to come. I think brother William ought to have gone to Austrailia [Australia?] rather than look for a situation in Belfast if times are anything like what they were when I was there it would be much better to leave home than to stay and work almost for nothing. Mr Mathews was here this summer he was well when he left for the springs he will be back again some time this month when I get a letter from home he inquires a good deal about people with whom he was acquainted he often inquires particularly after Mr Boyle. Tell me when you write how the two Johns come on what sort of a boy Thomas Lyle is and if he would be willing to come to Virginia and live with his Uncle Robert let me know how sister Jane and her young [family?] get along in the world Tell David Boyd I will write to him soon he should have written to me long ago as he is indebted to me a letter at this time I will conclude my long and dry letter by hoping that you are all well and that I will hear from you soon. Your affectionate brother Ro. [Robert?] McElderry [envelope] [postmark] LYNCHBURGE SEP [September?] 25 Miss Anne McElderry Ballymoney Ireland |
