| Title: | McIlrath, Hamilton and Eliza to McIlrath family, 1874 |
|---|---|
| ID | 4504 |
| Collection | The McIlrath Letters: A family history in letters from New Zealand to Ireland (1860-1915) [Bassett, McKee et al.] |
| File | mcilrath/23 |
| Year | 1874 |
| Sender | McIlrath, Hamilton and Eliza |
| Sender Gender | male-female |
| Sender Occupation | farmer/housewife |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Kowai Pass, Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Destination | Killinchy, Co. Down, Northern Ireland |
| Recipient | McIlrath family |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | son-parents / daughter-in-law |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 439 |
| Genre | family, photographs / history of her family |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Kowai Pass Feb 15th 1874 My Dear Father and Mother We received your welcome letter of February 28 which brought us the good news of you all being well as this leaves us at present. Thank God for all his mercies to us. Dear Mother I often wish you were here as I should so much like to see you besides it would be nice for Hamilton to see his dear Mother occasionally I know it often grieves him having neglected writing to you. But I must tell you that it is not for want of thinking and speaking about you all and wondering if you are looking much older or younger of course you will not be getting any younger that we all know. Dear Mother we would so much like to have you and Fathers portrait to have them to look at occasionally we would also like to have Mr William Mcllrath and Mr John and families. Dear Mother we would be delighted if you could only see our dear little baby boy he is such a little darling and such a merry little fellow and the picture of Hamilton he is nine months old and making an offer to walk. We must have his likeness taken soon to send to you as I know it will remind you of Hamilton when he was a dear little baby of yours. And now I hope you will rest content to know that I will do my best to make house and home happy and comfortable. I see since your last letter that Hamilton forgot to mention my name so when I must a little about it. Eliza Jane Atkinson. We came to New Zealand about nine years ago. My Father and Mother and seven of us girls. My Mother never had a son. We had great trouble on board of ship. We all had brain fever. My Mother and two sisters died on board of ship with it. So that left all the rest of us very lonely coming to New Zealand. My sister Abbey was 11 years old and Emily was seven years old so there was two younger and three older. By the bye I forgot to mention that we had Arthur Logan to see us shortly after he came to this country. He is a very steady looking young man and I think will do well in New Zealand he is living with Mr Robert Mcllrath. Goodbye I must conclude with kind love and best wishes from Hamilton and myself. Believe us ever to be your affectionate son and daughter Hamilton and E J McIlrath |
