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Title: 16. From James Prendergast to his children in Boston
ID5661
CollectionThe Prendergast Letters. Correspondence from Famine-era Ireland (1840-50) [S. Barber]
Fileprendergast/16
Year1844
SenderPrendergast, James
Sender Gendermale
Sender Occupationfarmer
Sender Religionunknown
OriginMilltown, Co. Kerry, Ireland
DestinationBoston, Mass., USA
RecipientPrendergast children
Recipient Gendermale-female
Relationshipfather-children
Source
Archive
Doc. No.
Date
Partial Date
Doc. Type
Logunknown
Word Count768
Genrefamily, neighbours
Note
TranscriptMr Cornelius Riordan
N° 22 Atkinson Street
Boston State of Mass
America

Milltown May the 24th 1844

My Dear Children, I have to address you with
these few lines hoping to find ye all in general
in as perfect state of health as this leaves me
your affectionate mother Brothers and their families
at present thanks to providence. Dear Jeffeory I
have to acquaint you that I received your letter of
the 30th of April last with your check of £5..os.od stg.
which I was obliged to send to Dublin and had lost
one shilling postage and to the 3 or 4 checks sent me
this time past except the check which you had sent
about Christmas last which I got in Tralee. Therefore if
you should draw on the Bank of Ireland Tralee
payable to me I would get the money the very day of my going to Tralee as is most natural from years and
Infirmity that I cannot be very strong. Dear Jeffeory I
have to acquaint you that your Bother Maurice and
family is living in the Town of milltown. He is jobing
in pigs and cattle with the little money reserved by him
and for this year he is sowing a good Garden. Since he
left his situation your Brother John and family are
well but in low circumstances. He has left the situation
which he held in Tralee. Since the death of Mr Charles
Agar he had no quarters by them worth mentioning.
Therefore he had left them at christmas last but he
had left them of his own free will without blemish
and on as good terms as ever they were. Dear Jeffeorey
your Brother Michael and family are well in health and
the Trifle which he sent for ^to^ ye I expect if you possibly can
to remit him same to purchase a little mule as he represents
he would live comfortable had he the mule as he blames
me for the money not coming. Since he received your letter
there were four sheep killed and stolen from him in his
own field. The heads and trotters he found after the night
in the field with young lambs in them. I say that he would
be capable of pulling out were not for that occurrence.
Dear Jeffeory I have to acquaint you that Doctor Agar has
gone to the East Indies and has got a Beautiful situation
as head Doctor in an Establishment and his Brother
Rowland Agar went in two months after the Doctor in a
place called Solone in the East. Dear Jeffeory you will
be pleased to let Mrs McKenna know that her father
Roger Sheehy is dead these two months past and as I was
Informed Died in poverty though having money in Bank by
the wife and from what I could see I could suspect no Better. The coffin which was around him was more like
a county coffin falling asunder at conveying him to his
natural Burying place. Dear Jeffeory I have to acquaint
you that your affectionate mother had sent four pair of
stockings to Judy Riordan by Margaret Fitzgerald. They
were marked for her. The colour two grey pairs one Black and
one white 3 pair ribed and one plain. Dear Jeffeory I have
to acquaint you of a young man who left this country lately
namely Jerry Sheehan who was as coachman to Sir Wm
D. Godfrey Bart had been discharged from that situation
by reason of some money being stolen from Sir Wm D G Bart.
He and a Boy that was in the house as servant name[...]
[...] McDonnell which McDonnell was Transported [...]
15 years. Sir Wm did not prosecute. Jerry Sheehan would have
met with the same fate if prosecuted. Therefore I counsel ye to
beware of him. Keep yourselves civil and strange to him
the Report being that he was as guilty as the other if prosecuted.
Let me know in your next letter how John Ford is getting on
and how is his Eye. We have a parching summer here this
summer. Patk Mahoney begs of you to remember him to his cousin
Patk Moynihan and family. I conclude my letter by wishing you every
Happiness with your affectionate mother Brothers and families who join with me in love to Cors Riordan Judy Riordan Jeffeory and Thomas Prendergast
until Death. Write to me as soon as possible.
Let me know how is Cors Riordan at
present situated or has he any place
at present.
James Prendergas^t^