| Title: | O'Brien, Thomas Emlyn to O'Brien (n. Greeves), Anne, 1851 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6175 |
| Collection | The Transatlantic Letters of an Irish Quaker Family_1818-1877 [B. Jackson] |
| File | quaker/177 |
| Year | 1851 |
| Sender | O'Brien, Thomas Emlyn |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | labourer |
| Sender Religion | Quaker |
| Origin | Fabius, NY, USA |
| Destination | Collins, Lake Erie, NY, USA |
| Recipient | O'Brien (n. Greeves), Anne |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | son-mother |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 1433 |
| Genre | work, wages, news, weather |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Fabius 16th of 2 month/51 My Dear Mother I do not know but thee will think that I have forgoten home and Mother; but I think of you often and I would be glad to spend a few days there if I then could then be back hear again. It seams a long time since I left Collins: I never was gone so long from home and Mother before; and then to look forward it seams still longer before I will visit my home again. But I have a hope to see thee hear next summer. I will meet thee or enny one of our folks at Syracuse when ever you can come to see me, if you will write to me before time enough so I can go out there. I do not see why thee can not come to see me next summer if thee gets a good girl to work there (I suppose there Is no prospect of Jo getting one). I think it would be a benefit to thee to travel and come and see me, and rest from work a-while. I have not made eny calculations on going home to make a visit before next fall. Are you agoing to hire Ester to work there next summer, or dose she work for Seth: that was the talk before I left. What of Ann W. [Widderfield] now - thee said nothing about her in thy letter: dos she live with her Mother. I have now got over 300 fens made now for next summer. I sent some up to Buffalo by Morris Fox to have Cortes because ... of the curiosity [fl. I put a paper of seeds in the box for thee: it is what they [call?] Dutch greens. It is to be sowed like letuce seed, and when they grow up cut them off and boil them for greens; they will sprout up again, so you can have greens all summer long by keep[ing] them cut. You must let a few stalks grow up for seed if you like them for greens. Besides this I put an apple in and sent it to William G. It was for a curiosity more than to eat; it is half sweet and half sower [sour], it is not in halfs but in quarters: the largest quarters are sower, that is, if it is like them that I eat. They do not grow in our orchurd: I got it at a plase where we went a visiting. The man said that it was done by splitting a graft into quarters, taking two quartets of sweet and two of sower, and place them together against each other - tell Anson to try some next spring. I do not know but thee was at Buffalo when the box arrived: if so, thee see the fans that I sent by Morris. I told Maria to pick our one and give to thee if thee was there. They are a little more workman like than them I made when I was there. They are grately admired by all that see them: if I get a chance I will send some to Saratoga Springs - I think they will sell well there. I would send some to N York if I could get a chance. I would work at it all the time if I could sell all I could make, for I can make from 10 to 20 in a day, and that is much better than I can do at enny thing else. If I knew when Cortes was going to NY I would send some there by him, if he had not to[o] much business to attend to while he was there. When I write to Maria again I will find out something about it. I do not know but I can get him to take some to the S Springs when he goes down. I wrote a letter to a Mr Root that lives at Saratoga Springs to know if there was eny shop there that cept [accepts?] curious workmanship for sale, I received an answer yesterday: he ses there is one shop of that kind cept them in the summer. Janes & my helth is verry good and has been the most of the time. I have not enjoyed as good helth for so long a time in several years: it seams to agree with me to live hear, though I think it is colder than it is there. We have had some severe cold wether, and good sleighing all winter till within about a week; within that time we have had a good deal of rain which has melted most all of the snow off. Last night it snowed a little and frose verry hard: it has made a great [..?] in the wether and in the going. Yesterday Father and I went to caucus and the day after tomorrow is our town meeting. Last week I attended a sawmill — perhapse I will make it my bisniss for some time. The man that owns the mill is not able to run it himself and wants to get a hand to run it all the spring. He has a contract for sawing 30,000 feet of plankrode plank which he has got to deliver by the first of April. He gives me seven shillings a thousand for sawing, and I board at home. Mother [Fos] ses she rather I would board hear if I did get enny more. I carry my dinner with me. I do not work nights eny. I have to go about half a mile. It is not the mill that Father thought of buying. I can make a dollar a day and nor work by candle. Father just came in and tells us that one of our neighbors little boy has broke his arm: he sliped down on the ice. Father went the week before last out to a place called three mile bay and got a load of grass seed. He got 54 bushels for which he payed $2.00 a bushel and he sells it hear for $3.00. He has sold a good menny bushels all reddy. He spent a week in going after it. I let him have eight dollars and he give me the proffits on on that much, which will be four dollars. Jane ses tell Mother she has just got off the third quilt last night. The first one she quilted, I worked three days on it. The seckond one I worked two days. The last one she quilted last week, while I was sawing, so she had to make a kind of a quilting: the others we done mostly our selves. Mother ses that I can quilt as well as Jane and she ses the same; I think myself that I can quilt as well as half the girls. Father reseived a letter from Morris not long ago and I heard by the way that thee had another grand son. Mother just came in to the room whare I am writing and ses give her respeks to thee (and that Father sends his); and that Morrises wife's mother was hear the other day and was brag[g]ing about her sone in law (Morris), and Mother sed she told her that she had as good a one as enny body. Yes, she thinks anough of me, and will stand up for me enny whare. She ses she will expect thee will come and see us next summer. I have got tired writing and about out of news so I will close for a while. I will not close it today and mabe I will write some more tomorrow. With respects to all, I remain thy affectionate sone Thomas Tell the boys they must write to me, I will expect an answer to this. Third day- the 18th While I was waiting for my breakfast before I went to sawing I thought I would write a few lines more. I sawed yesterday and I intend sawing today, this forenoon and then Father and I intend going to Town-meeting this afternoon, and I will then carry this to the [Post?] I feel well this morning with the exception of a sore lip. I think it is caused by being out in the wind, Jane ses breakfast is reddy so I must close. Give my respects to all that inquire for me and remember me to Stephen & Chloe especially and also to Uncle Nathaniel, Susan & his Sarah, I remain the same, thy affectionate sone Thomas |
