| Title: | Emmet, Thomas Addis to Burrowes, Peter, 1806 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6678 |
| Collection | Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan. Letters and memoirs from colonial and revolutionary America (1675-1815) [K.A. Miller et al.] |
| File | caanan/95 |
| Year | 1806 |
| Sender | Emmet, Thomas Addis |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | barrister, politician |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | NYC, USA |
| Destination | Dublin, Ireland |
| Recipient | Burrowes, Peter |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | friends |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 587 |
| Genre | family life |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Thomas Addis Emmet, New York City, to Peter Burrowes, Dublin, 19 November 1806 New York Novr 19 th 1806 My Dear Burrowes I had the pleasure of receiving yours of July last in due time—& first I have inquired after Mr Fotterell’s as to the matter of business to which it alludes claim to property in Baltimore, and the result is pretty conclusively, that nothing can now be done; & probably never could, even if the party entitled had come out here to urge his claim Mr Puffer is at present in Baltimore, and I have furnished him with all the information I could get before his departure; & on his return shall put into his hands another letter I have since received he therefore will I suppose write more particularly than I have time to do. As to your late law arrangements I sincerely rejoice my good friend that promotion has fallen upon your head & those of some others where I think it will be bestowed In the list of the promotions, however, there are Men of whom I never wish to think; because I cannot think of them without the strongest emotions of aversion & disgust— strong & warm as was my former friendship. In the conclusion of your letter, you ask a question, which, if I did not know the occasional absence of your thoughts, would have caused me much speculation “Do you ever mean to visit us” says an influential officer of the Government of Ireland, to a proscribed exile, whose return would be death by law, “or to send over any of your children.” A man who was very anxious to return would catch at this offer; but that is not my case— I am settled here with the fairest prospects for my self & my Children, my principles & my sufferings were my first passport & introduction here—& they procured me the effective friendship of the leading Characters of this State & in the Union at large In proportion as I cherish those principles, I am respected, & every day’s reflection & observation makes them dearer to me Ought I to go, where they are treason—& sufficient ground for perpetual proscription? Besides my good friend, I am too proud, when vanquished to assist by my presence, in gracing the triumph of the Victor And with what feelings should I tread on Irish ground?—as if I were walking over graves—& those the graves of my nearest Relatives & my dearest friends No, I can never wish to be in Ireland, except in such a way, as none of my old friends connected with the Government, could wish to see me placed in As to my Children— I hope they will learn here to love liberty too much, ever to fix a voluntary residence in an enslaved Country Nothing in their future prospects gives me more pain than the fear that my eldest boy will be obliged when he comes of age, to go to Ireland to dispose of some settled property; which, if I were worth a few thousand dollars more, I should wish rather in the hands of my greatest enemy than his There is not now in Ireland an individual that bears the name of Emmet— I do not wish that there ever should, while it is connected with England— And yet it will perhaps be remembered in its history. With the very sincerest & warmest esteem— believe me Ever Yours, T: A: Emmet |
