| Title: | John Collins, Saint Louis, to "Dear father" |
|---|---|
| ID | 677 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Collins, John/13 |
| Year | 1849 |
| Sender | Collins, John |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Saint Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Destination | Ireland |
| Recipient | unknown |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | son-father |
| Source | T.2834/1/1. Presented By Dr M. McGeown |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Belfast |
| Doc. No. | 9406192 |
| Date | 09/04/1849 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 10:06:1994. |
| Word Count | 1462 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Louis ---- Saint Louis Easter Monday April the 9th 1849 Dear father I now take the favourable opportunity of writing these few lines to you hopeing [hoping?] to find you and my Mother brothers and Sisters all in good health likeways my friends and neighbours as I am in the enjoyment of the very best of health at present thank God Dear father I wrote you a letter on the 12th of January last to which I was Expecting an answer every day this last month and have got none as yet I was a little uneasy to hear from you until I heard a letter from Mr. McDonald ^he^ mentioned in his letter for to be remembered to me and to let me me know that he was at my fathers for six days and that he never got such friend ship shown him by strangers before and indeed it was a satisfaction to me untill [until?] able for to hear the same for Mr. McDonalds is a home for me any time I wish to stop I was liveing [living?] at his house when he sailed from New York for home Dear father I can tell you with the greatest contentment that I have had ^the^ pleasure of being in conversation with Mr. Reavy of Portadown he is in St [Saint?] Louis about ten days I have been in company with him two or three times since I spent the afternoon with him yesterday and took supper with him he says he thinks more of this place than any other part of America that he has saw yet I think that he will be apt to stop here but still he is not sure as yet I will be able to give you a true account in my next letter whether or not Mr. William Chapman was in this City this two months past I never saw him Mr. Reavy was telling me that he was for going to California but he told me yesterday that he believes that he is not ^gone^ as yet Dear father I gave you Alittle [a little?] knowledge of the sort of a place St [Saint?] Louis was in my last letter of it reached you but any hour its useless for me to be takeing [taking?] up paper saying anything more of any consequence about it now for I know that Mr. McDonald have gave you a more satisfying account of it in every way than I could do Dear father religion is carried on here to a great extent I never of I was in Ireland for 100 years would see what I saw this last week {James Magee and family is in good health I was talking to James on Thursday last and he said he was going to move that is to flit to another house from where he was on that day} I stated to you in my last letter that there was twenty one Churches in this city including all and there is nine of them Catholic but at all events there are religion of all kinds here that wer [were?] was mentioned and Churches of all sorts accordingly there is an opportunity here for all that wants to attend their religion to do so in every manner that is religious and good I now want to let you know a little about how Markets rates potatoes from fifty to ninety cents per bushel, Indian corn thirty five cents per Do oats thirty cents per Do beef from five to eight cents per lb mutton 6 cents per lb pork this winter was from three dollars to three and one haf [half?] per cwt of 100 lb butter ten cents per lb eggs from six to seven cents per dozen flour from five ^dollars^ upwards per barrell [barrel?] but for Oatmeal there is no such thing in question excepting in a druggists store & you will get there just the same as any other medicine you call on I also mentioned about James Conley you said he would like an advice from me whether I would advise him to Marry before coming to this country or not but I couldent [couldn't?] advise him to Marry before coming to this Country or not but I couldent [couldn't?] do that with judgement there is one thing I can say that there is a liveing [living?] here for every person married or single there is one thing to be observed to in the difference in a young man coming Married or single here a young man may come here single and have money and spend the last dime before he earns one Dollar he may have scarce any money coming here and soon have plenty its all just according as he settles down or falls in but anyhow if he has got married he will be more steady in one place so therefore I will advise no person but I know that any young man that is coming out to America and has come to the years that a man should marry and at his inclination is to marry he can never meet with the pasture in America to satisfaction like what he can do at home I read a letter on Thursday last that come from New York to [------?] McCanna from Hugh Donnelly and they are all well James is dead I rimember [remember?] the day of the month he died on he went to his supper in good health and was dead before he got finishing it he died of apoplexy or overflow of blood on the brain Bridget and Rosey are both well and at service he said that times were hard on labouring men there this Winter and would like to come to Saint Louis if he got incouragement encouragement?] I was glad to hear of the people haveing [having?] the heart to marry in the old Country yet and I respect Alice McConwell for just letting the young fellows see that she wasent [wasn't?] depending on them (I say good on her head) how is Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse Mr. and Mrs. Tate ANDREW DANIEL Saint Louis Easter monday April the 9th 1849 Dear father [d----?] take in the Conivincement [Convincement?] I hope its for good luck I now take the favourable opportunity of writing these few lines to you} / Dear father I think you have a very good idea of St Louis now by what you have heard from Mr. McDonald I know that he gave you more satisfaction about this country than I was writing to you for years every month and all I can do now is to give you a view of it and I have got that in the plainest and Cleanest [Clearest?] views I believe that this is one of the best and improvingest either in the States of america and after all of the people in Ireland was to be ^as^ anxious and industrious as they are here they would be comfortable and contented in a pleasant healthy and fertile soil by degrees than ever they can be themselves here so I can give no more satisfaction of [--- ------ ----?] at present so Dear father I want to hear how all my friends is in [--?] at the and how they are doing and all my ^old^ neighbours in like manner how my Uncle Billay [Billy?] is my Uncle Peter and my Aunt Nancy is ^how^ my Cousins Francis John and Peter Pattrick [Patrick?] and Mary [Devlin?] is How my Uncle Felix and aunt Betty and family is how James McConville and my aunt Lucy and children is how John Mackle the two marys and family is how Pattrick Fearon and Molly and family is how Gregory Fearon Betty and family is how Bernard Fearon Peggy and family is how Roger Fearon and family is how Terrance Mackle and family is and how All--- [Allice?] ODonnel is or of these is no word of her getting married and how Felix Conley and family let me know how if Widow Joseph Mackle and family is and how Tom Tigh Charles and family is Tailoring does well here let me know how Widow Mathers and family is how Thomas Mathers and family is and when they got a letter from here or how is he or if Maria have got married yet and how aunt Rosey is doing and Uncle John and family how aunt Catherines hand is and how [--?] Fearon is or of ever he inquires for me in his letter / wrote this with a pen that Mr. Reavy gave me on yesterday/ To Dear father no more at present but concludes with sending my love to you and Mother Daniel Andrew Anne and Rosey and remains your affectionate son to death John Collins |
