| Title: | W. S. Dilworth, Florida, U.S.A., to Vere Foster, Surrey. |
|---|---|
| ID | 832 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Dilworth, W.S/2 |
| Year | 1855 |
| Sender | Dilworth, W.S. |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | cotton trader, plantation owner |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Florida, USA |
| Destination | Surrey, England |
| Recipient | Foster, Vere |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | business |
| Source | D 3618/D/8/8: Deposited by The Late Mrs A C May. #TYPE EMG W. S. Dilworth, Monticello, Florida, [U.S.A.?], to Vere Foster, Care [of?] Lady Foster, Wimbledon, , Surrey, England, 23 January 1855. |
| Archive | Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9102048 |
| Date | 23/01/1855 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 26:02:1991 TSFS#CREATE created 11:11:1991 PKS inpu |
| Word Count | 737 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Seeing your notice for information, I have concluded to answer your interrogations. I would [faded] [faded] that all our domestic servants are African slaves and it would not be [reasonable?] here for a white person to be in the situation of a domestic. 1st Labourers can get from $150 to $300 per annum either on farms ditching or public works, a good ditcher can make at lest three hundred dollars ($300) while his board would cost him nothing as the employer always furnishes board 2d The custom of the country is for the employer to furnish board washing & Lodging to the laborer. Provisions are so plentiful on the farms in the Country that board is considered a mere trifle 3d Milliners & [------?] could here pay all expenses and lay up every year from one to three hundred dollars all would depend on the energy industry & management of the individual A good boot maker could pay all expenses and lay up from three to five hundred dollars Other mecanics [mechanics?] could do better - A good Smith wheel wright [wheelright?] or carpenter could get from fifty to sixty dollars per month. And by setting up for himself could make more than this, There is no fixed price for [----?] rent board &c. Lands Sell for from twenty cents (25cts) per acre to fifteen dollars per acre Produce of the country corn cotton fruit & provisions. Climate the most healthy and delightful on the face of the Earth. and no Soil yields so readily to labor as this. I have no hesitancy in saying that this is the best country for the poor man in Creation. A man can go into the woods and in a few weeks have his house built & his farm in cultivation. I know many a one what has done this a few years back and now is worth a pretty fortune. The truth is there is no calculating what a man can accomplish here who has judgment & industry. School teachers would find this a very desirable Country Now let me Say a word about the manners in which our slaves - negroes are fed treated &c, which perhaps will give you a good idea of the productiveness of the country. Most planters do not allowance their negroes at all, but give them as much as they can consume of good holsome [wholesome?] food. Those who do allowance give to each negro three and a half pounds of bacon per week and as much bread as they desire. four suits of clothing per year and a comfortable house to lodge in. Statistics Show that an African is in a better condition in the Southern States of America than you find him bond or free any where else on the globe. and really they seems to be the happiest people among us. light hearted & Joyful, full of mirth and enjoyment. They seem to be so constituted that they are better suited to this condition than any other. give him his freedom here, and he soon degenerates into a brute becomes idle dissipated and takes to stealing & all sorts of immirality [immorality?], The attachment between master & Slave is very strong. The master gives him protection and comfort suited to his taste & inclination and the Slave serves him with almost devotion and would peril his own life to save his master's. The system is truly patriarchal. That the[torn] are exceptions to this no one can deny, but they are very rare - and a master who does not feed clothe & treat well his Slave, is subject to indictment & severe punishment I said this much about Slavery because many persons are kept from coming to Florida through the false horror of Slavery where if they [---?] to come & see for themselves they would find it really the best thing in the world for the slave on account of his condition &c. I will give you any further information you may desire & hope this may be of material service to you I have written quite hastily, if I have omitted anything you would like to know write me & you shall have the desired information, of course I have not written this for publication & do not suppose you wish to use it in that way way [sic], or should have taken more pains Your truly W S Dilworth 1855 Monticello. Florida Janry [January?] 23 W.S. Dilworth Wages, &c |
