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Title: John Donnan, Middletown, US, to Mr Donan, Cahard, Co. Down.
ID848
CollectionIrish Emigration Database
FileDonnan, John/3
Year1849
SenderDonnan, John
Sender Gendermale
Sender Occupationfarm employee (ploughs, looks after cattle)
Sender Religionunknown
OriginMiddletown, New York, USA
DestinationCahard, Co. Down, N.Ireland
RecipientDonnan, Hugh & wife
Recipient Gendermale-female
Relationshipson-parents
SourceD2795/5/1/8: Presented by Mrs Charles Donnan, Cahard, Ballynahinch, County Down.
ArchivePublic Record Office, Northern Ireland.
Doc. No.9306105
Date15/01/1849
Partial Date
Doc. TypeEMG
LogAction By Date Document added by J T, 30:06:1993.
Word Count1197
Genre
Note
TranscriptMiddletown township January 15th 1849


Dear Father and Mother
I now embrace the opportunity of writing a few
lines to you again to let you know that I am in good health at present
hoping that these few lines may find you all enjoying the same blessing,
I received your letter with great pleasure to hear that you were all well
and doing well, I may let you know that I am still living in the same
place when I rote [wrote?] to you last, I have agreed with him from the
12th of December to the first of April for 20 dollars you want to know
if my Unkle [Uncle?] Thomas has his health as well as he has, I believe
he has it as well as ever he had it, there was a good while that he was
a little giddy headed but indeed he was that at his best, he has got a
pair of boot [boots?] which cost him only two dollars and a half as he
was not able to buy a better pair and I assure you he is a very smart
looking old fellow, as he givs [gives?] you all a description of this
country and habits of the people it is unnecessary for me to say much,
but my friends is all well and doing as well as the [they?] can you may
let me know where the ploughing match was this year and who got some of
the first prizes, I was glad to hear that my Mother had such good fortune
this last season, she will soon become as rich as a jew,
Mother I wish you good health, and long may you be able to rear a good
chicken or feed a good turkey, you may let me know how the big horse
ploughs this season, Hugh when you go out to plough do not look to [too?]
much about you but keep a straight eye and a stiff arm and you will soon
become a pretty good ploughman, when I plough here after the oxen I go as
slow and as steady as a judge and when I plough after the horses I go as
fast as I can trudge for the ploughs are so light and the ground is so
mellow, Thomas I suppose threshing is heavy upon you but the more that you
are a tight little man do not let them impose too much upon you I hav
[have?] only 144 stooks of oats to thresh with the flail, he got his wheat
all threshed with a threshing mashine [machine?] he had about 140 bushels
of wheat and we are expected to have about 175 bushels of oats a bushel of
this oats only weighs about 353 lbs [pounds?] they grind it and Indian
corn together for feeding the cattle, Rebinah Eliza and Margretiane I suppose you are, all pretty good scholars by this time, be good girls to your mother the most part of the month December here was as warm weather as it with you in the summertime but it has now changed to cold there is some days it is very cold and other days it is very pleasant but frosty the snow is about one foot deep and the ice is about 8 inches thick the only thing that they now have riding or carring [carrying?] any kind of loading in is what they call a slay [sleigh?]which is made to hold about four or five people and is shod with iron, they sometimes have two horses in it and sometimes one, the horses has a string of bells around their body and their nacks [necks?] and the faster the horses goes they have the better musick [music?], it is very little trouble for a horse to run on the snow with three or four people, I have not anything more particular to mention for almost every thing is a little different from what it is in the old country, you may let our old

#PAGE 2
neighbour Sir William Donnan know that if he was here I could take a turn
with him at either mowing or butchering but for [drieng?] a kill there is
no such thing, the way that they kill a pig two or three people catches
the pig a [and?] throws it down and sticks it and then lets it up and
bloods till it falls then they have a wood fire and heats a good many
stones and iron and heats the water with them in a big barrel, they put
the pig into the barrel to scald it and draws it out on a bench to clean it, and for cows or bullocks they mostly shoot them I put three little balls into a bullocks forehead for my master and helped to skin him and helped to kill three pigs and a good old Irish story would be very highly recommended here and if I was there I would give him a dry afternoons plouing [ploughing?] for the last one was wet outside and he made me wet inside but I am not quite temperate since I came here,
I would have wrote sooner but I was still waiting for a letter from Frances
folks and did not get one, and he would like that they would write as
soon as this comes to hand, and answer his last letter and let him know
anything particular in the country, and when they write you can answer this
letter and pute [put?] it in the inside of their letter, wee [we?] pay 29
cents for every letter, and 29 cents when we post them the nearest way,
Frances wishes me to write these lines I send my kind love to all my
friends neighbours and old acquaintances excepting none hoping to hear
of them all being in the enjoyment of good health and prosperity No more
at present but remains your truly
John Donnan
When you write direct your letter to Frances Donnan liner post office
Middle town township Delaware county penslyvania [Pennsylvania?] to the
care of Mr William Fox
Dear Mother I wish to let you know that I am still working ta [at?, to?]
the same man by the day when the weather is fit I get 87 cents per day and
I make rather more than half time I pay 2 dollars and a quarter per week
for board but I am 7 miles from where I was all summer in a little town
named Cheston and I intend to work to him all summer I will be sometimes
here and sometimes where I was last summer as he will have more work carried
out the next season he will be about 16 hands working. as Robert Burns was
saying that he and his mother was intending to come out here this next
spring and wished to know wat [what?] kind of clothing to bring I would
advise him to bring plenty of shirts and stockings but for any thing else
it is not particular bur Dear Robert it is a dark step to take you had better make your will before you come on board.