| Title: | John Gorman, Newgarden, Indiana to Philip Gorman. |
|---|---|
| ID | 1213 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Gorman, John/1 |
| Year | 1866 |
| Sender | Gorman, John |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Newgarden, Indiana, USA |
| Destination | Ireland |
| Recipient | Gorman, Philip |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | T 1743/1: Copied by Permission of P. J. Balmer Esq., 53 Prospect Road, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 8903091 |
| Date | 06/01/1866 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by JM 15:11:1993. |
| Word Count | 1364 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Newgarden Jan 6th 1866 My Dear Brother Philip I Think it is not full time that we should know wheather [whether?] we are living or dead well Thank God me and My family is all alive and well I dont know wheather [whether?] you have ever heard that I am in the States we are now in the state of Indana [Indiana?] we left Canada 1 year 8 months ago and wish I had left it sooner I would advise no one to go there except a man That can settle down apon [upon?] land and even for that this is the Best country There is a great deal better chance for a poor man to get a hold of a peace [piece?] of land hear [here?] for if you cannot bye [buy?] you can rent there are two Ways of renting here if the Farmer finds Land horses seed and utensils he gets the 2 thirds and you one third for your trouble and if you find all But the land you get 2 thirds and him one John Gilmer [Gilmour?] has got ritch [rich?] by renting but he finds seed and materiels [materials?] him self and will verry [very?] soon be able to bye [buy?] a farm of his oan [own?] but for my part I can not boast of my ritches [riches?] but thank god I am not wanting we have plenty To eat and drink we have plenty of good Fat pork salted up for ourselves and has 14 more coming on This is a corn growing country and when you have plenty of corn you can have every thing Fat hogs fat horses fat cows Fat chickens and fat children and a fat wife in to the bargin [bargain?] that is how this country beats canada the summer there is to [too?] short to grow corn and the #PAGE 2 winter there is verry [very?] hard apon [upon?] cattle but for here there is hardly ever more than a weeks snow at a time and cattle can run out mostly all the time and if there dose [does?] come a bit of snow the [they?] can turn them in to the corn fields where the corn is gathered and the [they?] can live well on the corn stalks as it grows from 8 to 10 or 12 feet high so it would take a deep snow to cover that all up where in canada the [they?] have to hand feed for 6 months and the life is allmost [almost?] frose [froze?] out of them in to the bargin [bargain?] but canada is the best country for wheat as far as I have seen it is a very uncertain crop here I put in 30 acres last year and it was not worth cutting and verry [very?] little in the neighbourhood any better but the year before it was an excellent crop the [they?] will sow wheat after wheat here for 6 or 7 years in succession and tell you it is as good the last year as the first and the [they?] will doe [do?] the same with corn the corn I speak of is Indian corn I have heard of some places that has been planted for 40 years running I will now tell you how the [they?] plant the corn the ground is ploud [ploughed?] and harrowed the [they?] then mark it of 4 feet apart the [they?] then turn and mark it across the same distance the [they?] then get children to go up and down and drop 4 or 5 grains on every crossing men comes after and covers with hoes when it gets cleverly up the [they?] goe [go?] through it with a horse and little scuffle plough and gose [goes?] through it every week first up and down and then across for 4 or 5 times one bushle [bushel?] of corn will plant 8 acres and an acre will yeald [yield?] from 50 to 75 bushels to the acre Well I must tell you how hogs will grow here the [they?] are let run around to about the 1 of oct when the corn begins to get hard then the ones that the [they?] intend to fatten #PAGE 3 the [they?] shut up and feed with as mutch [much?] corn as the [they?] can eat about a bushel and a half of corn to each hog a week is as mutch [much?] as the [they?] can eat and I have been told from good athority [authority?] that each hog will gain about 3 pounds a day corn is all bought and sold and fed to cattle in the ear whitch [which?] makes it verry [very?] handy 1 ear will have from 5 hundred to a thousand grains on it I think that is anough [enough?] about pigs and corn and for oats there is verry [very?] little of it sowd [sowed?] and it is no better than your tailings I never seen any oat meal since I came here but we can raise verry [very?] good Potatoes and vegetables of all cinds [kinds?] with verry [very?] little trouble it is time now to tell you something about our selves our oldest daughter Mary Sarah is Married 2 years ago and is verry [very?] comfortable she is in canada our second Daughter Eliza Jane is to be Married now in a few days she is in canada also she is working at the Milinary [millinery?] and dress making [dressmaking?] and running a soeing [sewing?] mashine [machine?] for a store in toronto and the people she lived with would not part with her for she was just like one of their oan [own?] family and the lady she worked for promised if she would stop with her to she would be going to get married she would give her an outfit the young man she is to be married to is verry [very?] well off and a store ceeper [keeper?] and he is a verry [very?] religious good living young man a Member of the Methedist [Methodist?] church and so is she a member of the church as well as her Mother and myself Mary Sarah and her husband an [and?] Eliza Jane was over here on a visit this summer we are about 500 miles apart our third Daughter Margret [Margaret?] is here #PAGE 4 and going to school she is counted the prettiest girl of the three and might have been Married to [too?] if she had a wished she could have been a ritch [rich?] farmers wife if she had liked now for our sons there is Archy [Archibald?] William and John all verry [very?] near young men and all three about the one sise [size?] the [they?] are all three as good working boys as any Father need wish for then there is three more boys and one girl Joseph Philip Edith and James all able to romp around James is the baby he is 3 years old Mary thinks we will give it up unless you are a head of us [now?] Philip I want to know how you and your Family is getting along and what family you have and how brother Dan [Daniel?] and family is and where he is and what he is doeing [doing?] and how Sarah and her family is and how Mary and her family is and how Eliza and her family is and if you ever get any word from Agness [Agnes?] if so send me her address I am verry [very?] sorry that none of you could ever get out here and I am verry [very?] sorry that I never could give any of you any help to come as we had a long [wake?] family to support and nothing to start on and verry [very?] little help untill [until?] this last year or two I would like to hear about Ned [Edward?] Watson and family Henery [Henry?] and family Robart [Robert?] and family John Carlile and Family I would like to ask after a great deal more if I had room Mary and the children all joins me in sending our verry [very?] best love to you all John Gorman please write soon |
