| Title: | Andrew Greenlees, Ottawa, Illinois, To His Brother. |
|---|---|
| ID | 1243 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Greenlees, Andrew/13(2) |
| Year | 1859 |
| Sender | Greenlees, Andrew |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Ottawa, Illinois, USA |
| Destination | Magheramore, Co. Wicklow, Ireland |
| Recipient | Greenlees, John |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | T 2046/8: Copied by Permission of Aiken McClellend Esq. 3 Beechill Pk.Ave. Saintfield Rd. Belfast 8. #TYPE EMG An Emigrant Letter from [Andrew Greenlees?] Ottawa, Illinois: May 30 1859 to Brother [Ireland?]. |
| Archive | Public Record Office, N. Ireland |
| Doc. No. | 8911028 |
| Date | 30/05/1859 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 13:11:1989 LT created 25:06:1990 CD input 27:06:19 |
| Word Count | 1171 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Ottawa May 30th /59 my Dear Brother this is one of our Illionis [Illinois?] [wet?] [days?] which prevents me from doing anything out doors [I?] will therefore embrace the opportunity of chatting a [lit?]tle across the distance with you as I am in considerable [?]ige with my letters I must begin and correct my [de?]bts before the [they?] accumulate any more and as you are [the?] oldest creditor I must begin with you, [w?]e have had a very severe long winter followed by a [qui?]te cold backward spring, however, nature is again [?] that in its rich verdure of green and spring with all [?] beauty and grandeur has again visited us [tho?]ugh we had a severe snow storm as late as the 12th of [Apr?]il yet our crops look well considering the lateness of the [sea?son, you are aware that I rented Uncles farm this [?], I have nearly thirty acres of wheat sown, 13 acres [o?]ats and 20 corn all this I done myself with one [?], with the exception of five or six days work I hired; [?] guess from this how we work when spring [?] markets are high at present corn is worth [?] cents per bushel Wheat 10 cents oats 6 do [po?]ttattoes [potatoes?] 1p.5s.0 per bushel this we call very high for this [par?]t of the country, I have told you what I am doing [I?] will now tell you about my earthly tolerance [?] it bears up under the pressure of work. I never [?] stronger than I do this spring. I have not been sick requiring medical aid for upwards of a year for which I have great reason to be thankful;- for all earthly blessings there is none comparable with that of health especially when in a strange land, this at least is my experience, I would like to see you John very much I often think about you I think you don't have a very pleasant field to labour in I would much rather live with the redman of the forest than with the [I?]rish where you are I never saw genuine Irish untill [until?] I came to this country and I assure you I dont [don't?] think it strange that they are every where spoken against and looked upon with a destain [disdain?] degree of suspicion I would not advise you to come to this country for several reasons in the first place the climate might not agree with you and secondly you would find every thing strange to you customs are entirely different here from what they are at home you would not find so many grades in society for instance clergymen at home are requested and looked upon as superior or a grade higher in society than farmers so also physicans [physicians?] lawers [lawyers?] &c but here character makes the man not the profession he follows all men are respected that will respect themselves live at least morally and improve their minds by study and reading so as to be fitted for society of course this does not include the low catholic Irish and dutch for to a man they are addicted to drinking and loafing around shops such men are abhorred here as in every other civilised community. In view of these facts I would say if you are willing to give up all things for the cause of Christ, come here is a large and open field of labor [labour?] the harvest if plenty but the laborers [labourers?] are few we have a presbyterian minister preaching for us now he is a very fine man his name is Flemings he belongs to the old school, he has been talking with me about you he says you ought to come here as there is more of a scarcity of ministers than in the old country, the population increases so much faster by such an immense tide of emigration that ministers must be supplied fast enough to feed all the flock if you should happen to take a notion to come to this country, by giving your certificate to the presbetry [presbytery?] you would be taken a year on probation and then if found worthy would be admitted as a regular brother clergyman, the reason for keeping foreign ministers a year on trial is this, clergymen that in the old country had been by their own misconduct unfitted for their ministerial duties, and been expelled by the presbetry [presbytery?] has in many instances come to this country and been admitted as regular ministers while they were only wolves in sheeps clothing doing an injury to the cause the [they?] were professing to build up. thus you will see the propriety of keeping all a year on trial untill [until?] they prove themselves worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called I recieved [received?] a letter from home some time ago times are changed since I left Father has now all the care and trouble himself it is a remarkable providence that since Robert has been laid aside he has been strengthed [strengthened?] to pursue the labors [labours?] of the farm, I hope this summer will do much towards restoring Robert to health and strength I feel thankful for the hymn you sent me I am very much pleased by it. I will now tell you about Uncles family, John and Helen have just come and visit about five minutes ago, the [they?] are both well they live about twenty miles from here, John and Amy Hunter are well amy had another girl last winter which makes two they are fine childern. Margaret his uncles fourth daughter was married on wensday [Wednesday?] last I was grooms man his name is Silas Bates a steady young man, this leaves three yet Sarah Phebe [Phoebe?] and Mary Jane. I am sorry to inform you that my Uncle has been quite sick for nearly a half year he is up about half time his disease is bronchittes [bronchitis?] on the lungs the warm sumer [summer?] may recruit him a little but next winter will go hard with him, you have had some changes with you my much respected cousin Jane is now numbered with the silent dead one by one my old associates are dropping of the stage of life and yet I am spared unworthy me in dangers by land and sea have I been preserved and permitted to enjoy a resonable degree of the comforts of this life yet what do I deserve more than others suerly [surely?] God is good for his mercy endureth [endures?] forever (in ways that I have not known hath he led me) yet after all we are apt to forget our kind benefactor, in dwelling sin is always ready to spring up like weeds in the field to choke [the?] [?] you will think that I closed my letter rather abruptly but I made a mistake I thought I was only at the bottom of my third page when [it?] [?] so I [was?] [forced?] to stop. |
