| Title: | John Hall, Pennsylvania to Lytle Black, Chicago. |
|---|---|
| ID | 1316 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Hall, John L/63 |
| Year | 1889 |
| Sender | Hall, John L. |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | McDonald, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Destination | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Recipient | Black, Lytle |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers-in-law |
| Source | D 2041/13: Purchased from J. A. Hall Esq., 44 Taunton Avenue, Belfast 15. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9311138 |
| Date | 20/12/1889 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Action By Date Document added by C McK., 10:11:199 |
| Word Count | 656 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To: Lytle Black, 602 W [West?] Adams Street, Chicago, U.S.A. From: John Hall, McDonald, Washington County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. December 20 1889 McDonald Washington Co. Pa [Pennsylvania?] 20th Decr 1889 Dear Lytle Yours of a few days ago duly received I was glad to see by it that you were working steady and enjoying good health and still in love with this country. It is no doubt a very enterprising country and if a man had capital there is no place in the world he could make more out of it. There are so many schemes & resources not properly developed. We have got Natural Gas into our town a few weeks ago and it is creating a little bit of a sensation around here and there are also some oil wells going down & yielding a good flow which may tend to boom this part of the country yet. I had a letter from Adelaide last week She says Maggie and all the folks at Eden Cottage are well. Jessie is in Dungannon now and Susan is in England staying with a family called Derbyshire. She went over with Miss Derbyshire who had been visiting at Eden Cottage for some time. Adelaide is home from London where she was on a visit to Lilly Mc Clackland (Devers) and Annie is back from Chester she had been staying with Joseph Lawson for a few months so they all had a great time visiting last summer, but I suppose this is all stale news to you as your old woman across the water keeps you posted on general topics around home. I have not been doing much this last while as my arrangements were upset by my right hand man being hurt in the coal pit and things are rather dead here about Christmas times; but I intend if the New Year were once in I will make a burst at something which will give me a little start, and see if I can't make something out of this country yet. Of course you can't understand what it is to be held in a place like #PAGE 2 this; when one can never get ahead _ no money _ and no resources and above all no intelligence which always keeps a mining district hanging in a state between life and death and now we have got the town incorporated the whole buz [buzz?] is clamor [clamour?] about electing officers and there are hardly half a dozen in the place could chorus to a hog's grunt It makes me sick when I think of the class of wooden heads & dummies are here and everyone thinks he is better than his neighbor [neighbour?] so you may guess it is a paradise _ add to this the streets knee deep with mud since 1st Octr and not three continuous perches of a whole board walk in the town and you can readily see why I am not in love with the order of things generally in this locality; but I will just have to grin and bear it until I get out of here which I hope won't be very long now if everything goes as I expect. I suppose you are busy on your rounds every day and imagine you are taking in Cookstown, Stewartstown, &c, but am sure you find travelling different in this country from what it is in Ireland but there is one thing you are pretty much your own master which makes one feel more at ease and give him encouragement to make the most out of his job. John & Ada Keenan and family are well. John is talking of going out to Nebraska in the spring _ he thinks there is a good chance to do well out there & seems greatly struck with it. I am sure you will be tired reading this nonsensical scribble but it is all the news I have on hand as there is never anything very startling about here. Write soon again and let me know how you are getting along. I remain Yours sincerely John L Hall. |
