| Title: | William Heatley, [Iowa?] to Mary Quinnn, Wicklow. |
|---|---|
| ID | 1413 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Heatley, William/13 |
| Year | 1851 |
| Sender | Heatly, William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Wexford Landing, South Carolina?, USA |
| Destination | Co. Wicklow, Ireland |
| Recipient | Quinn, Mary |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | siblings |
| Source | Donated by Jim Rees, 3 Meadows Lane, Arklow, Co. Wicklow. e mail j rees @.iol.ie. |
| Archive | Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh. |
| Doc. No. | 9809171 |
| Date | 24/06/1851 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 15:09:98. |
| Word Count | 1454 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | [Letter written by William Heatley to his sister Mary. This letter was discovered in Barndarrig in January 1996 and given to Fr. Jim Murphy, parish priest of Kilbride / Barndarrig. Fr. Jim is [interested?] in local history, attached to the Wicklow Historical Society, and he deciphered it and passed on the transcript he made to me. It was addressed to Mary Quinn, Tomdaragh Post Office, Co. Wicklow. N. T. Mt. Kennedy [Newtown Mountkennedy?] was written on the envelope in a different hand. This letter was written just three months after Heatley's arrival in Iowa. Wexford Landing, June 24th, 1851 Dear Mary, We are all well here thanks be to God for it. I never got better health. People say I am fatter than when I left home. Christina has got married in Dubuque City to a Dublin young man of the name Rowane, he keeps cornstores and has 840 acres of land near Dubuque convenient to the convent of the brothers of Melleray Abbey in the County Waterford. It was someway extraordinary that Christina was sent for by several young men in every place she went, first by a young man in the ship we went over in to New Orleans, and in the steam packet we went up to Little Rock by a young captain that was in the Mexican war with Gen. B. Byrne. He was a Protestant, he told Father Hore he would go to Mass with her, the like offer was made by several others. I still thought her too young, but she has improved very much in sise [size?] and appearance. I have dwelt on the subject too long only that you should wonder that we should part with her. I wrote to Abey [His brother Abraham. N.B. He also had a son Abraham?] of Killougher and to Mrs. Byrne of Ballydowling, and to John Heatly [Heatley?]. Wexford landing is about 600 miles above St. Lewis [St. Louis?] and St. Lewis [St. Louis?] is about 1200 miles from New Orleans. Eliza has got a young [donkey?] last week, we have called it Maryanne. I have purchased 320 acres of land in this place, two quarter sections. The first quarter section I purchased I will sell out as I do not like it as well as this last I purchased. I bought eight or nine acres of broken ground and have sowed corn in it and potatoes in it for this year. I am to begin this next week to build my house, it will be very near Father Hore's house and about twenty minutes walk from the church, it is great. Irish people in many cases lose their religion in this country, but I hope I never will for I am more attentive to my religion than I ever was at home. In St. Lewis [St. Louis?] and Dubuque religion is carried on with greater perfection than I ever seen it carried on in Ireland. This country has a very handsome appearance at this time. To look at any part of it and you would think to have the appearance of a gentleman's lawn. I have traveled over a wonderful dale [deal?] of this country before I purchased. There is a great dale [deal?] that people have to go through before they can settle themselves to their liking, for some land will be swampy therefore subject to fever and ague; other lands will want good springs or timber, other lands will be too far from priest or Chappel [Chapel?], etc. The last place of 150 acres I bought is a wonderfull [wonderful?] handsome place. It is something like Croneybyrne domain [Cronybyrne Demesne?] but it is four times handsomer with hills and woods, meadows like gentlemen's lawns and decorated with flowers of all descriptions and wild strawberries. I have never seen so handsome a country in Ireland as this, at this time. The land here is a ritch [rich?] lome [loam?] with a great depth of soil and limestone rock. One field would manure a whole townland in Ireland and have a nuff [enough?] of ritch [rich?] soil for itself after. What they call prerialand [prairieland?] here is land cleared of all woods with grass very tall, some seven feet high, less ritch [rich?] land with grass two or three feet high. A great part of this country consists of this type of land. I have some of the finest timber in my land that I have ever seen, as oak, hickory, black and white walnut, sugar maple and a variety of other kinds. There is a beautiful strame [stream?] of fine water runs between the wood and the open land. The strame [stream?] is about the sise [size?] of that below Croneybyrne [Cronybyrne?] sufficient for a mill. I bought four large oxen for plowing [ploughing?]. They cost me 110 dl [dollars?]. I bought two cows, they milk well here. I gave 34 dollars for them. A wagon I gave 41 dl [dollars?] for it secondhand, it is nearly as good as new. A plow, [plough?] 11 dols [dollars?] people say it is wort [worth?] 15d [dollars?]. The plows [ploughs?] sell at a dollar per inch, it is in breth [breadth?] in sock, that is it will cut from 8 inches to 23 inches of a sod according to wide. The [they?] will rape [reap?] 14 acres of whate [wheat?] or oats with four horses working a machine with one man to draw out the shaves [sheaves?], other men will go thrash [thresh?] out your whate [wheat?] with his horses at your own place at 5 cents per bushell [bushel?] There [are?] wonderful machines in this country. As soon as I bought land in this country I went and made my protest against the English government and its Queen and if there could be anything stronger against it I would, for I abomibly [abominably?] hate everything English, that curse of mankind that withers every country she blows her .. (illegible) .. breath on, that curst [accursed?] race of landsharks in Ireland that extract everything from the unfortunate slaves they are over, and will starve them when they cannot get more. When I think of some of their pride and the contrast of ritch [rich?] ones here, I think of Lucifer's children. If in this country you purchase land if you find gold, silver, lead or any other mine, it is yours and nothers [no others?], but under that cursed of governments in your country, if you lay out your capital on a horse and cart ... it must be the land devils must have it. I have received a letter from my brother Abey [Abraham?] I was a good dale [deal?] shocked at poor Betty's death. I hope that poor Anne will not fret for me as I am in good health and spirits at this time and I hope good prospect before me in this country. I was writing this letter when I received Abey's [Abraham's?] of 19th of May. Poor John K. The only anoying [annoying?] thing here is the mosquities [mosquitoes?] flies at this time. There were none here until these two weeks. I am told they will go off in the last of July. They are worse on Europeans than they are on the natives. I received a letter from Miles Byrne, he is very comfortable at Little Rock (at Arcansas [Arkansas?]). He is over 14 slaves and has a horse to ride at 174 do [dollars?] a year. We left Charles Redmond at Little Rock. he had 30 do [dollars?] per month. He fell out with a Yankee there and it appears that the Yankee died sometime after and Redmond was afraid to stand tryal [trial?]. Redmond never paid me the money I lent him. Mary Fennell is in good health, she lives with us yet. If her brother was out here with his capital they would do well. It is hard for a person to do well here without some capital. Christopher Kain and Hugh Murphy with their capital and their industry would do well here as they would secure land forever for their children that they could not at home. PS Any wan [anyone?] coming to this country should fetch a good dale [deal?] of clothing in the woolen [woollen?] kind as cloth is dear in this country. Linnen [linen?] thread is dear also. Calico is chape [cheap?] here, delf is dear, glass is not, all kinds of tools is dear. Give my best love to Mrs Byrne of Ballydowlin [Ballydowling?] to every wan [everyone?] of her kind family. I will write to her shortly. Milo Byrne, I had a letter from him at Little Rock. He is well and in a good situation at 174 D [dollars?] per year, has 14 blacks to .. (illegible) .. and [a horse too?] ride about and his board. The climate of this country is like Ireland as far as I have seen yet. Give my love to Abey [Abraham?] and his wife and family, to Christy Kean and to Hugh Murphy and Mary .... and to poor Anne Heatley, let her not fret, and to Mark Kennedy, and to John Bryan, John Kenedy of Wicklow, Mr. Dillon and all enquiring friends. May God bless them all. I remain, dear Mary, your very affectionate brother William Heatley |
