| Title: | James Mc Ilwrath, U.S.A. to Thomas Mc Iltwrath, County Down |
|---|---|
| ID | 1730 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | McIlwrath, James/38 |
| Year | 1893 |
| Sender | McIlwrath, James |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Brooklyn, Iowa, USA |
| Destination | Newtownards, Co. Down, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | McIlwrath, Thomas |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | uncle-nephew |
| Source | D1195/3/36: Deposited by J.W. Russell & Co., 4 High Street, Solicitors, Newtownards, Co. Down |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9310350 |
| Date | 30/09/1893 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Action By Date Document added by C.R., 13:10:1993. |
| Word Count | 471 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To: Thomas McIlwrath High Street, Newtownards, Co.[County?] Down Ireland From: James McIlwrath Brooklyn, Iowa U.S.A. September 30 1893 Brooklyn Iowa Sept [September?] 30 1893 Dear Thomas I received your kind and welcome letter and was glad to here [hear?] you were all well. We are all well here at present. I am glad to know your father is enjoying such good health at the age of 60 years. I did not think he was so old. Please tell him to except [accept?] my thanks for the two books he sent me. Mr. Moore was here to see me a week or two ago. I was very glad to see him. I had a good talk with him. He told me all about Newtownards and its surroundings which I was very glad to here [hear?]. He lives about thirty miles from me at a place called Thornburg. he seems to be a very steady man. Dear Thomas tell your mother to except [accept?] my many thanks for the Friendly Greetings that she sends us every month. We prize them very much. Dear Thomas you said you had a very dry summer. We have had the driest and hottest here I have seen since I came to the states The oat and hay crop were very light on account of the drought. The pastures are all burned up. The springs all dried up. I had to pump water for my cattle and hogs out of wells most of the summer I [it?] commenced to rain to day [today?] and has rained all day. And I hope it will continue so until we get enough. I am glad to here [hear?] that the farmers are begining [beginning?] to use the self binders and harvesters. We could not get along very well without them here. We do all the farming here mostly with horses and machinery. Willie and myself farm 240 acres and does it all ourselves. We had out 40 acres of oats. Seventy five of Indian corn 2 acres of potatoes and forty acres of hay. The rest of the farm is all in pasture Dear Thomas I hope you will son [soon?] be able to fill your father [father's?] place as he is getting old. I hope you will be a preaching (sic) when I come to see you. I want to come and see you in a few years if every thing goes right, Dear Thomas you might come to America and spend a month or two with us and take in the worlds fair. They are having great crouds [crowds?] of #PAGE 2 people there and lots to be seen. I think it would do you a great deal of good. I would try and make a Yankee out of you before I would let you go home. My wife & family join me in sending their kindest love to yourself your father mother and Rhoda Jane. Write soon. Your affectionate Uncle James McIlwrath |
