| Title: | Rev E T O'Neill, San Francisco to Sarah A McNeese, Ireland. |
|---|---|
| ID | 2007 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | O'Neill, Rev. E.T/14 |
| Year | 1896 |
| Sender | Rev. E.T. O'Neill |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | clergyman |
| Sender Religion | Catholic |
| Origin | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Destination | N.Ireland |
| Recipient | McNeese/McNeice, Sarah Ann |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | cousins (not acquainted) |
| Source | D 2093/4/2: Presented by Seamus Coyne, Moy, Co. Tyrone. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9102054 |
| Date | 22/04/1896 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by JM 16:11:1993. |
| Word Count | 2781 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | ST. DOMINIC'S MONASTERY, Cor. [Corner?] BUSH and STEINER STREETS. San Francisco, Cal. [California?] April 22d 1896 My Dear Cousin Sarah Ann McNeese, I believe that is the name given me by a certain young man, by name Wm [William?] McCreley. who Called on me some short time ago, Stating that he had recently returned from Ireland. And that his home there was in the Vicinity of your place - Like all good Neighbors he had Called upon you, when there, He informed me that a few lines from me would please you So as he appeared to be an honest looking Young man, I believed him, Hence In trying to Keep the promise made to him - Well, My Dear Cousin, I am happy to make your acquaintance, This being the first time for me to hear of you or learn your name - The Name "Sarah Ann" Sounds sweet in my ears as it brings back to me many fond and sweet recollections of the past, when She who gave you that Name and myself were the greatest of friends, She was to You a Dear Mother and to me a Dear and good friend, whose demise I have mourned, But we must hope to all meet in heaven in a short time, Short and Soon I hope for me at least. let me say hear Dear Cousin that I hope you are all well and happy I have had no word from home in a long time the last was from Cousin Lizzie of Donaghmore at the Death of her Dear Mother, Then again I received a NewsPaper from Ireland which mentioned the Death of one of Lizzies's Sisters, I do believe, that young sister was in her lifetime, most pleasing to God and His Blessed Mother, so I offered the Holy Mass for the repose of Soul on the Altar of the Most Holy Rosary in our Church, and as I finished the Mass I experienced More Joy than I ever did since or before - Now, Dear Cousin You see I am not forgetful of any of you at the Holy Altar. There I unite all, and unite with them all living and Dead - I did answer Lizzie's letter, at the Death of her Dear Mother, and I sent her a Rosary Beads, as she requested, perhaps she never received either, or perhaps as I selected a Pair of Very large and strong beads, in order that they might bear up and retain for Ever - the Big #PAGE 2 Blessing which I intended to impart to them for her, they Could Not Pass through the Post Office - It seems strange, that as Your Dear Mother and I were such dear friends in our young days, that I have heard so little about any of her family - and that I had to live to be 64 years old, before writing my first letter to the Children of Sarah Ann. I hope I wont be so neglectful in the future, but this future wont be long and I must increase my speed to make up for past neglects. I have, in the years past received many Kind letters from my Dear Cousin Catherine of Listahoy [Lisnahoy?], but for the past 4 Years none, what has become of her? Well, My Dear Cousin, Your home was saddened in your early Childhood, but I hope you have trusting in God, turned these trials to the best advantage, They were severe, but the Good God who sent them Can in return, Console the hearts And the homes that were afflicted, and this I pray may be the Case with you all. Now I never Could fix in my mind where you live, because I know only the roads leading from Coash to Dungannon, To the City Called Moy and then on to the Town of Armagh, to Donaghmore and Verner's Bridge, Oh, I knew [Lauhy?] Corner and the place Called the Bush, but I never heard of the place Called Listamnet [Listamlet?] [Lisneight?], Whether Listamnet [Listamlet?] [Lisneight?], is behind Moy or before Moy or to right, left, North or South of Moy I cant say, It may be to the East or West, and this I dont know either, So I give it up for lost to me Perhaps, the Name is French and that, why I never heard of it for they spoke no french in Coash, when I was there. But there is one place I remember, even to this very Morning, and Well I do remember it, and that place is Old Moy - The town or City or whatever you may term it I never Could like It was always Cold there and smoky Dusty and Musty, the Ladies of Moy, in my time, dressed in a fashion having all those horrible Defects that I found in the appearance of the place - I hope all is changed for the better, Mr McCreley spoke rather in a friendly tone of Moy - but I Just heard him and was not converted from my early Cold impressions of Old Moy - Now my dear Cousin if you have all your Kind words for Moy, Just do not blame me for saying what I thought of it, when I used to tell your Dear Mother about it #PAGE 3 and Dear Cousin Catherine also they a kind of thought with me in that Matter. Now I was always an Authority with my dear Cousins and especially in the matter of Ladies Dresses and their Head dress - we call them things Hats in this Country, If I gave my opinion of the Ladies dresses they were all attention and I tell you what. You Dear Mother Just Loved a fine Dress Every thing complete and Catherine also. Now you must remember that I lived in the Old House of Coash where every thing was well kept and Everything worth keeping, There were none of your old Haberdashery frauds or hand me downs there neither of people or things in general, because they took their Fashions and Customs in general from Dungannon and good Common sence [sense?]. Hence I had my mind and Eyes trained up to that standard and I knew that except things were in keeping with the taste and Customs of old Coash they were all wrong, And I often told Srah [Sarah?] Ann and Catherine when I returned of the Deformities of the Dresses which I had seen in my travels and of the people also. I was quite as confident with both of my dear Cousins in matters in general and of Ladies fine Dresses in a particular manner. So we all Came to the Conclusion that Moy was a quaint old town with quaint old people, Now Mr Creley's visit to me revived many of my old impressions of Moy - and of the people who resided there in my time; but I heard him out with the greatest effort at gravity and I did not let him even think of what I was thinking of the old times, You see, when I went out from Coash in any direction, I regarded Myself as One of the O'Neills of Coash and that was Enough for me to walk strait [straight?] and keep my mind to myself. Hence my rather independent Character, knowing that I had all Coash at my back, as long as my Dear Cousins. Catherine and Sarah Ann stood by me in my report of these Matters, forced me to be rather particular in keeping close to the customs Established in and about Coash. And I Just feel inclined that way yet. The old #PAGE 4 feelings of pride in the perfection of what I knew to be the rule there haunt me yet. And if I had anyone here who could understand me in these details I would never tire in talking them over as I did with my Cousins in in [sic] the good old times of my youth. How happy I felt when New Dresses and New fashions Came to the fore. And how anxious I was to see them put on and I Just boiled all over with Joy, when I saw them (my Cousins) full dressed going to the Old Chapel on Sunday morning, because I knew from investigation and experience which I gained in my travels, that there was nothing to come near the perfection of their dresses - God rest their souls, little they thought then that I would mention these things at this late hour. But the good people and the good thing of those Days I never can forget, I was so pleased to look at the Fancy Laces and Embroidery of their Finery, that I thought I should try my hand at the Art of Embroidery, So I stole a lot of the fine silk and Worsted used by my Cousins, took some of their Needles and Wax and a share of the utensils I had seen them use in fine art, & then I started in on my own Hook, as the Dutchman says, to Embroider. My place of Business was out in the Fields, but I was after some time missed from the House and Called to order for my absence, & my Ears pulled betimes But I was a great student in that High art and bore all in patience, Finally I was detected like thieves always are and I was convicted. As I had no other place of concealment I carried all the articles of my my [sic] workshop in a Satchel strung round my neck and carried it pushed into my breast on one day being startled by some one who came near my place of Business unexpectedly, I forced my bag in haste into my breast but made a bad Job at concealing it and having to appear in the House instantly My Dear Old Aunt detected the retundity [rotundity?] of my breast and demanded an explanation and on the spot I had to deliver up my ill gotten goods for inspection, which defamed me in the presence of all. When the worsted and Silk, the Wax and the thread together with the Bodkins and scissors, were all turned out on the floor of the Old Coash House in the Kitchen, there was a terrible Commotion. for the time being. Every body had lost something #PAGE 5 or feared they would be the next Victims of my pilfering propensities, The servant girl who had hair Pins, and head Bands, with bead ornaments, and Side Combs & Cracked Combs, for their hair were frightened almost out of breath, when my Aunt scattered the contents of my Satchel before them so they Hastened to find whether anything was missing of their valuables, vowing to keep a watch on the Young rogue Ned. But what would have given me the worst Blow of all was never found out and now I Confess it for the first time. It was this, I was working on what was Called a Fire Screen. Cousin Catherine had Just Graduated at Miss Small's Ladies School at Dungannon - And her special works of Art were when she returned home, on Exhibition. She had some Paintings which Cousin Hugh O'Neill remarked he Could beat out, with a piece of a Burned stick, That horrified me and displeased others also. But she had worked a Fire Screen which all admired and so did I. And this I was determined to beat. For this I had to get Black Broad Cloth, or the nearest thin [thing?] to it, and having no Cash or Credit I was much troubled at my Condition and anxious to find what I wanted, I happened to find a Coat belonging to one of the hired men and thinking he did not want it, I determined that I did, so I Cut the Skirt of the Coat and began to fashion it for the Fire Screen but Just when I had it near prepared to begin my work of Art my Aunt Caught me, but as I had to Conceal the Cloth outside the House as I could not conceal it in my breast, that Just saved me from dear knows what. Now I had to walk very straight for a long time in the Vicinity of Coash House. So finally my taste for Embroidery wore off - But if I did not Embroider I pelted them in many other ways, before I ran away from home. This brings me back to old Moy, where I Slept my last Night in old Tyrone. Old Moy with all its faults gave me protection on that Night and Salt Herring for breakfast, It was Friday, I had taken £20 in Notes from my dear Mother, and fearing I might get robbed or taken back as a Robber, I placed the Notes between the linings of my Cap, and throwing it on the table went to sleep, I was Convinced that No one would steal the old Cap and as to the #PAGE 6 small Coins in my pockets they might take them So I got off all serene - I expected to be pursued by some one of my friends, so I hoped that as they could not find the Money in my pockets they would believe me, when I intended to tell them, I had been Robbed and then I might make my escape again with the Cash After Years I paid my parents the £20 - With Intrest [Interest?] so that much is settled, Now Dear Cousin the principal reason for my long neglect to write home was that I expected to be Dead long ago and if dead I Could not keep up the correspondence so I was Convinced therfore [therefore?], I neglected to establish it But Mr Creley's visit woke me up to this effort and indeed I was frightened at the idea of writing I thought you might have regarded me as dead and in the grave. I have been very near that point during these last seven years, and I a kind of think I am still nearer now than at the beginning but must wait yet. I am almost helpless from Rheumatism, for this seven years, Confined to the House. Just able to celebrate Mass, which thus far, I can do with the greatest difficulty. All other duties I had to relinquish, I can take part in the Choir to sing a Mass, and some other little acts, but cant sit in the Confessional nor give Holy Communion Baptize Preach nor marry, so I am a kind of retired from business. I am still hoping to get better, trying all the new and old remedies but without success I have to try to write these few lines wrapped up in my Blanket, Of late, I do not suffer the terrible pains which I used to have, I can rest better at night, but when I make the least effort to move or walk all my Joints rise up in rebellion. so I have Just to keep in Bed or sit still in the Blanket But in appearance I am one of the 7 wonders of the world, as a perfect Deception. Everyone who comes to visit me remarks how well I do appear, How healthy looking. Even my good Doctor, God Bless him, the other Day said he never found such a healthy Constitution as I have (only for the Rheumatics) well I believe all this, I know I was always good looking Handsome and Gay as a lark, pretty, yea, beautiful, because My Dear Good Mother was the most beautifull [beautiful?] Woman in the North of Ireland, the people here are ignorant of that part, and that's my secret and the #PAGE 7 reason why I am still so handsome Even in my Blankets. Now I feel happy that I have told you that - and when I send you my Picture, if I live to do so, you will Just say I told the truth, But perhaps your Post Office - but Lord it must pass through old Moy and the smoke of the place would destroy it, and the Post Office is a small concern, Well I will think the matter over, Dear Cousin, will you give my kindest love to all the McNeeses & tell me their Number. Please remember me to all the different branches of old Coash, Tell me how I might find your place out. Let us make the starting point from old Coash House In order that I may Just think of where you live. Your Cousin Edward Tho [Thomas?] O'Neill O.P. P.S. The Coat Stolen was an old Dilapidated one ETO'N- [Edward Thomas O'Neill?] |
