| Title: | William Porter, Chebanse to Robert Porter, Ireland |
|---|---|
| ID | 2160 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Porter, William/19 |
| Year | 1872 |
| Sender | Porter, William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | Presbyterian |
| Origin | Chebanse, Illinois, N.Ireland |
| Destination | Co. Armagh? N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Porter, Robert L. |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | D 1152/3/29: Presented by Mr Charles Best, Mullaghglass, Bessbrook, County Armagh, Ireland. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9011007 |
| Date | 25/03/1872 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Action By Date Document added by B.W. 03:12:1993 |
| Word Count | 1113 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To: Robt [Robert?] L. Porter [Desert, County Down, Ireland?] From: Chebanse March 25 1872 Robt [Robert?] L. Porter Dear Brother I received your note last week and I now hast [haste?] to write you a few lines in answer to your enquiries I got your paper with the discription [description?] of Nebraska in it it is just like all discriptions [descriptions?] of the kind on paper some truth in it but it is only the fair side of the picture for undoubtedly the state has advantages but all the states of the Union have advantages and disadvantages so has that but when it comes down to actual life viz the best place for you or the likes of you coming out from an old settled country where everything is fixed and settled for 100s of years then I say the poor House at home is better than a Homested [Homestead?] in a new Country like Nebraska you think if you had a homested [homestead?] of 160 acres of land such as Mr Lane describes you would be all right but I say you would be all rong [wrong?] for like here in the first place you would have to go outside civilisation to get it far from society and there you would have to begin and make everything but the land first a house then teams wagons plows [ploughs?] cultivators &c &c well I have been calculating and you would want abut [about?] 300£ to start with on it and with less you could begin among the comunity [community?] of older states and have churches schools roads & railroad at Hand and it would not be so great a change all at once and more over let me tell you that neither you nor your wife could stand it for when I read your letter and comes to think your affairs troubles me more than my own although I have lost this year Here and in Chicago 4000 dollars or 800£ and still I am not concerned about it for we still have 250 dollars a year of income and 40 acres of land well stocked I have all this years crop yet and half of last years oats yet and the children is all fixed by themselves #PAGE 2 so you see we are better here by a good deal than you speak of me going and taking up a farm for you but that I could not do for the reason first I have a place and 2nd I would have to go and live for 5 years on it before I could acquire title to leave or sell next you wish to know how far it is from New York it it is about 1500 miles and the fare about 50 dollars or 10£ for Each Adult it is about 500 miles from here and the fare from New York here is 25 dollars you also state that you have a mind to take 20£ and come out here yourself but I say once for all not to do it for you would not get here untill [until?] you would be homesick and everything would displace you so you would go home more fool than you left a poorer man I say again as I often wrote you never come to this country while you are undecided whether it would suit you better than Ireland for no body prospers Here that thinks he could do better at home when you make up your mind to leave Ireland Do it for good and all and bring your Wife and family along and if you dont [don't?] stay where you are for no man suckseeds [succeeds?] here unless he is broke out there or has nothing coming for you will find dificulties [difficulties?] here as well as there but not the same kind the rod of the landlord is not still holding over you [your?] head and what you acquire is your [-]wn [own?] in real estate to the amt [amount?] of 2000 dollars and no one can touch it now I see you are in a bad fix and the longer the worse for you but you can do nothing in my Mothers day so you will have to wait Gods time it is all for the best although we cannot see it at the time for many things that has befell myself looked gloomy at the time that came out all right at last so it will with you for I dont [don't?] know what you think but I do that we have a certain race #PAGE 3 to run and we must do it although we may think we will do as we will we must so as we can Ann said she wrote to you but I will tell you how she is at present she is better now than when Joseph was alive for she has 2000 dollars and Interest and a house to live in free the garden will almost gave [sic] her enough to keep her potatoes & other things she has 2 cows and can keep pigs so her and the boy Jamie is safe enough but Sarahs Mary is not much & she has them most of the time to keep about my own Children Mary Ann is married to a man nearly as old as me a Widower with one Child a young woman he is a house builder and a good man and a safe match Sarah Jane is married to a young man of good ability & and a printer to trade but since the fire Joseph & him is in partnership dealing in iron and is doeing [doing?] very well so we are all doeing [doing?] the best we can I myself and Wife is all alone and keeps no one only now and then to help once & again at plowing [ploughing?] or Hauling manure or the like we had no one all winter although I had 14 head of cattle and 4 mules to attend which would require a couple of Houres [hours?] night and morning to feed with hay and corn we have had a long winter we have not done the first thing yet in farming the frost and snow continues to fall yet this day it is raning [raining?] a little the first for a long time we will have to pick #PAGE 4 right in when the frost leaves it is different from what I see in the paper you sent of plowing [ploughing?] matching in february I will now close hoping this may find you all well and I hope to hear from some of you again soon this is all I think of at present I remain your affectionate Brother in your trouble William Porter |
