| Title: | Robert Smith, Philadelphia, to James Smith Snr. Co. Antrim. |
|---|---|
| ID | 2530 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Smith, Robert W/2 |
| Year | 1844 |
| Sender | Smith, Robert W |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | cattle driver |
| Sender Religion | Presbyterian Check Jonathan And Jon. W, Robert And Robert W Presbyterian |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Penn., USA |
| Destination | Moycraig, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Smith, James Sr and James Jr |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | son-father / brothers |
| Source | D1828/24: Presented by James Steele, The Whins, Mosside, Ballymoney, Co Antrim. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9503084 |
| Date | 25/03/1844 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 20:03:1995. |
| Word Count | 2526 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | [fragment] Philada [Philadelphia] March 25th 1844. Dear father it is to you and all my brothers and sisters that I address those few lines and also to my loving and affectionate mother and with due respects to the horey [hoary?] head of my old Grandfather,it is with a bleading [bleeding?] Heart that I am going to acknowledge my negligence in not writing before this time, but before I finish this letter,I think that I will sooth you with true and tender expressions proceading [proceeding?] from a sincere heart whitch [which?] when you have read and meditated on you will be willing to say he is the same dutiful son, and the affectionate Brother but not yet the loving husband for alass [alas?] I have not yet been successful in getting to myself a helpmate nor do I want one in this country, for there is a sweet flower that has grown on the Carncullough [Carncullagh?] hills whitch [which?] I hope will yet be the garland of my youthful love and the banner whitch [which?] I shall labour to protect, I will now addess [address?] those few lines to my parents. I will endeavour to supply your wants in all respects as a dutiful son,for if I go to the desert there I can observe the young stork of the wilderness; and he will speak to my heart for he beareth on his wings his aged sire, he lodgeth him in saftey [safety?],and supplieth him with food, The piety of a child is sweeter than the insence [incense?] of Persia offered to the sun; yea sweeter than odors [odours?] wafted from a field of Arabian spices by the western gales,I will therefor [therefore?] be grateful to my father for he gave me life, and to my mother, for she sustained me, I will hearken to the words of your mouth for the [they?] are spoken for my good I will give ear unto your admonition for it prossedeth [proceedeth?] from love you have watched for my welfare you have toiled for my ease I will therefore do honour to your age and let not your gray [grey?] hairs be treated with irreverance [irreverence?].I will not forget My helpless infancy nor the frowardness [forwardness?] of my youth I will indulge in the infirmities of my aged Parent I will assist and support them in the decline of life so shall your hoary heads go down to the grave in peace,so shall my own children if ever I be blessed with eny [any?] in reverance [reverence?] to my own example repay my my [sic] piety with filiel [filial?] love. now if you are in want of enything [anything?] do me the favour to ask it I will now say to my brothers and sisters, we are the children of one father provided for by his care; and the brest [breast?] of one mother has given us suck Let the bonds of affection, therefore, unite as brothers and as sisters that peace and happiness may dwell in you [your?] fathers house. and as we are seperated [separated?] in this world, remember the relation that bindeth us to love and unity and prefer not a stranger before thine own blood, for if my brother is in adversity I would assist him and if my sister was in touble [trouble?] forsake her would I not. So shall the fortunes of thy father contribute to his whole race, and his care be continued to you all, in your love to each other I will now leave you all with my blessing on this page and make a few sentamental [sentimental?] remark on the next to My brother James Dear Brother consider now that thou art a parent, the importance of thy trust, the beaing [being?]thou hast produced it is thy dutey [duty?] to support and by what means I cannot comprehend, upon thee also it dependeth, whether the child of thy boasom [bosom?] shall be a blessing or a curse to thyself, an useful or a worthless member to the community, Prepare him early with instructions and season his mind with the maxims of truth Watch the bent of his inclination set him right in his youth, and let no evil habit gain strength with his years. So shall he rise like a cedar on the mountain his head shall be seen above the trees of the forest. Teach him obedience and he shall bless you, teach him charity and he shall gain love, Dear James I have Done a good deal of unmerrited [unmerited?] kindness for you and my purse is still open to releave [relieve?] you once mor [more?] if your wife is satisfied I will bring you once mor [more?] to this country from amongst those who has degraded your carecter [character?] for acting a manly part in the case of your marrage [marriage?] I esteem your wife very highly but dont beleave [believe?] that you have elevated yourself so highly by your marrag [marriage?] as is represented to me by the talk of your father in laws people however as a kind and genteel family the [they?] are highly esteemed by me write to me and let me know if you will act the Calf if you come out here again I will not send for you without the consent of you [your?] wife for you are in duty bound to support her, and may the blessing of God enable you to do so I must now come to acknowledge the receipt of several letters from you when I arived [arrived?] from the western teratory [territory?] one from My father one from my Mother and one from Mrs Scott whitch [which?] I wish you all to consider this a answer to your letters as it is not necessary to write to you all separate [all separate?] you will please let Mrs Scott have a reeading [reading?]of this letter and request her to consider this a [sic] answer to her letter as I could not send her eny [any?] other news than this sheet contains Dear Hannah you will please write me a long letter and let me know how the beloved of My Coasen [Cousin?] is in regard to her feealings [feelings?] respecting the love I have for her and request James to send account of my travels during last summer this sheet could not contain half what I could write concerning my travels in 1843 but I must be bre [brief?] it will not be so interesting to eny [any?] of my friends as to J Scott and if he requests it I will write him a full account of my undertaking whitch [which?] the remainder of this sheet is not half able to contain I will therefor [therefore?] give you a feew [few?] of the particulars respecting my Jurney [Journey?],whitch [which] I heard none of you did beleave [believe?] and that was the reason that I did not write to you before this time. I left Philada [Philadelphia?] on the 27th of April 1843 with the consent of my unkle [uncle?] to transact his buisness [business?] in the western Country,I left at 8 O'clock in the morning and had tea in Carlile [Carlisle?] 150 miles from Philada [Philadelphia?] at 5 O'clock in the eavening [evening?] of the same day I then went to Chambersburg on the rail road and then toock [took?] staging over the alleygeney mountains [Allegheny Mountains?] we than had 8 Change of stace [stage?] and 16 Change of horse from there to Pitsburg [Pittsburgh?], making the whole rout [route?] to Pitsburg [Pittsburgh?] in 56 Owers [Hours?] I would Give you a description of the alleygeney [Allegheny?] mountains but I have not space to describe it, it is 24 miles up the mountan [mountain?] and the same distance down it the largest mountan [mountain?] in nort [North?] america when we arived [arrived?] in Pitsburg [Pittsburgh?] we bought two horses, I bought a fine bludded [blooded?] horse from Virginia as black as jet 4 Year Old and 16 hands high my partner Mr Martin bought a [sic] indian Poney [Pony?] or rather I bought him an [and?] he rode him as the stock was all under my responsibility this martin was once in partenership [partnership?] with My unkle [uncle?] Jonathan on a smuggling excurtion [excursion?] and once with Robt [Robert?] Martin formerly of Ballinagore Ireland in the Grocery buisness [business?], however we started out west from Pitsburg [Pittsburgh?] on two as good horses as ever crossed a fence the first day we rode 45 Miles and then continued our Jurney [Journey?] out west for two weecks [weeks?] averaging from 45 to 50 miles per day I went and settled my unkels buisness [uncle's business?] in the first place and then persued [pursued?] our Jurney [Journey?] to the western reserve and there comensed [commenced?] purchesing [purchasing?] cattle in one day we bought as high 45 head of oxen however it would surprise you the manner of doing buisness [business?] in that part of the country I need not begin to describe the manners of the people in that part of this Country for my sheet would not hold half wat [what?] would describe the maners [manners?] of the western people however we bought 100 head of cattle and three horses and comensed [commenced?] our Jurney [Journey?] homeward we had 12 men starting us and 3 to Pitsburg [Pittsburgh?] and one from there to Harrisburg we averaged 20 miles per day on our homward [homeward?] bound trip we passed 45 droves we made the best driving ever was made on the three mountain road, droving is a very dangerous fateaging buisness [fatiguing business?] although very respectable we aways [always?] drove on horse back there is no fairs in the west like Ireland the maner [manner?] of purchesing [purchasing?] cattl [cattle?] is to ride through amongst the farmers and appoint a place to muster your drove and there comes an old farmer with his cattle following him like a dog he generly [generally?] bears a pan of Salt under his arm and the cattle all follow him for the Salt it was hard some times for the farmer to find the cattle in the woods but as son [soon?] as the [they?] found that the estern [eastern?] man wer [were?] out for cattle and paying cash the [they?] have come fifty miles for us to go and by [buy?] there [their?] cattle and the [they?] could not find them for two days all our cattl [cattle?] excepting twenty were oxen I suppose you will not beleave [believe?] when I tell you that I have often swim all my cattle over rivers larger than the river ban [Bann?] and me still on horse back I have rode my horse as far a [as?] 70 Miles per day and repetly [repeatedly?] swim him 20 perches I have rode over rodes [roads?] on swampey [swampy?] places for 3 miles on what we call cordeyroy [corduroy?] roads that is the trees cut down and the branches chopped of [off?] them and laid accross [across?] the road as compact as possible; I also say that I have crossed the river Delaware with my bullocks Just at the same place that Washington crossed with his armey [army?] I crossed the sisquehanna [Susquehanna?] river over a bridge one mile and a half long we poor drovers has some times good sport, and has to stand all wether [weather?] I will mention one little occurence [occurrence?] that happened to me, one morning Mr Martin and I parted on a stange [strange?] road where we knew nothing of, one gowing [going?] west and the other south to purchase cattle I bought ten that day by riding 65 Miles and Mr Martin bought Eight however I was making my way to some place of lodgings through the beech woods night came on and there I was 9 miles from the shelter of a roof making my way through the woods guided by the branches beang [being?] cut of [off?] the trees was the only index board for my directions sampering [scampering?] along on my most noble horse, with no companion but the wood pecker that is a bird, and a good case of revolving Pistols and a boey [bowie?] knife I was gowing [going?] about 5 Miles per Hower [Hour?], when rushed out of the woods a wild hog and crossed my path my hoarse [horse?] started and rushed into the thicket and I could not save myself any other way but cling on to the branches of a tree and extracting myself from my horse as the branches of the trees cut my head I was in no anger only for the fright of my horse however the por [poor?] animal was mor [more?] scared than I was but I had some trubble [trouble?] in finding my horse among the trees but when I named him he came to me his name was Nepolean [Napoleon?] I remounted and found after riding 6 Miles a comfortable lodging with a [sic] old dutch man for 5 shillings and in the morning Mr Martin and I met at our mustering place at 8 O'clock when I sold all my cattle I had rode on horse back three Thousand miles that would have taken me round all Ireland, after I had sold al [all?] my bullocks I bought and sold 14 Hoarses [Horses?]and the [then?] entered to my old buisness [business?] with my unkle [uncle?] and since that time we have lived in harmony on account that he found the want of me,it is very probble [probable?] that I may take another trip this sumer [summer?]as far a [as?] Kentucky and by [buy?]cattle and take them to New Orleans as I have a friend out ther [there?]that wishes me to enter into that buisness [business?], write Imediately [Immediately?] or I will never write to you again as I want a letter befor [before?] I start if I do but I must hear from there befor [before?] I start if I do but I must hear from there befor [before?] I start I am not sertain [certain?] that I will embark in that buisness [business?] as My unkle [uncle?] advises me against thinking of the matter and I want to go home for the flower of Carncullough [Carncullagh] and then my Joys will be compleete [complete?] but I must make a fortune to match with Mr R before I can hing [hang?] up my hat there and that I can do or else I will never return to Ireland however I cannot love without being loved and if I am slighted I wish you to know the bearer of this Letter is Mr John Mc Kean of stranocum with him I send one sovern [sovereign?] to my Dear Mother & one to my affectionate father and six Shillings that has lain in my trunk since I left Ireland to my two youngest sisters as before my unkle Wm. [Uncle William?] sends one silver thimble to each of my sisters and one pair of ear rings to Jenny & one to nancey the largest pair for Jenney |please read on |
