| Title: | Matthew Brooks, Philadelphia to [Rebecca Clark, Urney?]. |
|---|---|
| ID | 310 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Brooks, Matthew/27 |
| Year | 1867 |
| Sender | Brooks, Matthew |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Penn., USA |
| Destination | Co.Tyrone, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Clark, Rebecca |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | siblings |
| Source | T 2700/5: Copied by Permission of Rev Canon J. H. Gebbie BA, Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9403171 |
| Date | 27/12/1867 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 14:03:1994. |
| Word Count | 580 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Philadelphia December the 27 1867 Dear sister i now rite [write?] you a few lines to inform you that i am still on the land of the living and enjoying good health and i hope when you receive these few lines it will find you and the family all enjoying the same blesing [blessing?] i am Astonished to think that robert clark would raise a report that i was dead i think it strange that he would send a letter to a dead man i received A letter from him a short time Ago informing me that he had arived [arrived?] home in 16 days after leaving here the [they?] mentioned to me that some of [their?] friends was glad to see them and others was not that her brother Matthew had ordered them out of the house and that the [they?] were obliged to go to Mrs Cumins [Cummin's?] to live the [they?] found that it was harder to make a living here that what they expected the [they?] rented two little rooms on third story [storey?] and had to pay 10 dollars in advance for one months rent and his work i suppose was pretty hard so the [they?] got discouraged and started back the [there?] were A great maney [many?] came here this summer that would be glad to get back if the [they?] had the means it is very hard to make a living in philadelpha [Philadelphia?] at present it is impossible for a stranger to get in to a boarding house now without paying his board in advance neither can A family get in to the smalest [smallest?] [?] in the city without paying the rent in advance i heard of several young men that came here this season and could get no employment for several weeks and what little means the [they?] had got exausted [exhausted?] and the [they?] were obliged to go among their Acquaintances and beg what would pay their passage back there was a man in the work with me last spring and he had no means to pay his board in advance and he was obliged to go to one of the Station houses to sleep at night And take a bite to eat where ever [wherever?] he could get it this country is very much changed for the worse i wonder what posseses [possesses?] farmers to come here at the present time provisions keeps at a very high rate And house rent is Double that used to be I would recommend to all that i wish will to stop where the [they?] are sooner than come here at the present time I was hearing a few dayes [days?] ago from John and nancy cummins the [they?] still live out in the country nancy unfortunatly [unfortunately?] got her leg broke some time ago but is now recovering i was seeing our old neabour [neighbour?] Mrs Caldwell a few dayes [days?] ago her youngest dauter [daughter?] has got marred [married?] some time ago and has a young son she appears to enjoy here & nursing the grandson i had a letter from mary love in summer last she mentiond [mentioned?] to me that her father had sent her £50 of a present some time before she wrote to me and she said that her brother James had come on from canada to see her and stoped [stopped?] a week with her Dear sister i have no more to [mention?] but still remains your Afectionat [affectionate?] brother Matthew Brooks |
