| Title: | Letters to and from Robert Taylor, Pennsylvania. |
|---|---|
| ID | 3105 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Taylor, Robert/174 |
| Year | 1827 |
| Sender | Taylor, Robert |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farm owner |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Mifflinburg, Penn., USA |
| Destination | Co. Down, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Taylor, Thomas |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | cousins |
| Source | T 1435: Copied by Permission of Mrs W.A.F. Martin, Tobermoney, Co Down. #TYPE EMG Extracts from Letters, Taylor Family, Ballygoskin & Rathcunningham, Co Down, to Robert Taylor, Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania U.S.A. 1799 - 1827. |
| Archive | Public Record Office, N. Ireland |
| Doc. No. | 9001021 |
| Date | 15/10/1827 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 869 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Mifflinburg, Union County, Oct. 15th, 1827 Dr [Dear?] Sir: I recev'd [received?] yours of April 24 (This statement serves to identify the writer, and for whom this letter was intended, see copy of Thomas Taylor's letter of April 24, 1827, above, it was apparently written to Robert Taylor's aged and prolific cousin, Thomas Taylor, it is also possible in the interval, between April and October, Robert heard of his cousin's death, and in consequence did not send this letter, which has remained among his papers, W.f.W.) with the agreeable news of your being yet in the land of the living, but sorry to hear of your many infirmities, I also recev'd [received?] yours of 26 and wrote to you last fall. I also wrote to you in September 24, when I sent over for the mony [money?] that was coming to Jane (Robert's wife) from her father's estate, we got it safe by a James Appleton of Mifflinburg, Storekeeper, he is from England, and a man of integrity. We recev'd [received?] 800 Dollars or 200 pounds Irish, our friends talk of something more coming (From the Estate of John Gordon in Ireland, to Jane, his daughter, Robert Taylor's wife W.F.W.), But be that as it may, I think I have done the best with this, we bought a [100?] (not clear) acres of land convenient to us, it cost us 1400 dollars, it is about a mile from us, and had a small house and Barn & about 20 acres cleared on it it, and we have a family in the house and has about 60 acres cleared on it now. I have in all 212 acres, But this does not set us above the common lot of trouble or affliction. Robert, which is the 3d son and [od?] [sixt?] by Birth, and the most resolute of all the boys, went with some companions to a little town not far from us, they got to playing [bulets?] (of which he was too fond) in delivering a throw, the [bulet?] from his own hand Struck the upper bone of cap of his knee and split in two across the knee, this was the third Saturday in June, he recov'red [recovered?] so far in September as to be able to walk with a stick; he went to Rob't [Robert?] Lowry's a week, came home; he now lays bad in the Typhus fever, Jane and him took bad in one day, they have been down 3 weeks and carefully attended by a skillfull [skilful?] doctor, their [there?] is no visable [visible?] signs of recovery yet, this has greatly reduced their mother by her assiduous attendance on these two favorites [favourites?] of the flock. (These two unfortunate victims of the dreaded Typhus are buried in the family burying ground on the farm. W.F.W.) The rest of the family are all well as yet, for this fever, it is to be feared, will attack more of us, as for myself, I bless God, I have no pains nor impediments But this tremor in my right hand, of which you can see the effects, the left is not so, which seems strange to everyone who knows it. Rob't [Robert?] Lowry is well and family, he hears nothing from his Brothers. He wished them to write to him. Our country is full of improvements, of which Steam and Rail roads will take the lead; from pitsburg [Pittsburg?] to New Orlean, 200 miles (This distance is far greater. W.F.W.) is run by Steam pressure, down and up in 25 or 30 days, it formerly took 4 months. There is at a place called munk chunk (Mauch Chunk, Carbon Co., W.F.W.) a rail Road of nine miles long made to carry coal from the mountains of Lehigh to Easton on the Delaware River, one man takes down 5 wagons they move by their own presure [pressure?], they go down in forty minutes, one horse takes up the 5 wagons and it carried down on one of the wagons are all emptied by a spring which does not hurt the machinery, they load 20cwt. each wagon. Our Legislature at their last Siting [sitting?] agreed to canal all the great Rivers running from west to east, in order to connect the waters of Lake Erie & the Atlantic together by the Allegheny & Susquehanna Rivers, this canal is to be made at the expence [expense?] of the State, the estimate is 12,000 dollars a mile for 500 miles, of canal, and one million extra expenses, making in all 7 million dollars, this, it is thought, will make a heavy tax on our lands some day. I being so situate in my family that I [had?] no mind to write for a week or two to see how my family would be, but I have a good hand to send to the City; if anything should happen any of them I will Write again; your life has been Long and marked with a great many vicissitudes well worthy of rehearsal after your exit. I wish the remainder of your Long life to be tranquil and free from pain. My family joins me in Love to you and your family, and am yours till death. Robt [Robert?] Taylor. |
