| Title: | James Williamson, California, to Robert Williamson, Richhill |
|---|---|
| ID | 3351 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Williamson, James/1 |
| Year | 1853 |
| Sender | Williamson, James |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | gold miner |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | California, USA |
| Destination | Richill, Co. Armagh, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Williamson, Robert |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | T 2680/2/6: Copied by Permission of W. P. Williamson, Esq., Ahorey House, Richhill, County Armagh. #TYPE EMG James Williamson, Boner [Boners?] Ravine, Auburn, California, U.S.A., to Robert Williamson, Richhill, County Armagh, [Ireland?], 2 January 1853. |
| Archive | Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9007148 |
| Date | 02/01/1853 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 31:07:1990 S.C.#CREATE created 29:10:1990 CD input |
| Word Count | 1329 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To:- Mr Rob[er?]t Williamson Richill Co[unty?] Armagh Ireland 1853 From:- Boners Ravine January 2nd 1853 My Dear Robert I received your letter dated Oct[ober?] 5th on the 27th December was greatly grieved to hear of Fathers death I am sure it was a great blow to you all especially to Mother so sudden & so expected tho[ugh?] we have every hope that he has left this world for a better It just seems to me although I am thousands of Miles from you all that there is a void here that never can be filled up & that I have lost my best friend. I get a thinking sometimes that if ever I should happen to go home that it will not be a Fathers house I shall go to but that dont trouble me any there will or would be still a vacancy one that I can't explain. I will now give an account of my journey to Cal[ifornia?] In the first place W[illia?]m wrote me a letter while I was in Belvidere wanting to know if I would like to go to Cal[ifornia?] this was about a year ago I answered his letter & told him that I would for I thought I might as well be there as where I was I at that time was only getting $4.00 per month. Well it ran along through to fall when I received a Check from him for $300 to pay my passage to Cal[ifornia?] This money I received on the 12 Sept[ember?] & I started on the 16th for New York I reached there on the 22nd sailed the next day for Aspinwall Navy Bay when I arrived after a nice voyage on the first October we landed in the morning about 9 OClock & took the Cars to barbacoes [Barbacoas?] 27 miles which cost $8,00 we then took a small boat up Chagres river to Gorgona where we arrived after dark we put up an awning & stopt [stopped?] in the boat all night it is very warm there next day we took our baggages to the Transportation office where we paid 12 1/2 cents per lb to have it packed to Panama on mules I had 27 lbs it is 27 miles across from this place I & three more started on foot & such a road I never see before nor since very hilly Country & most all red clay & sticky it makes hard travelling we arrived in Panama about noon next day tired & worn out well we got washed up & rested we then wanted to find what time the Wenfield Scott steam vessel would sail we heard from the agent of the Co[mpany?] that she would not sail before the 15th there was another there the Golden Gate she was to sail in a day or 2 well we had through tickets from New York for which we paid $150.00 this was to pay our passage from New York to San Francisco the Agent said he would either pay our board or refund us the balance of our passage money we took our money & he took our tickets as well we did not have any notion of going of[f?] without our luggage & it had not come in so we sent before the first steam vessell [vessel?] sailed & bought our tickets for the Winfield Scott for $62 1/2 we were 22 days on the Isthmus altogether we sailed from Panama the 22 October & were 19 days to San Francisco we had head winds all the voyage we arrived there the 10th Nov[ember?] [?] evening we started for Sacramento on a small steam boat and landed just about daylight it was most all burned down then 2 weeks & groups of men were standing around large fires because the[y?] had no place to go I took a stage for Auburn I got there about noon it is 35 miles from Sacramento to Auburn I commenced to make enquiries for W[illia?]m I found he was about 16 miles from Auburn at a place called Paradise I got there on the 12th W[illi?]m had been very sick with dysentery but was getting better fast Artimisea was in good health he is keeping a store & boarding House & I believe is making money fast I am now mining & making from 4 to 8 dollars per day we live in a log Cabin 10 f[ee?]t by 12 the roof is drilling drawn tight it keeps out rain very well our door is made of 4 strips of board covered with drilling and leather hinges.I cant tell you much about the appearance of the Country as I have not had time to see much of it it is very hilly & woody some of the trees are green the year round & I have not worn any Clothes only shirt & pants only when it rains. I think after I get through here I will go at Something again as I think I can get from $100 to 125 per month besides and will not be so apt to be sick as when you are at work in the water all the time I send you a specimen of the Gold we dig some places the Gold is coarse & some places very fine so that you can hardly see a gra[i?]n of it. Now Ill [I'll?] tell you how we spend our time we rise about daylight one cooks breakfast they [the?] rest go a diggin[g?] or cutting firewood there are 4 of us in Co[mpany?] Geo[rge?] Sands Sam Sands & W B [Selbles?] after breakfast we dig to noon eat our dinner & dig to night we Clean our gold eat supper put on a good fire & then we talk over matters a little or else go a fiddling up have no less than 3 fiddles when we get through we go to bed The tools they have for saving gold consist of a Tom Cradle & sluices The tom is about 12 f[ee?]t long 3 f[ee?]t wide at one end about 14 in[ches?] at the other it is lined with sheet iron & about 4 f[ee?]t at the widest End is punched full of 1/2 inch holes attached to this is a rifle box the same width as the big end of the tom the sides are about 4 1/2 high about 1 f[oo?]t from the end (it is open on one end) is a strip nailed across it which makes a riffle & the gold runs through this tom falls into the riffle & Cant get any farther we use about 8 inches of water to run a tom first rate. The Cradle is about 4 feet long with a screen box at one end in this you Throw the dirt & keep a raking & pouring water on the dirt to you wash 10 buckets then you Clean up your gold wash more & so on the sluices are made of 12 or 16 feet boards nailed together & a piece of wood on 1 1/2 high put in the bottom the sluices are sometimes attached to the tom we dont use any tom we use sluices with blankets tacked in the bottom the Gold is so fine that we cannot save it any other way Now I want you to write & give me all the news you can scrape up. I am very much pleased with the Choice you have made for a wife & I wish you every happiness that this world can afford W[illia?]m Thompson has gone to Australia I cant tell what time I have heard that Tom McClure arrived safe I would like to know how Hugh gets along & all the rest of the family I will now Conclude with kind love to you & all the rest of the family & believe me to be your afft [affectionate?] Brother Jim Williamson and Excuse this scrawl as I had a very bad pen & no remedy |
