| Title: | William Williamson, Illinois, to Hugh Williamson, Co Armagh. |
|---|---|
| ID | 3363 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Williamson, William/16 |
| Year | 1843 |
| Sender | Williamson, William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Belvidere, Illinois, USA |
| Destination | Richhill, Co. Armagh, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Williamson, Hugh |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | T 2680/2/3: Copied by Permission of W. P. Williamson, Esq., Ahorey House, Richhill, County Armagh. #TYPE EMG William Williamson, Bonus Prairie, Boon [Boone?] County, Belvidere, Illinois, U.S.A., to Hugh Williamson, Ahory, Richhill, County Armagh, 27 Novem |
| Archive | Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9007161 |
| Date | 27/11/1843 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | 31:07:1990 S.C.#CREATE created 09:10:1990 CD input |
| Word Count | 2326 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To:- Hugh Williamson Ahory Richill Co[unty?] Armagh Ireland 1843 From:- No 3, Bonus Prairie Boon[e?] County, Belvidere November 27th - [18?]43 My Dear Hugh I suppose you have all concluded before this time from my long silence I was either Dead or very ungrateful, but I am not Dead yet and when I read over your letters which I do almost every week I feel ashamed of myself for not writing sooner, The Style which your letters are written in almost surprises me. I think if you would practice a little more than you do you would make a first rate pensman, your letters give me the greatest satisfaction of any I ever seen, sometimes I wonder if you dictate them yourself or if Rob[er?]t or mary assists you. I am sorry to hear of the Babes of the wood looks so poorely [poorly?] since I left Ahory but the only remedy for her now is to take the 17th admirer for the 18th is gone, I got a Letter from you on July 15th August 30th Sept[ember?] 30th, I also got one from Ben and one from Rob[er?]t Roberts arrived here on the 24th of Nov[ember?] and I am sorry John was not hear [here?] to see it for there was a great deal of fun in it. I would have enjoyed myself very much looking at Dick Shanks getting married and Smiddy at his side with a shovel full of mortar - I am surprised to hear of another wedding which I under- stood [understood?] was not to be in that side of the creation But I suppose I am making my letter up with what you dont want to see on paper so here goes to give you a little about Illinois, Tho[ma?]s McCluse and you seem anxious about coming here and also to know what kind of soil Ploughs and other Farming utensils is used The land that is farmed hear [here?] generally is what is called Prair[i?]e it is like meadow on the surface quite Black when Ploughed, when a man has a farm of Prairie here he gets 4- 5- or 6 yoke of oxen and has what is called a breaking Plough that will run on 2 wheel in the furrow being 3 1/2 inches larger than the one on the land, if he has only 4 yoke of oxen he takes 18 or 20 head and if he has 6 yokes he takes 2 feet of a furrow 1 man can break 2 acres per day in this manner and if a man cant buy a breaking plough and oxen he has to pay 2 Dollars per acre for Breaking besides board and Lodging to the person he employs when the land is broke which is from the middle of May to the 12 of July it Lies there to the Farmer begins to put in his wheat the Farmer may either sow his wheat without cross Ploughing or cross Plough it if he finds he has time, a Bushel and a quarter will do, If it is sowed on the Breaking it requires a good deal of Harrowing as the furrow is thrown on its Back and the Land is as flat as it was before breaking There is no weeding or trouble with the wheat until it is ready for Harvesting which is hardest work here a Farmer has The manner of cutting their harvest is done in this way - They have a Tool exactly like your common Scythe with 4 Fingers of wood that stands perpendicular with the Blade and made as near the same shape of the Blade as possible, this Tool is called a Cradle and it is awkward as looking thing as ever you saw - when the Cradler makes the stroke the grain rests against the Fingers and with a peculiar motion of of the left Hand he throws the grain of[f?] the Fingers and a good Cradler will lay the grain as strait [straight?] and as square as you could wish for, 3 men will rake and Bind it up as fast as a man can cradle and I have seen cradlers cutting 4 feet at three cuts - a Cradler will will (sic) a Dollar and half per Day and the Rakers & Binders will get a Dollar - when the grain is cut and put up in stooks it is then stacked in the same way W[illia?]m Barnet used to do without any Thatch The Thrashing is done by Thrashing machines - gen[e?]rally 8 Horse power that will Thrash from 150 to 300 Bushels per Day, and the thrashing costs 10 Bushels of wheat or 5 Dollars per 100 Bushel, when the wheat is ready for sale the Farmer goes to Belvidere and contracts for whatever quantity of wheat he wants to part, getting whatever money he wants and then the rise of the market to July but he has to bring his wheat to Belvidere when he contracts for it when the Farmer wnats to sow wheat on ground he has cultivated for 2 or 3 years he ploughs it taking a furrow 9 or 12 inches Broad and 4 deep throwing the furrow on its Back so as to cover the weeds or stubble, and Harrow it in the usual way only they dont Harrow it as well as they do in Ireland The Potatoes is planted here in little hills 3 feet apart with 3 or 4 sets in each hill and is moulded with a Tool like your scraper but what is called a Hoe, the Potatoes is as good here as ever I saw and we can raise as good oats as you would wish to see Thomas and you want to know how the[y?] manage about taking Farms on the shares, there is no particular way or Rule for this but just as you can agree, it dont however answer a single man to take a farm very well I think unless his Friends are living here to let him have a yoke of oxen or Horses to put his crop in with - There is some men who comes in here from other states bringing a wife and Family, horses ploughs and such other things that has no money and it does very well for them, for they get into a little House perhaps 16 feet square and if there is 1 or 2 sons they will put in from 40 to 80 acres of wheat and 10 or 15 acres of corn 5 or 6 oats and some Potatoes, but it dont answer a young man coming in here and buying a yoke of oxen or horses and putting some wheat on the shares and when his wheat is in perhaps cant sell his horses or whatever or may be when he wants to go and Hire out by the Month, John & I took 10 acres this Fall on the shares to put in wheat and we bought a yoke of oxen to plough and put it in but there was mistakes in the Bargain and we did not get as much wheat sowed as we wanted we only got 5 acres and we are keeping the rest for spring wheat - the way we took it was this - The man we took it from was to give us the ground seed and sow the seed our Board & Lodging while we were Putting it in, however these 5 Acres that I have not sowed I will try and Rent it from which costs about a Dollar and a half p[er?] acre and find seed and all myself, I want to have something to feed you all on next year when you come to see me, I have my oxen yet and I am going to get me out as logs as will build me a house this winter so you see I have not forgot you altogether John is left me about 2 weeks ago I expect he gone to Alabama I have not heard anything of him yet nor I dont expect to hear from him for a month yet he has the Letter of Introduction to Mr Simpson and I expect he will do pretty well - I intend as soon as there comes a frost to go to Chicago and deed 80 acres of Land I have got what money will do it the half of it of course is Ishers and John and I entered into a Partnership with anything we do and the fact is it is the best plan for 2 men to work together in this country especially on a Farm, and if John makes anything at Alabama I get share of and if he loses I share his loss. there is something in Roberts letter that I am not capable of answering so I leave it to John for I have not got wit enough yet, but I will say one thing if Robert was once here Ahory would never see him Back again - However Rob[er?]t speaks of a Flour mill There is nothing would pay so well as a Flour mill here and so easy made Tom wants to know what is the Best things for him to fetch the fact is Tom if I was coming to Illinois again I would not fetch such a rabble of things I would fetch 4 shirts and have them made double across the shoulders - down to the small of the Back they will last as long again I would fetch a pair of coarse Lined Trousers unbleached as coarse as a Riga Bag if not coarser a pair of good corduroy Lined with Flannel or serge a good pilot cloth Frock coat a Fine Linen Jaket [Jacket?] without any lining whatever, I would also get a plain over shirt of cotton Tickin[g?] made not so long as shirts are generally made to wear over a vest with a belt to Button round my waist The Belt made of the same as the shirt I would have it with half a neck and that it would only reach to my Fork It is one of the Best things you can have for working in and I would fetch a good warm cap a good warm Neck cravat a few pair of worsted socks and dont fetch a pair of Big shoes the sort that I did fetch any any (sic) kind of old shoes that will do you across the sea and when you come to New York buy a pair of [la?]rge Boots without any nails in them you will get them for 2 Dollars or so. I would advise any one coming to America when they get to N[ew?] York to take the same route, as I did you will see on my other Letters what way I took to come and what I paid dont have your boxes made large my boxes was the right size and when you get in the vessel tie your Boxes well to the foot of your Berth so that the Tossing of the vessel wont Injure them, I will write a Letter or send a newspaper as soon as I hear from John and I will write a Letter to Ben and direct to Ahory I wish Hugh & Robert to see it. Robert also wants to know what cure there is for the Bite of the Rattlesnake - when a person is Bit let him tie a cord or handkerchief round his leg or arm and if there is a River or any cold water near him to immediately go into the water and squese [squeeze?] all the blood he can out of the wound and on no account drink water milk or any cold drink if he does he will not live perhaps 10 minutes, or if he has any Tobacco take and chew a piece and tie it to the wound until he gets home let him then get an onion and pound it fine and put on some soda that is a very good cure - there is also Rattlesnake weed grows will cure it, and to kill a chicken and [and?] cut it open put it to the Bite will drain out the Poison in 10 minutes the person Bit must drink soda water all the time - Rob[er?]t wants to [know?] if there is any mines minerals or Navigable River near us, There [is?] a very Large Lead mine 90 miles west of Belvidere and the Illinois River is Navigable for steam Boats that is 75 miles of Belvidere my next letter I wish to be kept in the family you will know when you read it. I am ashamed of my writing but I have lost my knife and cannot make a pen If you find I have not given you the proper directions how to act or that I have not said enough about coming out write Immediately for If you come I would like you to leave home on or about the 5 of March It was weeds poisoned Johns Hand and tell my Mother not to be uneasy about John or I for we are doing well enough I am surprized [surprised?] Robert did not mention the G[rand?]-mother how she is but I hope she is better than she was when Mary wrote. Tell Tom that work is scarce here in the winter time but I expect if he was here I could get him a situ[ation?] yearly at 10 or 11 Dollars per month Send me some newspapers Dear Hugh if the want of a few Pounds will hinder you and I from meeting in Illinois I hope we will both remember there is a Better state to which we can both have a safe passage to if we are deprived of meeting here God Bless Father Mother G[rand?]Mother and all my Friends and Beli[e?]ve me most afft [affectionate?] W[illia?]m W[illia?]mson |
