| Title: | John McBride, Watertown, NY to James McBride, Co. Antrim. |
|---|---|
| ID | 3745 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | mcbride, john/76 |
| Year | 1827 |
| Sender | McBride, John |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | weaver |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Watertown, NY, USA |
| Destination | Lisburn, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | McBride, James Jr |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | T 2613/14: Copied by Permission of Mrs Emily McLister, Mosside Cottage, Dunmurry, Co. Antrim. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9007108 |
| Date | 08/01/1827 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by JM 25:02:1994. |
| Word Count | 1638 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Watertown January 8th 1827 Dear Brother, I wish you all the happiness the married Life affords I now sit down to Ansr [Answer?] your Letter of the 26th Septr which I recd [received?] on the 2nd Decr, I had been very uneasy for a long time on acct [account?] of getting no Letters from Ireland as the News papers [Newspapers?] of the Country were giving most miserable accts accounts of the [Fall?] in the [Price of?] [?] and I see by your Letter the accounts I heard were not exaggerated. I wrote to John Blake Novr 25th and sent it to New York with Mr Gilbert I am sorry I have not same chance to send this one. I was glad to hear of your Marriage particularly as you say you have got a partner to your mind and of a respectable Family for what is Wealth to us if we are discontented in our Familys [Families?] I I look upon Domestic happiness to be one of the greatest blessings we can enjoy and God will bless those who live agreeable with each other You say you are in a notion of buying a Public House, but think you wont get the [?] for a Year from Novr and you dont know what to do for that [?] you dont tell me what you are doing where you are living or where your Wife lives. I think if you could get started to a Public House you might do well enough but it is impossible for me to Judge as times are so much altered since I left home, as to your notion of this Country I cannot nor will not advise you, it certainly is a great trial and requires a good deal of resolution, to leave the Land of our Birth and take a journey of such magnitude to enter a Land where every thing [everything?] is so different from any thing [anything?] we were used to see and indeed where all is strange to us, and where perhaps we have a good many difficulties to encounter before we are any way settled as to what we are going to do, I do not write this by any means to discourage you, but I wish to tell you what you may in all probability expect if you come here, and at all events you are better than I was when I came to this Country, for if you do make up your mind to come and one lives to see you here, you may rest assured that I will do all I can for you; pecuniary assistance of much consequence I could not promise, altho [although?] I am always able to spare a little, and at all events you have a place where you can stop till [until?] you have a chance of doing something - but one thing would vex me a good deal if you would come away and leave our Sisters behind you, and I wish you to let me know in your Ansr [Answer?] to this if there would be any chance of getting them with you if you were to come, if they were here I should be content at any rate never think of coming here and leaving your Wife behind you, I dont know as you have such a notion but I Just mention this for fear you should - and what I have said about my Sisters I dont wish you to tell my Father as I dont know whether he would be well pleased at my writing so - but you can Judge of this yourself. You think I should try and get a Farm, but that I now will #PAGE 2 tell you my mind upon. In this part at present and indeed since I came here, Produce of every kind has been Cheap and as I have nothing but small Children, of course I would have no one to help me, and it takes a good deal of Labour to produce a crop that will amount to much I certainly agree with you that Land is most independant [independent?], you say "if you had a Farm you could live on it would be the height of your Ambition" and so I say, but this is not so easy done, I could get a Farm any time [anytime?] but it has to be paid for and great many things a wanting to cultivate it which things are dear here. I always have the notion of getting a Farm and I hope the time will come when I will be owner of one. I will now tell you on what terms Land can be got and the way it is cleared &c &c. Any place within two or three Miles of this Village a Farm of Good Land with Buildings and well Cleared with good Fences (the Fences are all made of Wood or Stone) will cost from 20, to 25 or perhaps 30 Dollars per Acre. Within 6 to 10 or 12 Miles it can be got for from 5 to 7 Dollars with a Log House and perhaps 20 or 30 Acres out of 100 Cleared, but Wild Land that is what has none Cleared can be got still cheaper from 2 to 5 Dollars according to the situation conveniancy [convenience?] to Roads Markets Mills &c. But all these could be got cheaper if the price was paid down which is seldom done, Land owners [Landowners?] give a Contract in writing to the purchaser of the terms of purchase; some Land owners [Landowners?] give 7 Years to pay, with Interest at 7 per Cent per Annum the whole to be paid in annual Instalments, some give but 5 Years and require some of the purchase Mony [Money?] to be paid on taking the contract but I know a good many who have lived from Six to Ten or Twelve Years on a Farm & have pd [paid?] nothing of course the Land is sold to some another person and they lose all the Labour they have bestowed on it. The People in this Country reckon the taxes high because they are nearly all Direct there is a State Tax I believe of half a mill on the Dollar (there are ten Mills in a Cent and 100 Cents in a Dollar) the proprety I mean Real Estate is Valued by Men appointed for the purpose and the Tax levied accordingly. There is also a School Tax that is for keeping the Schools in Repair providing Fuel &c Every able bodied [able-bodied?] Man has to Work from two to thirty Days on the Road this is Levied according to the property those who have no property are Taxed Two Days Single as well as Married. There is a County Tax for the support of the Poor Two Years ago there was an Act passed by the Legislature empowering any County that might choose to build Poor Houses before that time the Poor were scattered over the County but now we have a Poor House in this County whither the Poor are all sent it is about Four Miles from this Village there is a Farm of nearly 200 Acres belonging to the County A Large Stone House plenty of cows Hogs &c the expense to the County will be a great deal less than it used to be I am thus particular to give you every satisfaction in my power altho' [although?] it would take a Volume to tell you all. The Clearing of Land is thus the Trees are cut down about three feet from the Ground after which the #PAGE 3 branches are trimmed off and the tree is cut into Logs of 12 or 14 feet long Logs are piled together in heaps and Set on Fire this is called Logging [torn] Branches or brush as it is called is piled and burned the same way, but it takes a long time for the Stumps to rot so that the Land is clear of them, they have Just to plough round them till [until?] they get clear away cutting the trees is called chopping. In your next you can ask me any thing [anything?] else you would wish to know and let me know of Deaths and Marriages and any thing [anything?] else in the neighbourhood, the price of Weaving &c I have not heard from Edwd [Edward?] Jones for some time but suppose he is [stained] James Hunter and Family are Well. I had a Letter from Robt [Robert?] Craig last Week in which he states that both his Children were Dead the one about a Year ago and the other a Fortnight before he wrote to me he seems to be in great trouble, he said he expected Andw [Andrew?] out - I had not had a Letter from him for a long time before. Trade and Provisions are about the Same as I mentioned in my Letter to John Blake. This leaves us all in Good Health for which we ought to be thankful Robt [Robert?] Shields is Well. I cannot tell you much about coming to this Country as this is the first Letter I got since you were Married I can perhaps advise better when I get an Ansr [Answer?] to this. Tell me in your next if my Father ever has any notion of coming to this Country. Lydia Sends her Love to you and Isabella We send our Love to my Fathers Family Wm [William?] & Jane Phillips John & Betty Blake and all other Friends and hoping this may find you and Isabella enjoying Health Happiness and every other Blessing is the Wish and Prayer of your Affectionate Brother John McBride I hope you will Ansr [Answer?] this as soon as you can [addressed to:] [stamped:] 18 3/4 21FF21 Mr James McBride Junr Derriaghy 1827 Care of Mr William Phillips Innkeeper Lisburn Ireland Single Sheet 23rd February 1827 |
