Home

CORVIZ

Main content

Title: Robert McCoy, Pennsylvania, to Alexander McCoy, Liverpool
ID3797
CollectionIrish Emigration Database
Filemccoy, robert/16
Year1842
SenderMcCoy, Robert
Sender Gendermale
Sender Occupationfarm labourer
Sender Religionunknown
OriginMercer Co., Pennsylvania, USA
DestinationLiverpool, England
RecipientMcCoy, Alexander
Recipient Gendermale
Relationshipbrothers
SourceD1444/19B: Presented by H.W. McCoy, The Old Manor, Ashley, Hampshire, England
ArchiveThe Public Record Office, Northern Ireland
Doc. No.9408363
Date22/10/1842
Partial Date
Doc. TypeEMG
LogDocument added by LT, 12:08:1994.
Word Count1468
Genre
Note
TranscriptFor Mr Alexander McCoy
No. 46 Bedford street
Toxteth park
Liverpool
England 25 [Cents?]

[postmarks]
Liverpool Ship

Mercer County Coolspring township [--?] october 22

Dear Brother I again take the present opportunity to write
to let you know that I am in good health thank god
hoping you enjoy the same and all the friends and [people?]
mother and John has recovered as I am uneasy in mind respecting
them your Letter was 7 weeks from the date to it come here
I would have wrote sooner only for waiting to get for & wrote
By uncle as he Lives 8 miles South of mercer and 12 miles
north But the think no more of that here than you want
of 4 or 5 miles uncle does not Like it write as he is trobled [troubled?]
with rheumatism pains in his hands but he appeared in as
Good health as any Kneed [need?] wish he is some thing
fretful since he last his comerad [comrade?] as I believe she
was a good one from what I here [hear?] he is very affection
him self and some of the chilren but there is some
of them not so I have not seen them all yet there same of the
girls lives one mile from us & married to William Alexander
she is very friendly and he has as much friendship in him
as if he was my own Brother the have big children
Dear Brother I have given you the account in the last [ha--?]
I got on to I [-------?] work in mercer you thought it
was sorrer [sorrier?] work than I was used with I grant I never
wrought hard at home that and all that I never put
in a summer easier in my life I wrought 4 months
in the Breek [Break?] yard and then had just 10£ earned
all Cleer [clear?] [profit?] with ought one penny of expese [expense?]
one month Before I had done in the Breek [Break?] yard
I had another bargain made that it where I now Live
with an old Cople [Couple?] there man is Glendining the old man
is between 80 and 90 years old and the woman 70 or upwards
the have neither son nor daughter Living only 2 grand
daughters the one is 10 the 8 years old he has 200 acres
for them he has one hundred set the other hundred [before?]
on I have engaged to work it the way I am to do is this I
am to get the one third of all the crop he finds the
seed and all the Farming utensials [utensils?] a pair of oxen 2
horses same feed them all he has 19 acres of meadows I
am to get the half of the hay and keep as many cows
as I wish of all kinds he has given me a cow and is going to fother [fodder?]
hir [her?] this winter as I have no fother [fodder?] yet he is Lending me
every thing I want to I have crop of my owne [own?] next year
he tells me to Buy nothing he can give me an send me to
keep all the money I can the came from Ireland Long ago
he say he has friends at siskanmore [Seskinmore?]
the name of Clendinning [Glendinning?] he came from coxtown [Cookstown?]
he is a covenanter he is so glad to get
an irish man to take care of his place that he would give any
thing we would ask he says to me [one?] day since I came to
now I will teell [tell?] you more than I told you get it is likely
I wont Live Long and if you wish to stay on here when I dye [die?]
to keep these 2 girls you Shall have this place free to the come
to the age of 21 and be paid for keeping them beside he had his
wheat sowed when I came and he gave me a field to sow all
for myself there is 2 acres in it it is a good heard [herd?] now
he has anarchord [anchored?] of all knows of proof and we will have the half
we are only 2 miles from mercer it is a [large?]
there is either sesshions [sessions?] or [election?] or some geathering
[gathering?] every week
well then you may think that it will be hard to work
all this But it is not so ahrd the farming is done with
plows [ploughs?] and horrows [harrows?] here you might go to 10 farmer houses
before you would get a spade well you might think it [----?]
If I would say one man would harves [harvest?] more than 4 would
do in our County but when I shain [shown?] you how you will not we
the wheat is sowed september or the begining [beginning?] of october then in
apriel [april?] or may the oats is sowed potatoes is put in may the
indian corn in may then in June there is another kind of
wheat called Buck wheat and it is rupe [ripe?] in september
then the seeding done in June in July the meadows is ready for
cutting august the wheat and oats september as I [rem?]
the Buck wheat I often seen grains of it in the [----?]
it is when [cornered?] black grain would to think it was well
september the indian corn is rupe [ripe?] october the potatoes
harvest lasts all most all summer Besides the sheer
more here the have a kind of a sythe that the cut all
the grain with one man would cut have than 6 would
sheere [shorn?] so I may work hard or easy I may hire men in a [thrice?]
or do all I can my self I expect the old couple will not [live?]
Long as the are very frail the old woman was sick since
we came here we thought she would have died and she would
still say it was the Lord sent us here to take care of the Little
girls we have a good house under the roof with theirs a good
spring at the end of the house and plenty of fire wood in short
we want for nothing more than if we were their own Children
all I have to do is put his share into the farm I have not to thrash
or fother [fodder?] his cattle [------?] my own pleasure [torn] and then I will
do he will pay me well for he has plenty of money or if I was
busy the often from him, as he wants me to do and feed
them I would have the two part and him the third
but I intend to do this way one year to I get fother [fodder?] and send
there is many I believe sending home bad news from this
place such as will not Save the sea port towns and
go to the country any man that likes may make a fancsy [fancy?][home?]
as Bludying [blue dyeing?] and I believe the Bluedyer make there own indigo
If porter strain was here he would make more
money in one year than ever he handled of his owne [own?] there
is not one blue dyer in my knowing If he comes I will give
him a free house and help to set him up to the farmers makes
their owne [own?]sugar and soap and bakes their own Bread and
makes some to sell of these things to provisions is cheap here and
man can get good wages and live very cheap in a town to work of
my trade people think there is bad times when the do not get
money in handfuls as the rest to do go from 12 to 6 dolars [dollars?]
will buy as good a cow as in Carlow and all other things as such
I intend to get some cows and sheep if the winter
was over I want no horse the old man has 2 good ones that I can
ride when I please clothing is high and that is all that is high
I have not room to as use well to mention such and such ones
there is as good pay for spining [spinning?] and weaving as any thing
for wool is so plenty that the people make their own
clothing of all kinds and Blankets and flaning or [flanneling?] there is
plenty of flax and spinning wheels and Looms and as good a way of making
Linnen [Linen?] as in our Country if the knew the way to do it
But the half of this country knows nothing but Chopping
wood I add no more at present But I remain
your affectionat [affectionate?] Brother Robert McCloy
If I had mor [more?] room
I would give mor [more?] news

I wish to give and hear all news