| Title: | [?], New York, to [?], Londonderry |
|---|---|
| ID | 3908 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | 1790-1800/6 |
| Year | 1793 |
| Sender | unknown |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | New York, USA |
| Destination | Derry, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | unknown |
| Recipient Gender | unknown |
| Relationship | re an epidemic |
| Source | The Belfast News Letter, Tue. 19- 22 November, 1793 |
| Archive | The Central Library, Belfast |
| Doc. No. | 9906029 |
| Date | 05/10/1793 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 04:06:99. |
| Word Count | 477 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Londonderry, November 19. Part of a letter from a gentleman in New York to his friend in this city, dated 5th Oct. 1793. " I am extremely sorry to acquaint you, that our good friend Tom Lea is dead; he was carried off in a few hours by a dreadful malady called the Yellow Fever, which now depopulates the once flourishing city of Philadelphia. He had removed his family to Bristol and was entirely safe, but, after several days he ventured into the city to give directions about a ship he was loading, when he was instantly taken ill and died before Mrs. Lea could be informed of his illness. --- All communication between Philadelphia and this place is cut off; guards are stationed at all the landings, to prevent sick persons being brought here; and those who are in perfect health are not admitted, till they have been 14 days at least from Philadelphia. Baltimore uses the same precautions, and in all the sea-port towns vessels from Philadelphia are forced to perform quarantine. --- The National Bank has but three officers capable of duty, and the Bank is as helpless; the Post Office has but one man to tie up the letters, which are all fumigated here with tobacco and sulphur. Every mail brings long lists of our acquaintances being dead, and the letters are written in despair. There is reason to believe that in Water-street, there are some houses locked up with dead bodies in them, as the stench is intolerable, yet no person dare examine them. -- Men will not meet each other on the most urgent business, and were it not for the Black men (who are not affected by the contagion) the city would be helpless. The markets are dear, but well enough supplied as the number of inhabitants is now small. --- Various conjectures are formed as to the number of people carried off I think 3,000 at least must have died. There is no hope of relief but from the cold weather, and that is yet far off. Three or four persons got in among us in spite of all our precautions; we had them forcibly transported to Governor's Island, where there is a hospital with proper attendance, but they all died --- providentially, no person in this place has yet been affected; 32 citizens from each Ward patrol nightly along the wharfs, and I hope we shall escape this dreadful contagion. We have had a solumn [solemn?] fast, the theatre is shut up, and the Assembly stop't [stopped?]-- we do all in our power to show the Philadelphians, that our own safety obliges us to refuse them shelter, but that we sincerely sympathise in their distress. -- Letters from St. Croix mention, that this disorder rages in that island, and in many islands to the windward. I think the Government of Ireland should be acquainted with this, and you would do well to inform the Mayor and Collector of this serious notice." |
