| Title: | Greeves, Susanna to O'Brien (n. Greeves), Anne, 1840 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6081 |
| Collection | The Transatlantic Letters of an Irish Quaker Family_1818-1877 [B. Jackson] |
| File | quaker/107 |
| Year | 1840 |
| Sender | Greeves, Susanna |
| Sender Gender | female |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | Quaker |
| Origin | Lisburn, N.Ireland |
| Destination | Lake Erie, NY, USA |
| Recipient | O'Brien (n. Greeves), Anne |
| Recipient Gender | female |
| Relationship | siblings |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 2167 |
| Genre | news of family, friends and neighbours |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Lisburn, 10 Mo 1840 My dear Sister Thine & Maria's acceptable letter dated 4 mo 9th & 19th came safe to hand the 20th of 8lh Month. Since then brother Thomas received one from thee of a latter dare, the reading of which with the other gave us much pleasure and satisfaction, as they contained much information of how you are getting along & of particulars relative to each member of your family which I often wished to hear. Cousin Magt Pike was on a visit with us at the time I received thine & Marias: she was much pleased to hear such agreeable accounts of you & of your children and that you seemed so much more comfortable in many respects than she thought you were. She as well as us was pleased to find they all seemed to have a taste for improving themselves and that they had such a good opportunity of getting books &c, &c. It is really delightful for a family to settle down of an evening and for one member of it to read aloud while the others are engaged at sewing or knitting, but this is a pleasure we cannot partake of. Sister Jane & I have very little time we can call our own, particularly in winter as our business is much better generally then and the days being short we are often ... to keep us busy with our assistant to keep things in proper order, and indeed they are not in as good sometimes as I would wish. Father does not do much in the shop latterly. Sometimes on Market days he will give us a little help for a couple of hours or so, but we never ask him - only when we cannot help it. His health of late has kept pretty good which is a great blessing. He is still able to keep all the accounts and to settle & post the books, which is a great matter. Aunt seems to be breaking down. She is not able to do so much through the house as she used, which makes us have more to attend to, but Jane is strong and active and can get through a good deal of business. She never was so stout nor so fat. I often tell her I dont know what she will grow to. What a blessing and cause of gratitude it is to the Great disposer of events that she has been restored to us again and that our dear father has lived to enjoy her company once more. She does indeed appear as one risen from the dead. I expect before this reaches thee Maria will have rece'd a long letter from her cousin Anna O'Brien, which I hope will compensate for her long silence. She sent it by our Cousin James R. Greeves who paid us a visit this summer. We were all much pleased with him - and all others with whom he visited and got acquainted. I was at Cove with sister Mary when he arrived in Lisburn. I had gone to her after the Yearly Meeting, expecting her to return with me, but as she seemed to be improving under Dr. Harvey's care her friends thought it best for her Co remain longer & she is now settled there for the Winter. "We frequently hear from h e r - she is often very middling but we think on the whole she is better than before she left the North. Lizzie has gone 10 the provincial school at Waterford about two weeks ago and is quite happy. It is reckoned a good and more improving one than ours [Prospect Hill, Lisburn] in many respects. Her Mother misses her very much but still she was willing to give up having her for the poor child's advantage - she is a very smart child and very affectionate. In her looks I cannot say she is much if anything like our side of the house: she is rather dark in the completion but I think she will improve when she grows up. When we joke her about it she says she does not care if she was a tawny all out. To return to Cousin James: finding that she was likely to remain after me, he came to Cove to see her and on his way sloped for a short time in Carlow, and Anna O'Brien accompanied him. Alter spending better than 2 weeks there he took Man-, Lizzie, Anna & I to see the Lakes of Killarney with which we were much gratified. Cousin Anna and I proceeded to Limerick, Mary & Lizzie returned to Cove. We sailed up the Shannon for about 38 or 40 miles but the day was so very wet we were disappointed, as we were told the country and the different (gentlemen's) seats all the way up, here and there, are beautiful. We attended the Q M in Limerick and was kindly entertained at a friends of the name of Magt Unthank. After the Meeting Cousin & I came up the Shannon as far as Shannon Harbour and proceeded from there (sloping one night in Athlone) to Cavan, where we spent a few days with Cousin Elizabeth Walpole. Anna went home from Limerick. We found Elizabeth but very poorly, so much so she was obliged to have the dr's advice while we were there. We left her better and able to be down stairs. We then went to Armagh and staid three or four day? with John G. O'Brien & Hannah, very agreeably. Hannah is a very well informed woman and seems in many respects calculated to make John happy; their business goes on very well. John is thought to be very like his dear Uncle John [brother John, Mary's lace husband], both in looks and manners. He seems to have got over his severe illness hut looks pale and delicate: poor fellow, he was near gone. I never heard of any person suffering more than he did. We then spent some time with brother Thos and sister Rachel and got to Lisburn after a deliteful excursion, where they were delighted to see us. In about three [two?] weeks after, Cousin took Jane to England, where they were joined by brother Thomas. The two former went to London by Wales, and met Thos in Birmingham who proceeded with them to die City where they spent more than a week. From thence they went to Darby [Derby], from which place Tho1 returned home, coming by Scotland. Cousin [&] Jane went to see several other places & returned by Edinburgh and Glasgow. When they arrived in Belfast they went direct to the Giant; Causeway and reached home after an absence of 4 weeks, in time to attend the Moyallon Q. meeting which is now held in 9th month. Cousin went home with Thos & Rachel, and father went over on third day & got there a few hours after them. Cousin, after seeing his relations and bidding them farewell, returned here and spent the remainder of his time up till near the first of 10th month. We were all very sorry indeed parting with him: father and Aunt felt it very much. We never met with any of our relations we liked so well oh how we did wish he lived in Ireland, but this climate did not agree with him, it is so damp. I hope he may be spared to pay us a visit again. He was able to tell us a deal about you, which was gratifying, and we were glad to find you are more comfortable than we had ever thought you were. It was kind of Aunt Greeves to send you a present of some money, which I believe he was the means of her doing. What a kind man: dear, but we all do love him. I believe he is a truly upright man in every sense of the word. We think [ere] long to have a letter from him telling us of his arrival, but we heard to day of the arrival of the President in NYork after a passage of 18 days, in which vessel Cousin went. I should have told thee He came over in company with Jacob Green. Was not it kind of him to take Jane to England 8f also me and the rest of us to Killarney, and bear to our expenses. I am sorry to say char brother Thos health is still but delicate. He has often a return of his cough and his breathing does be much affected sometimes. When he is poorly he goes down to Milton for a few days: the change seems to do him service, poor man. We cannot help feeling anxious on his account - father sometimes says he fears he will not have a son left to bury him and it looks like it. I could not help admiring how well he looked this evening. While I was writing part of this, he was sitting opposite to me making out some accounts and [I] could not help just looking at him, to sec a person of his age, 80 years, so fresh looking. He was poorly in summer while I was away. Jane was a good deal alarmed about him but had Dr Thompson to see him at once. He was afraid of a tendency of blood to his head but the application of a few leeches and ... soon relieved him and in a few days he was finely; only he looked pale a[nd] felt a little weak. Poor Charlotte Greer (Nicholson that was) lost her husband a few days ago in fever. Thee may remember she was married to a son of Joe Greer, or Greeves he was called by some. She has two little girls, the youngest 5 or 6 years old, nice children. They were in business in Lurgan and were doing very well. Charlotte is clever and I hope she may be able to carry on the business. Her sisters Anna & Jane still live in Armagh - the latter is at present in Limerik with her sister Huldah Abbott who is near her confinement. I spent a part of a day at her house when there. I also saw Hannah Harvey (Christy that was). When she heard of us being in town she came to invite us to her house, but we were engaged. She has not the least appearance of a friend. I saw her eldest daughter; she is rather a pleasing looking young woman. Speaking of her reminds me that her brother John Christy has another daughter died lately of consumption: this is the second since his wife. There has been many changes within this past year among our relations: one by one are droping off. I have also to record the death of David Malcomson, a first cousin of Sister Rachel, who was married about two years ago to Cousin James N. Richardson's eldest daughter. He was carried off in a few days illness by apoplexy, leaving a fine little baby about 7 months old. His [he and Sarah?] spent most of the summer at her fathers and he had just returned from Clonmel and had given up their house with the intention of settling in the North: but alas! poor man, it pleased providence to order it otherwise. It is the first affliction of the kind that has happened in either families: his father had 11 chdn and he is the first to be taken from them. Cousin James [Nicholson Richardson] has ten all living, 7 sons & 3 daughters. One of them [Thomas] is settled in Philadelphia - he was over this summer. I believe I have told thee most of the news that I think might interest thee. I spent a few days in Carlow on my way to the South. They seem to be getting on again pretty well. Four of the children are now at home, Anna, George, Magt & M[ary] Jane. The two youngest Thos & Lizzy are at the provincial school at Waterford. Anna is a good girl: in fact they all seem to be fine children: Cousin James was much pleased with them all. Magt is reckoned most like her dear Mother in every respect. Uncle Sinton was with us lately, he was finely but is getting an old look. Aunt Ruth is sometimes but Middling; Cousin Eliza Joyce [wife of Thomas Joyce] expects her Aunt Anne McDonnell down soon to see her. I saw all my relations in Cork - Uncle John Simon's 4 daughters and their brother Thomas; also Hannah Harvey [Dawson]: she is very delicate and her relations are apprehensive of consumption; she has 5 sweet chldn. With love to all I am thy afft Sister Susanna via Halifax c/o the steam Packet William Obrien Anne Collins Post Office County of Erie State of New York AMERICA per Frigate Ship |
