| Title: | Greeves, Susanna to O'Brien (n. Greeves), Anne, 1843 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6146 |
| Collection | The Transatlantic Letters of an Irish Quaker Family_1818-1877 [B. Jackson] |
| File | quaker/153(1) |
| Year | 1843 |
| Sender | Greeves, Susanna |
| Sender Gender | female |
| Sender Occupation | shop keeper |
| Sender Religion | Quaker |
| Origin | Lisburn, N.Ireland |
| Destination | Collins, 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 | 1277 |
| Genre | their father's decaying health, enquires after Maria, family news |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Lisburn 4 mo 16th 1843 My dear Sister Thy acceptable joint letter to father & I reached us on the 18th of 12 month. Since then I had a letter from Joseph dated 3rd of 1st month celling us of thy having received the box of things dear rather sent you safe, which we were glad to hear, & I hope you have found some of them at least useful during the cold weather. I have nor written since to Joseph: it was want of time [more] than inclination, but hope to do so perhaps by the same conveyance as this goes by, which is by one of Cousin James N. Richardson's sons, the one811 that is married to Ben Haugh ton's daughter & is settled in Liverpool. He expects to sail about the 19th and spend about a couple of months & his brother Thos who lives in N York is expected to land about the time he will leave. Now a days people dont think much of crossing over. I am sorry to say since father & I wrote thee that he has been very poorly and confined to the house for the last 3 months. Indeed, my dear Sister, at one time I thought we were not going to have him long with us, hut it has pleased Providence to give him a few longer days altho at present he is still very weak and has not been down stairs during all this time, except twice he just walked down into the kitchen & back again. I lay in the room with him for 7 weeks during which rime I was not up less during the night from 3 to 5 times. He had a very severe cough and rested very badly and his breathing so bad that he had frequently to sit up in bed ... however the Dr gave us hopes that when the weather would become a little milder that his cough would go gradually away which [we] find to be the case, & for the last week he has not coughed much nor is his expectoration near so great. Once the weather is warmer & if he continues to improve he has a pressing invitation from brother John and Jane Owden to go to them for a while; & when he was several weeks the beginning of winter & not finely while he was there & a[l]tho he does seem to have rallied, yet at his advanced age we cannot build much on his ever being very stout again, nor docs he expect it himself. I should endeavour to be thankful that I have had him so long: still the idea of loosing so near &: dear a relative is hard to give up, but I trust when it does please the Allwise disposer of events to call him from works to rewards that his end will be peace & that I will have no cause to mourn for him on this acct, but rather to rejoice at his happiness. Aunt Molly is often ailing but still able to go about the house less or more, but nor well enough to get out to Meeting. She still coughs a good deal in the mornings - her cough seems quite a constitutional one for she has had it as long as I remember. We were glad to hear of Maria being so nicely settled but we have not heard half enough about her husband; but we conclude he is not a friend: perhaps we conjecture wrong, however we are glad to hear he is such a steady young man & I trust worthy of her. She must have looked quite nice at her [wedding], full as nice as some of the friends would on such an occasion in this part. Thou need not talk of your back woods: I see you can turn out as nice and as gay as us in a clear country, free from almost any woods save that which is artificial. We have still Thos Walpole living with us - I think thou forgets that we wrote thee that his father died about a year and a half before dear Cousin Elizabeth. Since her death (now 2 years and 5 months) the business was given up as soon as it could be wound up & there was some small thing left for the two boys, but not mote I expect than keep them during their apprenticeships in clothes. John Joshua, the eldest son, choose a seafaring life & by the exertion of his friends and executors or guardians he was got to a friend who is a Captain of a vessel of the name of Boadle. She trades to different parts - John Joshuas first voyage was to China from which they have returned after having being about 10 or 11 months away. John Joshua wrote on his arrival home from London to Thos quite in good spirits and seemed quite to like his new life. Their next voyage we hear is to New South Wales. It is very kind & thoughtful of both Wm & thee to offer to do all you can if any of Brother Dan's children would go out to you, but I dont see under every circumstance at present that any of the girls could go, even were they inclined themselves, but I am sure none of them would like to leave Ireland. Anna and M Jane are both with their father, also the youngest son Thos. Elizabeth, the youngest, is in school at Mount Melik [Mellick] and Magt, the second eldest, I believe thou knows is married to a friend the name of Baker who resides at Kingston [today's Dun Laoghaire] where he has a shop besides one or two in some parts of Dublin. I have never seen her since she has married but I hear pretty good accounts of her. Her little baby, a girl, has been very ill lately but as I have not heard any thing to the contrary but she is still living. It is pleasant that you can hear so frequently from Maria. It is something like ourselves as regards dear Sister Jane: we can hear from her every day & be with her if we wish any time in a little better than an hour. Her dear little daughter is indeed a sweet little creature. I think she is not so like Jane as she was when an infant. She has got 6 teeth and now begins to walk by the chairs. Her father just dotes on her: we often tell them not to set their affections so much on her for she is indeed a tender little plant. Brother Thos is so well at present as to look forward to go to the Yearly Meeting the last end of this mo. I expect Sister Rachel will accompany him & they speak of taking their eldest boy. Sister Jane and Cousin James [Richardson] Greeves regularly correspond. Through him we sometimes hear of you - in his last he says he had not heard from you for some time. I forgot to say when mentioning brother Dan's family that there is a prospect of Anna being married, perhaps this summer, to a young man the name of Fisher of Youghal: a son I think of Abraham Fisher who is Uncle to John O'Brien's wife [Hannah], It is an attachment of some time. I hope their happiness may be realized sooner than we may even anticipate. With dear love to Wm & thy children in which Father & Aunt unite, I am thy afft Sister Susanna |
