| Title: | Harley, Mary Ann to , 1898 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6412 |
| Collection | New Brunswick Letters |
| File | newbrunswick/47 |
| Year | 1898 |
| Sender | Harley, Mary Ann |
| Sender Gender | female |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | unknown |
| Destination | unknown |
| Recipient | unknown |
| Recipient Gender | unknown |
| Relationship | unknown |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 815 |
| Genre | excerpt from diary |
| Note | |
| Transcript | (From the Portland Daily Press, February 7, 1898) (Maine) “I was born in Courtmasherry, County of Cork, Ireland, February 6, 1799. This town is only a little distance from the city of Cork, and near the Bay of Cork. My maiden name was Mary Ann Harley and my father was a school teacher in that town. I had two brothers and three sisters, all of whom are now dead. My sister Margaret lived to be 94 years old and died on her birthday. I can remember the town in which I was born and in which I lived very well, and also the names of many friends and schoolmates, although I left Ireland in 1822, when I was 23 years old. One of the first things I remember was hearing my father and mother tell about the rising of ’98, which took place the year before I was born, but which even when I grew old enough to pay any attention to such matters the people in my town had not done talking about. My father was of English descent and was a Presbyterian, the church in which I was brought up. Very well can I remember the day on which two big ships of war sailed into Cork Harbor, their docks crowded with men and their masts gay with flags, bringing us the first news we received of the battle of Waterloo, in which that terror of the world and ogre of history, Napoleon Bonaparte, was defeated by our own Duke of Wellington. The people went crazy with joy when they heard of the great victory. The bells of the city of Cork were rung and big bon fires lighted the celebration of the event. These ships brought home the wounded Irishmen who participated in that great battle and there was great rejoicing at their return. Three of the officers of one Irish regiment were quartered at my father’s house for many days, and I can remember some of the stories they had to tell of that terrible fight. Their bright uniforms and handsome faces made a great impression upon me. In 1822 I went on a visit to a lady friend of my family who lived in Queenstown. While I was there, there came into that harbour the first steamboat ever seen in Irish waters. Everyone turned out and lined the docks to see the strange craft which moved so swiftly through the water without sails or oars. It was a wonderful thing then, but I suppose the people of Queenstown see enough of such craft now. While I was in Queenstown I got a letter from my brother William Harley, who was in America. He was a government surveyor and wanted me to come over to him as soon as possible, as he had a young handsome and wealthy husband waiting for me over there. I went home to my father’s house and it was soon decided that I should sail for this country. I was one of about 150 passengers on board a sailing ship which left Cork May 7, 1822. It was a terrible voyage. I was sick about all the way across and glad enough to sight land, after seven weeks and three days on board that ship. I landed at a place called Pockshaw in the Bay of Chaleur. It was a very small settlement then with only a very few houses, and they were all built of logs. My brother expected me and was there waiting for me. We had to walk 75 miles to get to his home. There were no roads, no conveyances of any kind, not even a path. It was a trackless forest, in which not one tree had been cut. We made our way by aid of a compass over wind falls and across brooks to Newcastle. We were three nights on the road and we had to sleep in the woods without any shelter. On the fourth night we got to Newcastle and here we found a very small settlement. Eight months after my arrival at this place I married John Henry, who was the agent and business man for a big mercantile company. I had nine children, seven of whom grew up and were married. I don’t know how many descendants I have, but they will number up into the hundreds. My husband died 28 years ago, I lived on the Miramichi until after my husband’s death and then I came to the States where some of my children lived. I had a brother named John Harley, who built ships on Bolter’s Island near Newcastle.” Note: 1 There is information on the family of Mrs. John Henry taken from a newspaper account of her 99th birthday party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George T. Marsters at 147 Franklin Street in Portland, Maine. Note: 2 See Family chart #6. |
