| Title: | Wansborough, James to Sheperd, Ann & Thomas, 1700 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6601 |
| Collection | Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan. Letters and memoirs from colonial and revolutionary America (1675-1815) [K.A. Miller et al.] |
| File | caanan/1 |
| Year | 1700 |
| Sender | Wansborough, James |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | tenant, farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Ballinlug, Co. Westmeath, Ireland |
| Destination | Cohansey, New Jersey, USA |
| Recipient | Sheperd, Ann & Thomas |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | brother-sister |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 1567 |
| Genre | life in Ireland |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Letter 1. James Wansbrough, Ballinlug, Rathconrath Parish, County Westmeath, to Ann and Thomas Shepherd, Cohansey, New Jersey, 4 May 1700 Balenloge County west meath may ye 4th 1700 Well beloved brother and Cister theese are to let you under stand that I received aleter from you with my nevies leter allsoe to our greate satisfaction yt it hath pleased allmighty God in his marcy and goodness to preserve you in your far Jorny and to setle you in agood and peaceable land and allsoe ithath pleased god of Infinite mercy to deliver us and to bring us through many perels and dangers sence your departure oute of this kingdom for after Kingcharles dyed his brother asumed ye Crowne and then popery over swayd this kingdoms and our goods was madee apray our cytes Charters brokee our peniall laws teaken away ye ould propriaters of Ireland entering in opon all our posesions our armes Ceased and popish armeys raised throughout these kingdomes till it pleased god of his bounty ful marcy and good ness to raies us up a deliverer oute of ye same famyly for our deliverance who was at yt time prince of Orange and was maried to princes mary King James eldest daughte[r] who through zeale for ye gospell of our lord Jesus Christ and Honour of god forth with then when all was at steake Came with asmall army of thousand and in vaded or landed in England and god Allmighty prospering him hath through greate wars and danger with ye lose of many thousands of men and great Churge obtained peace and tranquility for himselfe and his sobjects as allsoe he hath been ye Instroment of makeing peace throughoute all Cristendome and now ye lands is derer by ye third part then they ware when you ware heere for the lands yt would agiven yu four shilings pr acor will give you six or six and sixpence and wehave more English heere now then we had before ye ware and now I will give you some short acount of our owne famyly my father dyed at birr after ye first sige of limbrick in ye hith of ye trobles brother Gyles dyed of [y]e small pox and John whirborn maried Cister bety and he dyed about ye same time my fa[ther] dyed and now cister bety is maried to simon Ronsall and is but in anendefarant [wa]y and Cosen tho<mas> shephard is larning ye Joyne[rs tra]de of his fatherinlaw and nicolas Conat C[iste]r praxey es husband dyed aboute 7 or 8 weeks after my father and left children t<w>o bo[y]s and one daughter and shee is maried againe to Daniell dason ye sadler yt lived at Enagh Cister lucy maried her masters stuard and Clark aft[er] Cornel buckworth and they was [v]ery rich our brotherinlaws name is richard lockwod shee dyed in Childbed t<w>o years sense brother robart wansbrough was a seaman and was prest at bristo<l> to sarve as seaman and was kild in abatle at sea as we under stand brother william wansbrough was Insigne for brudnells regiment and was aboord ye fleete he dyed neere aligant in spaine my Cister mary is maried to Pall webster and lives at balen gary Cister rachell lives with cosen thomas towler at balen toty and is not maried Cister Jain liveth at balmacooghee with capten baly yt maried mr prilyes eldest daughter my mother is maried to mr tho<mas> balme yt liveth at killloughnane be twixt raplagh and grange neere Enagh I was maried before ye wars broke oute ayeere to one Tho<mas> Rol<s> Younge[s]t daughter Johnathan wala[n] knowes her cister yt is maried to Joh[n]athan Short of gortin and after y e wars by sick[ness and] loses and ye dept yt my father owed I was forst to sell my father<s> lands for three hundred pound to Cosen nicolas towler soe after he posesed it four yeer<r>s It pleaseed god yt Igot yt favour with my fatherinlaw the advanced hondred pound towards ye purchas and about ahondred pound Ihad myselfe soe y it was sould but bought againe thomas my daughter is yeere ould & son is five Ihave one daughter and ason my wife is with Child this allsoe may carty fie you yt I received his name is Ihad another son Called John but he dyed apeare of butens of silver from Cosen James shephards wife yt was and my mother and Cisters received twelve pence apeece and Cister rachel aquaife or pin<n>er a toaken from my Cister my Cister Rachell and Jane hath either of them aboute twenty pound apeece of their owne and they say yt if they Could get opertunity or good Company either one or both would goe and scee you in that Contry allthough we have sceene abondance of troble and received greate Loses yet Ithank god we have peace and quiatness now and through god allmightys providence and mercy we have both ye law and gospell Reestablished amongst us and Every one EnJoying ye freute of theire labours this being all at present with my kind love to you and my dear Cister and Cosen Tho<mas> sheper<d> and ye rest of youur Liteleones not for geting Cosen John and his Children and cosen david and his Cosen Jonathan walen and his good wife and Children and all ye rest of our relations and frinds there yt went alonge with you my father gyles shepard John whiteho<r>ne is buried by your Uncle Thomas sheperd in birr thomas shepard your uncle thomas es son dyed last yeere at birr he lived where mr wetherlock lived his brother james was kild at teaking of artlone Joseph is in England daniell is at home your ant liveth at teni kelie & is maried to Joseph Ingrom liveth & very rich your father dyed after y wars your uncle simon dyed in his exile or banishment your brother Jonathan and Jonadab is both ded they dyed in ye wars Jonathens wife is maried to Gerd nokes yt was prentice to brother gyles sheperd and lives in ormond they live prety well Robart shepard and your uncle are both maried James shepard simons sons and [is] in an endefrint way of living mistris Elisibeth wade is maried to alderman heds sone of water ford ms mary michell is maried and live[s] aboute lim[er]ick Capten brigges is [de]d Cornell finch is ded ye bishop of kilalow is ded Maior Canbe is [d]ed Capten alen is ded Roger ho[ld]en bee is ded samuill wade ded henery prithy ded Leftanant waler ded parson godfrey ded Leftanant sheldon ded Capten parker ded Capten roulstown ye ould man ded frank Roulstown y maried debrow wade ded Thomas Casill ded Capten powell and his famyly living in ye ould pleace Capten owataway ded ould wiliam freeman ded ould sargant hardy is living and his ould wife and is weel to live they live under young Capten harasson Leftanant foxall ded Robart alen yt went along with you liveth at garan more and is maried if i should give youe an acount of all ye tra[ns] actions yt hath hapened amongst us sence your leving this Contr[ey a q]uire of peapor would scercely Containe it but if I could by asa[f]e hand send you abook of ye trans actions and cations of this late Revolution sence I Canot teake y e the will for ye deed Irest your Ever loving brother till deth I thank god Iam in a good way of living for Ihave my owne Estate againe it is set to three English men we have pound ayere rent Cleere oute of it besides quitrent and all other taxes of y e which my mother hath pound ayeere Joynter I was to apaid if my father and mother had both lived Ihave avery good wife Ithank god and shee is and will be a veery good fortune to me for what I have allredy had and shall have if shee and I doe oute live her father and mother will be as good Ithink as six e or seven hundred pound Soe comending you all to y Providence of all Mighty god our hevenly father by whomee we live move and have our being desiering yt he may in his Infinit marcy in crese Everyone of us in greace wisdom and understanding y we may be truly thankfull for all ye benefits y we doe receive at his hands y after this sinfull painfull and mortall life ended we may Every one be parteakers of Etarnell rest and felicity is ye harty prayers of your Ever loving brother fere well till ye next opertunity James Wansbrough if you can get opertunity pray faile not to send and let us heere from you wee have had t<w>o leters from you sence your departure for I think Ishall not Come to you and sence you are setled Idoe not ad vise you to Come here againe for lands is very scarcee and deere I think rat<e>s of goods will fall and rents will behard to bemade so yt tenants will <be> slaves to their landlords though sence ye setlement we have had agood time and mony plenty a Ould guiny here goes f[or] 26 shilings 4s an<d> 9d for 5s and 4d an English Crown for six shilings which is all at [present] f[rom] J: W |
