| Title: | Wright, Margaret to McNish, Alexander, 1808 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6606 |
| 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/9 |
| Year | 1808 |
| Sender | Wright, Margaret |
| Sender Gender | female |
| Sender Occupation | servant |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Aughintober, Co. Tyrone |
| Destination | Salem, New York, USA |
| Recipient | McNish, Alexander |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | niece-uncle |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 587 |
| Genre | possible emigration |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Margaret Wright, Aughintober, Donaghmore Parish, County Tyrone, to Alexander McNish, Salem, New York, 27 May 1808 Aughintober May 27th Dear Uncle, Imprest with a deep sense of your love and Kindness to your Relations and of your readiness to impart anything that would seemingly conduce to their welfare & happiness I have embraced this oppertunity of soliciting your hitherto proposed favour hoping that the same goodness the same disinterested freinship will influence you in your behaviour to me as I never more Stood in need of the kindly fostering hand of freinship in what ever charactar it might appear than at present being now deprived of any one that would superintend my conduct or regard my undirected footsteps. my Brothers I may say being now involved in family concerns I alone am left to act according to my unexperienced discretion on the vast Stage of this troublesome world & believe me my dear Uncle there is nought but trouble and vexation attending our lives in this countrey and more especially at this time as provisions are remarkably high, and they who have nought to Support themselves but their daily labour are hardly enough dealt withal America with us bears the character of the land of freedom and of liberty and is accounted like the land of promise flowing with milk and honey thus how desirable would such a place be to those labouring under Egyptian bondage encreasing and seemingly to encrease every day without the smallest gleam of hope Such is the state of this Countrey and such are our sentiments with respect to america Now my desire is that you would Substantiate your former proposal & by some means or other procure me an entrance into that land of happiness where I might by industry obtain a competence in life without being dependent on the mercenary and covetous for a miserable and wretched support; And think not that it is any temporary conviction for the non-acceptance of your kind proposal, arising from the disagreeableness of present circumstances but I assure you it is not, for from the first moment that I heard your sentiments concerning our distressed family & that you wished to assist us in getting to you desire hath still encreased and often hath my heart throbbed with pleasure and Joyfulness in anticipating the happiness of that land of freedom & of visiting your peaceful habitation and of becoming an inmate of your family where I might participate of that freindship in a more abundant measure which extended even across the Atlantic but till now I was under the influence of my brothers who as I mentioned before are all become regardless of me being mindful of their own interest alone If you could procure a passage for me I would faithfully serve untill I should redeem myself either with yourself or any one you would recommend me to I live at present with old Daniel M c Nees of Mullyrodden & never was better than now but there is nothing here but the appearance of trouble and calamity. William & John Kerr & familys are well and desires to be remembered John wrote last year and has got no answer the year at which he greatly wonders All your relatives are well my Brothers included and all hope this to find you in the Same which that it may is the ardent wish and sincere prayer of Margaret Wright PS If you write direct to John Kerr for the rest you know yourself |
