| Title: | Wright, Hannah to Wright, William & Anne, 1802 |
|---|---|
| ID | 6626 |
| 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/34 |
| Year | 1802 |
| Sender | Wright, Hannah |
| Sender Gender | female |
| Sender Occupation | settler |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | N.W. Territory, Belmont Co., Ohio, USA |
| Destination | Ballinclay, Co. Wexford, Ireland |
| Recipient | Wright, William & Anne |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | sister-in-law/sister - brother-in-law/sister |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 1247 |
| Genre | latest events, settling, farming |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Hannah Wright, “N.W. Territory” [Belmont County, Ohio], to William and Anne Wright, [Ballinclay, County Wexford?], 24 September 180 N.W. Territory 9mo 24th 1802 My dear Wm and Ann I told you in my last that I would if I had an oppertunity inform you from this place what I thought of this new settlement and I should be tempted to wish you were here only so much self might apear in it and another great objection with me is the difficulty of getting along some of the worst roads I beleive in the known world there are nothing almost from Baltimore hear but Hills and Hollows and so much mountains & ridges as they call them here, yet we were favoured to get on uncomonly well, My Josh with the boys walk’d all the way and was not as much fatigued as going to dear Ballinclay on foot would occation, their feet not even blistered, and we had several very wet days with uncomon thunder and lightening and once our waggon over set and we in it but received no material injury except the children’s faces a little scratchd, I was able to help to unload the waggon while my Joseph was calling Ralph Heath & Wm Philpot to assist us who had gone on before us, but that was only a common accident, we had five of the best Horses to it I ever saw togather so much so that I do not remember to see the driver ever give them the whip up the worst of the mountains, now could these difficulties be got over and the danger of the seas— I think there would be a fair chance of setling down comfortably for life if one could have about 100£ & 50£ clear of expence here as there is no such thing even in this new settlement as any one wanting the nessessarys of life, they have abundant crops without manure and with very little cultivation one horse will plough ground that has been broken before, but it requires two to begin to cultivate oxen are much used in this place I am not my dear Anne urging your trying this country or leaving that dear old Ireland but my promise was to give you an impartial account of this, the people sent us an abundance of french beans, cucumbers, and sometimes potatoes and squashs gratis and ears of indian corn which resemble peas when boil’d a little in flavour— the children are very fond of them and these articles which save us laying out money come from loghouses not larger than you<r> parlour, and we have one neighbour here a dutchman that gives us plenty of milk twice in the day for both our families and has lent them horses many times to go to the section where I hope we shall be able to move to— the latter end of next week— as we wish to have a door and floor laid before we go into it, its to be lofted one story but some of them has two story in them, they serve at the first setting out for parlour and Kitchen but the beds can be over head, my Joseph has been out all day inviting the people to come on third day next to raise their houses and I expect they will have thirty men, this is attended with expence as they are to be maintaind, I wish we had our dear Joseph hear before all the little articles his father has is sold as it would help to introduce him to the sale of them under his fathers inspection and a deal can be done here by taking skins of wild beasts and grain &c &c in exchange while his father and brothers would be preparing grain for use, my Joseph bought a little mare yesterday with part of the price of my watch which brought 33 dollars what it cost five years back I sold it to a freind the name of Howord a very religious man we had a letter to him from Richard R Laurence of Newyork and on the receipt of it he came immediately to offer us any assistance in his power and is to survey the land gratis and devide the section, I wish thou were one of the partiners in it without the hardship which thy dear Anne would find in coming provided your parents could freely give you up for life, some land that was bought of congress two years back for 11/2 doller per acre brings now ten at second hand rate and I think in a little time there will not be any to be disposed of in this territory which is an healthfull situation, I am through mercy now quite recovered and equal to the task of washing again and getting our little business done tho for some weeks I hardly expected ever to write to you again altho I have had no information from any of our dear relatives since I parted you I hope to hear and is anxiously waiting the post that comes regularly here and John Roberts & Joseph Desy was to forward any that might come to their care but I wish any future ones might come to John Roberts who has proved himself my Josephs best friend, I must beg to have our dear love and warmest gratitude presented to Unkle J Smithson with Aunt and dear James Morison and his Eliza and Also to Unkle John Smithson and his family and besure say how thy Anne & your little Ellen is and whether my dear Unkle and Aunt Thomas are well to whom our dear love is also presented with the boys and to John and Jane at Cookfield I met a freind at Baltimore so like Jane that I could hardly keep from kissing her at our first meeting and we found on further aquaintance with her that she exceeded even my expec<ta>tion she is clark to the womens-meeting and is I beleive a very religious woman her name Rebecca Proctor, I write so much in haste that it carries me from subjects that I wish not to omit its now near 2 oclock at night and my Joseph will have to go I suppose ten miles to the freind tomorrow that is going to Baltimore to attend the yearly meeting there, my Joseph is fatter then he was when we landed notwithstanding all his fatigue and was never threw divine favour in better health Ah! I must close and once more bid you my dear brother & sister farewell when I assure you that time or situation cannot alter the affection that fills our bosoms for you to which the children desire to have their joint love presented and beleeve me your very affcte sister in law Hannah Wright My dear William I mention’d in my letter to Susan that our expence of getting here and having to buy our provisions for one year would run us so hard that I much fear we shall not be able to make up the next payment of the section and yet I feel quite ashamed after all our freinds done for us to ask for an hundred and twenty Dollars more though I am well convinced the<y> would not think much about it and my Joseph may have it yet in his power to repay it if he is spared |
