| Title: | John Donnan, Middletown, US, to Mr Donan, Cahard, Co. Down. |
|---|---|
| ID | 848 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Donnan, John/3 |
| Year | 1849 |
| Sender | Donnan, John |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farm employee (ploughs, looks after cattle) |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Middletown, New York, USA |
| Destination | Cahard, Co. Down, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Donnan, Hugh & wife |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | son-parents |
| Source | D2795/5/1/8: Presented by Mrs Charles Donnan, Cahard, Ballynahinch, County Down. |
| Archive | Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9306105 |
| Date | 15/01/1849 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Action By Date Document added by J T, 30:06:1993. |
| Word Count | 1197 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Middletown township January 15th 1849 Dear Father and Mother I now embrace the opportunity of writing a few lines to you again to let you know that I am in good health at present hoping that these few lines may find you all enjoying the same blessing, I received your letter with great pleasure to hear that you were all well and doing well, I may let you know that I am still living in the same place when I rote [wrote?] to you last, I have agreed with him from the 12th of December to the first of April for 20 dollars you want to know if my Unkle [Uncle?] Thomas has his health as well as he has, I believe he has it as well as ever he had it, there was a good while that he was a little giddy headed but indeed he was that at his best, he has got a pair of boot [boots?] which cost him only two dollars and a half as he was not able to buy a better pair and I assure you he is a very smart looking old fellow, as he givs [gives?] you all a description of this country and habits of the people it is unnecessary for me to say much, but my friends is all well and doing as well as the [they?] can you may let me know where the ploughing match was this year and who got some of the first prizes, I was glad to hear that my Mother had such good fortune this last season, she will soon become as rich as a jew, Mother I wish you good health, and long may you be able to rear a good chicken or feed a good turkey, you may let me know how the big horse ploughs this season, Hugh when you go out to plough do not look to [too?] much about you but keep a straight eye and a stiff arm and you will soon become a pretty good ploughman, when I plough here after the oxen I go as slow and as steady as a judge and when I plough after the horses I go as fast as I can trudge for the ploughs are so light and the ground is so mellow, Thomas I suppose threshing is heavy upon you but the more that you are a tight little man do not let them impose too much upon you I hav [have?] only 144 stooks of oats to thresh with the flail, he got his wheat all threshed with a threshing mashine [machine?] he had about 140 bushels of wheat and we are expected to have about 175 bushels of oats a bushel of this oats only weighs about 353 lbs [pounds?] they grind it and Indian corn together for feeding the cattle, Rebinah Eliza and Margretiane I suppose you are, all pretty good scholars by this time, be good girls to your mother the most part of the month December here was as warm weather as it with you in the summertime but it has now changed to cold there is some days it is very cold and other days it is very pleasant but frosty the snow is about one foot deep and the ice is about 8 inches thick the only thing that they now have riding or carring [carrying?] any kind of loading in is what they call a slay [sleigh?]which is made to hold about four or five people and is shod with iron, they sometimes have two horses in it and sometimes one, the horses has a string of bells around their body and their nacks [necks?] and the faster the horses goes they have the better musick [music?], it is very little trouble for a horse to run on the snow with three or four people, I have not anything more particular to mention for almost every thing is a little different from what it is in the old country, you may let our old #PAGE 2 neighbour Sir William Donnan know that if he was here I could take a turn with him at either mowing or butchering but for [drieng?] a kill there is no such thing, the way that they kill a pig two or three people catches the pig a [and?] throws it down and sticks it and then lets it up and bloods till it falls then they have a wood fire and heats a good many stones and iron and heats the water with them in a big barrel, they put the pig into the barrel to scald it and draws it out on a bench to clean it, and for cows or bullocks they mostly shoot them I put three little balls into a bullocks forehead for my master and helped to skin him and helped to kill three pigs and a good old Irish story would be very highly recommended here and if I was there I would give him a dry afternoons plouing [ploughing?] for the last one was wet outside and he made me wet inside but I am not quite temperate since I came here, I would have wrote sooner but I was still waiting for a letter from Frances folks and did not get one, and he would like that they would write as soon as this comes to hand, and answer his last letter and let him know anything particular in the country, and when they write you can answer this letter and pute [put?] it in the inside of their letter, wee [we?] pay 29 cents for every letter, and 29 cents when we post them the nearest way, Frances wishes me to write these lines I send my kind love to all my friends neighbours and old acquaintances excepting none hoping to hear of them all being in the enjoyment of good health and prosperity No more at present but remains your truly John Donnan When you write direct your letter to Frances Donnan liner post office Middle town township Delaware county penslyvania [Pennsylvania?] to the care of Mr William Fox Dear Mother I wish to let you know that I am still working ta [at?, to?] the same man by the day when the weather is fit I get 87 cents per day and I make rather more than half time I pay 2 dollars and a quarter per week for board but I am 7 miles from where I was all summer in a little town named Cheston and I intend to work to him all summer I will be sometimes here and sometimes where I was last summer as he will have more work carried out the next season he will be about 16 hands working. as Robert Burns was saying that he and his mother was intending to come out here this next spring and wished to know wat [what?] kind of clothing to bring I would advise him to bring plenty of shirts and stockings but for any thing else it is not particular bur Dear Robert it is a dark step to take you had better make your will before you come on board. |
