| Title: | Letter from John Donnan, Pennsylvania, America to his Parents |
|---|---|
| ID | 850 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Donnan, John/38 |
| Year | 1848 |
| Sender | Donnan, John |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farm employee (ploughs, looks after cattle) |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Pennsylvania, USA |
| Destination | Cahard, Co. Down, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Donnan, Hugh & wife |
| Recipient Gender | male-female |
| Relationship | son-parents |
| Source | D 2795/5/1/5: Presented by Mrs. Chas. [Charles] Donnan, Cahard, Ballynahinch, Co. Down |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9311601 |
| Date | 11/09/1848 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Action By Date Document added by C.McK., 23:11:199 |
| Word Count | 1660 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Letter from John Donnan, Pennsylvania, to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Donnan, Cahard, Co. Down, 11th September, 1848 September 11th Pensylvania [Pennsylvania?], 1848 Dear Father and Mother I received your letter on the 25th August which gives me great pleasure to hear that you were all in good health, 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 as I never knew what it was to have an hour of sickness since I came into this country thanks be to God for all his mercies to me, as it was neglectful in me not to state some of the inquiries you made I shall now with pleasure, I am not living in the same place I was at first I only wrought 6 days to Mr. Riddle as I found a place that suited me better and longer employ I then engaged with another farmer named Humphrey Gearsley at 10 dollars per month and found in boarding and washing and other little necessaries I stand in need of, he does not go to any place of worship he has only two little girls, you want to know a little of his mode of labour and what kind of kettle [cattle?] he has 103 acres about 6 acres of wood land becides [besides?] a mill for grinding wheat oats and Indian corn, he has about 8 acres of wheat 6 acres of oats 6 acres of Indian corn and 15 acres of hay only about 15 bushels of potatoes I raised them the day I received your letter he keeps 3 horses 4 cows 9 stears [steers?] or bullocks and 2 oxen, some of them weighs about 8 hundred weight kettle [cattle?] of all kinds are much the same as in Ireland. horses are better in general than in the old country, the harvest was all settled about the 1st of August wheat and oats are all creadled a man can creadle from three to four acres per day land is all english measure here the corn is mostly cut at this date some of it is twelve feet high, wee [we?] have the oats ground ploughed for wheats I have ploughed here three or four days after the oxen the [they?] have neither blind reins coller [collar?] [henes?] back rope traces nor doubletree the yolk for thing [this?] is composed of a piece of wood about 4 feet long and 6 inches on the square hollowed out at the ends for the upper part of theirs [their?] necks, there is two holes bored through each end of the wood about 8 inches apart and a bow of hickory wood about 3 inches in circomference [circumference?] is bent around the nacks [necks?] of each ox the ends of which is put through each hole and head above, there is also a ring steepled [stapled?] in the centre of the above named piece of wood with a strong chain hooked their [there?] from between the oxen to the plough, the [they?] are trained to go by the use of language, the [they?] draw in the cart and wagon much the same way the cart and #PAGE 2 wagon has one shaft comes between the oxen I have mowed three or four days i [I?] can mow an acre per day very easy with these syths the [they?] are from three feet and a half to four feet two inches long and very narrow. I churn once a week the churns are somewhat like a beer barrel with a handle in the one end like the handle of yours fans and dashes are in the inside, the [they?] only churn the top of the milk I have thrashed [threshed?] a few days wee [we?] lay down a stook at once and threshed the one side and then turns it and so on, we sometimes tramp it off with the horses, I sometimes cut wood and different kinds of work I have not very hard to work I pleas [please?] you may let James Thompson know that if he was here he would not have to walk about very long until he would get plenty to shoot at you may also let him know that I put a few lines in his letter to Mr. McKee and he wrote me a long letter and gave me great incouragement [encouragement?] to come out to his part of the country but I understand that it is not so healthy a country as this is, and he told me when I would write home to send his kind love to James Thompson, Miss and family and to all my father [father's?] folks. I wish to give you a little idea of the common wages, for labouring on a farm, by the year, is commonly 100 to 120 dollars, by the Month in the summer season from 10 to 12 dollars in the winter season from 6 to 8 dollars per month there can be little work done in the winter for 3 or 4 months common wages are 50 cents per day only in harvest. a creadler gets one dollar and a quarter per day for mowing or [making?] [paper torn] hay or other work in harvest is commonly 1 dollar per day, [th--?] [paper torn] most of farmers rears his own cloverseed I have creadled about 2 acres of cloverseed and helped to haul it in and thresh it. an acre of good clover produces about one bushel and a half, a carpenter gets from one dollar to one dollar and a half per day and found, a mason gets much the same wages, tailors get about 7 dollars for making a ful [full?] suite [suit?] the people mostly all wear boots Frances [Francis?] and me has got each of us a pair, his cost 3 dollars and a half and mine cos [cost?] 4 dollars. I think you will be able to furnish some idea of the mode of labour and of wages in this part of the country, I may say that we sit down here three times every day to as good a table as the best gentleman in your land in fact the commonality of people here does not know what to eat or what to drink or what to wear, it would be unenssasry [unnecessary?] for me to ask you to come to this country but it would be the Best thing the Rest of the family could meet with, Dear father this is a beatiful [beautiful?] country there is some of the greatest spleandure [splendour?] i [I?] ever saw #PAGE 3 in my life, there is different kinds of places of worship there is a great many quakers here and Methodest [Methodist?] meetings we sometimes go to A Methodest [Methodist?] Meeting and sometimes to a Presbyterian Meeting not very far off us, you want to know if true that Shaw Mageen was turned out of the vessel But it was not true he came all the way But he kept very quiet and was very seldom on deck, we had plenty of victuling [victualling?] with us we sold some of our bread and bacon and part of our spirits, there is about one fourth of this part of the country wood land and the rest all labourable in general farmers does not labour more than one third of what land the [they?] possess as the grass and hay is as much valued to them as the grain, all the taxes my master pays is about 40 cents an acre, some people has as much as 20 acres of Indian corn here and some people has as many cows as from 16 to 25 in general, you would not know a poor man from a rich by his dress as poor and rich are so well dressed and all eat at the same table in general I may let you know that Francis has paid me the two pounds he borrowed and my uncle Thomas wishes you to let his brother John know that he has got his two pounds, this has been a great fruit year here, every farmer here has his own orchard I have eaten more fruit of different kinds since I came here than ever I eat in my life, I may let you know that I wrote this letter in philadephia [Philadelphia?] with John Donnans [Donnan's?] Sister as my second month was ended on the 7th day of September I took two or three days to go and see some of the splendure [splendour?] of the city the Market street of philadelphia [Philadelphia?] is about 4 miles long and there is some of the greatest splendure [splendour?] and quoricity [curiosity?] I ever saw it would not enter into your head that there was such a beatiful [beautiful?] scenery in the known World. it is about 17 miles from philadelphia [Philadelphia?] to where wee [we?] live Mr. Gearsly has offered me wages to stay all winter with him But I am not sure whither [whether?] I will stay or not Francis and me thought fit to send one letter between us and the one of us pays for posting it in the post office and the other can releive [relieve?] yours and you and his people can send a letter the same way if you think fit, and you can cut this sheet in two so that each may have their own part my uncle Thomas wishes to know from whoever writes first if John Thompson of Ravara received the first letter respecting their passag [passage?] bearing dat [date?] the 22nd May and also if his Brother John got the other two he sent to him When you write direct you [your?] letter to the care of Mr. William Fox Liner Post Office Delaware county Pensylvania [Pennsylvania?] America for Francis Donnan I have nothing more #PAGE 4 at present to state But I send my kind love to all my Friends and Neighbours I Remain yours truly John Donnan. |
