Annie Brown, Co. Donegal, To "My Dear Brother"

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Document ID 2006236
Date 22-12-1873
Document Type Letters (Emigrants)
Archive M. G. Browne
Citation Annie Brown, Co. Donegal, To "My Dear Brother";Copyright Retained By Margaret Graham Browne; CMSIED 2006236
26587
Part of the Margaret Graham Browne Collection

            Rathneeny
           Laghey dec
                   22
                 1873


My der [dear?] brother
      we received your long
looked for letter a few weeks
ago and was glad to hear
yous [you?] were all well we are
enjoying good health at present
but cannot tell how soon
a change may come for there
is so may [many?] suden [sudden?] deaths that
it is alarning [alarming?] to see so many
a cutting away in health
and strength old John graha [Graham?]
of drumgouran [Drumgowan?] had been on a
settlement in his sisters [sister's?] Mrs.
farrells [Farrell's?] on the night of the
seventh he rose to go home and instantly
he fell to the ground and never
spoke he lived about 12 hours
it was appoplexy [apoplexy?] was the
couse [cause?] of death many more i
could name but time prevents me
you said you did not get a letter
from us before you left boston
and if you did not it must have
been mislaid for if you were
8 days in boston after you got
the first letter you must have
got the second otherwise it was
lost for surly [surely?] I wrote
the next day to have it in time
we have revival meetings over
here and many converts it is
a man from boston he is stoping [stopping?]
in gahans [Gahan's?] it's in donegall [Donegal?] the
meettings [meetings?] are held and John holms
[Holmes?] is one of his converts so thats [that's?]
a great change
as regards Mrs. Willsson [Wilson?] she has
sold all on the sixteenth of last
month John holmes intended
buying the hill but wright would
not lower it of sixty pounds
and John not being in sircumstanc [circumstances?]
to buy at more than forty pounds
declind [declined?] and said he would buy
the inside but still prefered [preferred?] other
but being told there was no credit
he had to drop and was afraid
of not getting either until I heard
his distress about the matter and
I went and told him to bid for
both and if he got it all we would
take one until we would write to
you we had the price of the flat
which brought £20 and borowed [borrowed?] the
rest so I cheered him greatly with
what I said and the [they?] went to
the hill first and John set it up
at £30 - another £31 - he £32
no more spoke tom Johnston bid
£50 and her man bid £55 but John
would not give that for it would we
so John got the inside at £24 10s
and how the hill is no one knows
for tom had no money to pay for it
the people thinks Wright is holding
it for wages
       Now about the horse he sold
the day before yesterday in petigo [Pettigoe?]
at £23 just as he stood of course
we wont [won't?] get as good a one at his
price and to give more it would
only be a risk but he was usless [useless?] and
all horses bred from tom quin [Quinn?] there
is not a good one in them all so we
cant [can't?] blame any one about him
also he was footless
the weather has been very cold the [there?]
we had hard frost for 3 weeks but
no snow we had a nice ground thaw
for a week but this week is
pouring I suppose you have some
hard weather over there as regards
the cold keep yourselves over warm
for you know it is not easy to be
sick there tell Robert mother
would like he would write her a
letter as he has never written any
but one think its [it's?] time he wrote
another the crop done pretty well this year
we had but litte [little?] potatoes down
but done very well corn also grew
very well but is not yeilding [yielding?] so
so [sic] well on account of ripning [ripening?]
too soon
John scott is well I was to see him
but Montgomery I did not see yet
nor would I know him
my dear brother I think if all well
to spring in the name of god
its [it's?] better for you to come home
if you intend looking after this
place for I think the longer the
the [sic] worse if I were not here you
would have a bad chance for mother
could not manage alone and the
others would have a better tilte [title?]
I would like to know who would
be the owner and if it would be
them I would not stay longer than
april if spared so that if you
would take a run over early
you could go back if you choosed [chose?]
besides she might claim more
money the longer he stops so I
think the sooner everything
is settled the better
      I must draw to a close
with fond love to ye [you?] all from
your mother and sister
and please write as soon as
you receive this and dont [don't?]
keep us waiting I wish you a Merry
Xmas and happy new year last
year poor father was alive but we are
alone this one

(* The owner of these documents has informed us that this
townland is spelt "Rathneeny" and that the older spellings of it
are "Roniney" or "Raneny".  In the "Index To The Townlands and
Towns, Parishes and Baronies of Ireland" the spelling is
"Raneany")