[Page 1]
Philadelphia November 1st 1874
Dear Joseph and Elisa I send these
few lines to let you now [know?] we
are all well thank God for his
kindness to us hoping this will find
yous [you?] in the same we received your
kind letter which gave us great
pleasure to hear of yous [you?]being
all well and of being successful
in having a good crop this
season and it seems to me
that Mr.and Mrs.Steele
is treating yous [you?] very kindly
with nice presents the times
in this country is verry [very?] dull this summer
the one half of the people is not in work
for my part I have steady work yet
I am working right beside where I
live this two weeks back I am working
by the foot I made 26dollars last
week the weather is fine here yet but
it changes verry [very?] suden [sudden?]and when the
cold and frost sets in the work will
stop right away
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There are a great many gowing [going?] home they
are afraid of a hard winter it is expected
to be so we had a son of Richard
Monteith of Newtownstewart to see us about
two weeks back he was to gow [go?] home
at that time he said he would give yous [you?]
a call when he would reach home
Johnny & David is in work and David
is back with us but he lost the job
he worked at on account of a sore finger
I got him a job in a box factory at
9 dollars per week and Seragh is steady
with the same lady and she has three
dollars and a half per week she was gowing [going?]
to leave and gow [go?]to a traid [trade?] so the lady
raised her pay and would not let her gow[go?]
She gave her a great many nice presents
and she got a good quantity of childrens
close [clothes?] and shoes for Magys little ones
Mary Anne is not in any place yet but
I expect she will this week coming
Thomas has a store and has a nice house
he works every day and Martha minds the
shop they are in a good way of doing
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I had a letter from your Aunt
Elisa Carson last week She told us
Magy was in the hight [height?] of want and
she advised her to sell the little
furniture and to come on to us and let
Sammy gow [go?] where he liked he was
discharged from the work 2 weeks
before that and she had been giving
them all the assistance she could but
help dose [does?] not do for Sammy he wants
all for nothing and will work none
It is a pity of poor unfortunate Magy
her aunt says if she dose [does?] not come
to us she has no other remedy than
the City authorities I rote [wrote?] a letter to
her last week but I got no answer
nor she has not come yet Samuel
has been doing so many mean acts
in Ireland and he just got on the
same in Philadelphia and is trying to
do the same in New York he is counted
the meanest white man in the United
States by all that nows [knows?] him his principal [principles?]
is lower than a neager [negro?]
[Page 4]
Your mother got them goods from
stores and he never paid one cent of it
and she got his sister Mary Anne
close [clothes?] and she went off to New York and
left us to pay it so I must say they
are a dirty concern I had to support
Magy and the 2 children for 6 weeks when
he went to Duchs county and then she went
to him but when she went there he had no
way for her so she came back to New York but
I was almost supporting them while
the [they?] were here for 5 months and nothing
but ridicule from the mean fellow in
the rear and sent their furniture to New York
So you may think I had too much expense
with him since he came here give our kind
love to my mother and sister and brother
and little Willy I will send them a letter
in a few days I had a letter from them
a little ago and was glad to hear of them
being all well your mother is just the
same as at home but she is poorly some
times with rumatism [rheumatism?] in her feet but no
headache but that is customary in the country
No more We remain your affectionate Father & Mother
John & Mitilda Ferguson
