Letters home from nineteenth century migrants to America and Canada are a valuable source of information about migrant life. This one dated 1849 is from rapidly-expanding Milwaukee, a city which was ethnically and religiously diverse from the outset but with German-speakers the largest single group. The sect known as The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had a presence there in the 1840s and in this letter Sister Norwood is described as a disciple which was a common way of referring to church members and may indicate her allegaince to that church. The Mr King in this letter is probably Rufus King, then editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The letter reports deaths
and is appropriately closed by a paper seal the wording of which provides the
title for this piece. The letter ranges over reports of income and employment situations
and general family matters. A family historian could research it more fully.
Addressed
to: Miss Sarah Taylor Mr James
Wilson Grocer Commongarden Street Lancaster
England Great Britian
Datelined:
Milwaukie [ sic, an early variant spelling] Jany 24 1849
Endorsed
via Boston Postmarked MILWAUKEE WISC and PAID handstamp over Mss. Paid 24
[cents]. LANCASTER arrival postmark MR ? 1849
Small
blue paper letter seal, torn: Blessed are they that Mourn for they shall be
Comforted
Dear
Sister
We
have just received your very welcome letter for which plese accept our thanks the reasons we did not write
sooner were maney in the first place then the Postage has been so very high
that we thought it would do no harm to wait a bit it is now down from thirty
four sents to twelve & a half cents (22 cents make 1/= [one shilling])
so that is no loner an excuse but the greatest objectson was I knew not what to
say you will receive along with this a leter from George which will tell you
part of the mornful story namely the Death of our Dear Sister Isabella she also
has gone the way of all flesh. This has caused us much grief we wrote to Mother
but have not yet got an answer so you see poor George is left with his poor
little Boy without a mother yet without an Aunt Sarah [the addressee of this
letter] to take care of him. It was quite impossible for us to get him this
winter nor was his father willing to part with him It is also my painful task
to tell you of the sickness & Death of our little Boy he was taken with the
Bowel complaint the later end of June & Died on the 19 of August it ended
with compson [ compression?] of the Boules
As
you see we have our shair of sorrow here as well as elsewhere his Uncal William
Harper took his likness [took a photograph?] so if you should ever come
to Milwaukie you can at least see his picture we think it is very like him you
wish to know what we are doing & if William & Alexander is near us
Robert is Bookkepper in the City Foundrey William carys on printing in Compney
with a Mr King William
Boards with us Alexander with his partner Mr King he also is lerning to be a
printer they are both very stedy & I think in time will do very well in
America all though they have had their share of hard times so you see my famley
is not large so you see I have at last manedged to have finer times than you
for it seems to me that you have more to do than ever you had & phraps less wadgess [wages] but
you do not say what your wages is but you are foolish enough to try to do
without a servant you say you have had a visit from Mrs Woolnorth if aneyone
had told me that she would not have so much as have said give my Love to them I
could not have beleved it but beleve it we may for not one word to us either
good or bad if we have don them aney harm we would like to know it & not be
treted with Sullen Silence it is now two years since Robert wrote to Mr
Woolnorth & we have never herd a word from him since but although we have
no sister Woolnorth hear we have sister Norwood she is a disiple [see
Introduction above]& just as kind harted a one as I could wish to
associate with & maney more here that we could name that are as warm harted
& sincere friends as ever graced the shores of England for .. say that
friends in Lancaster are like Angles visits fue & far between please give
our kind regards to Mrs Yats [?] & Mr & Mrs Allen when you see them
tell them I like America as … [ letter damaged here] & have no wish
to come back …like much to see you here
with ….for it would be a good chance for you to have company we were
sory to hear of the very sevear afflickshon that Mrs Roberts has been agane
visited with she had but one Child left out of six one drowned two poisoned one
child on the rail way what Richard died of you do not say but leave me to gus [guess]
it was to much Drink
On
the side flap and in another hand: Address Robert Harper Milwaukee Wisconsin United States America
Previous
writer concludes: Wisconsin is now a State & no longer
a Teritory so we send back to we [? wee] Jennie [?] all the kisses you sent to
.. Baby & two more [?] & wish he may long continue his Fathers joy Mary Sharpe
References
Wikipedia:
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Wikipedia:
Milwaukee
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