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THE IRISH IN IOWA |
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Rev. Robert Allen Iowa Iowa City, Iowa. Rev. Robert Allen. My dear cousin your very interesting
letter bearing date the 4th of Feb. last was received a few days ago;
& though cloathed in was right heartily welcomed by me. It is
truly refreshing to pursue such an epistle from such a friend, & from such a
country your apologies, however, were uncalled for. I am not shure but I
am as much in falt as you are. Why did I not write to you? To this inquiry
I can only answer I knew not certainly where to address you. It is said our
bodies are constantly changing, we know we often change our localities. Let us
hope that our sentiments of attachment shall never change. Let our prayers be
that they may continue to florish in increasing loveliness & perfection on
earth, & mellow, in the eternal world, on the banks of the river of life! Of
the death of my two cousins, Harry & Catherine Allen, in Ireland, as
well as of that of your Sister Mrs. Davidson in Alleghany City, in this country,
I heard nothing until the receipt of your letter With your sister I spent,
during the meeting of our General Synod last may, in Pittsburgh, a few days
& nights pleasanty . They were then all enjoying good helth Mr.
Davidson seemed to be doing well, as he deserves to do. He was an affectionate
husband, & a kind open-hearted friend such a friend I have no
doubt he still continues to be. Our General Synod meets this coming May in
Alleghany & I was antisipating a happy sojourn in your sister's
family. But alas! how uncertain are all human expectations of earthly good! My
dear cousin I shall see no more on earth; but please God we shall meet in heaven
where no pestilence can enter & where sickness,& death,& parting
shall be known no more! Your labours in your present field are, I have no doubt,
many & onerous. When you look around you & consider the worldlyness ,
the carelessness about spiritual & eternal things the idolatry
& superstition which prevail on every hand & among every class
when you think of the duties resting upon you as a labourer in our Master's
vineyard & the obsticles internal & external which lie in the way
of their proper performance no wonder if you should be often found adopting the
language of Paul & saying "Who is sufficient for these things."
The sentiment of the Psalmist suits me often. "O that I like adore, had
wings said I, then would I flee For hence, that I might find a place Where I in
rest might be." But from this toil & conflict there is no honourable
escape. He who expects to conquer must fight. he who desires a crown of immortal
glory & honour must run the race that is set before him. To assist you in
accomplishing the great work lying before you in the fashionable city of Dublin,
by lending you material aid, would impart to me great pleasure were it at all in
my power. This is a great country & as you will have seen from the heading
of this epistle I am now far beyond what a very few years ago was called the
"Far West." My home at present is west of the Mississippi "The
father of waters". I came to this state last june with the view of being
more useful in the Church of God & of obtaining a permanent home for my
rapidly increasing family. We have only six children now, three sons & three
daughters! The opposition you speak of as existing in the city of Dublin is even
here. "Fullness of bread & abundance of idleness"
worldly pride & the monster Romanism are all here . If Rome is loosing
ground in Europe she is moving heaven & earth to plant & cultivate her
heresy in America. Every new place here in the west that is likely to be a place
of importance she is occupying, & by those arts known only to her she is
labouring to disseminate her dogmas. It is here the great battle of freedom must
be fought And to carry on our operations sucessfully we need very many
meeting houses, the want of which you seem to understand. At every meeting of
our Presbytery new places are reported where preaching is wanted & of course
meeting houses. In this place, at present the capital of the state, our
congregation is small & we have no house of our own wherein to worship. I
preach at present in a school room. We may after a while occupy the senate
chamber in the state house, should I remain here, which I am not certain I shall
do. There is a more encouraging prospect about 60 miles from here, in the city
of LeClaire, on the banks of the Mississippi, where the people are about to make
out a call for me perhaps I may accept it. But as here they have no
meeting house there. Our field is large it is almost boundless & we have
nothing like a sufficient number of labourers & nothing like a sufficient
amount of material means for its proper cultivation. Some how or other Rome can
& does build fine chapels - cathedrals - convents, & schools wherever
she needs them in this country, whereas Protestants cant always do
so Why should not truth be as well supported as error. There is at present
a good deal of talk about a rupture between this country & England, here. I
fondly hope it will terminate in talk. This is beyond any doubt a fast country
& contains many restless ambitious spirits that are ready for any desperate
undertaking. Are there many such over with you? The institution of Slavery in
this country has been the cause of much unpleasant feeling & talking &
acting both in Church & state. The accursed business has brought us to the
confines of civil war. That it will bring about the dissolution of this
confederacy I have not a doubt. The North - that is the free states, & the
South, namely the slave states are becoming more & more alienated. The love
of slavery seems to be increasing in the South & the detestation of it to be
growing more extensive & deeply rooted in the North. The South wishes to
extend the bounderies of slave teritory the north is becoming more
& more determined that it shall not proceed any farther. On this momentous
question many branches of the Church have realy divided. We have the
Associate Reformed Church North & the Associate Reformed Church South, the
Baptist Church North & the Baptist Church South, the Methodist Church North
& the methodist Church south, & I dont know how many more. I
believe the nation is divided in heart in like manner & will at last be
realy & visibly divided also. Nothing has contributed so much to this
alienation of late as the passage of the Kansas & Nebraska bill & with
it the repeal of the Missouri compromise Perhaps "Uncle Tom's
Cabin" which I doubt not you have read & if you haven't you
should give no rest to your eyes nor slumber to your eyelids until you do,
helped on the matter very considerably. It is a true picture of slavery &
its workings in this country. Is it not a true picture of it & its workings
in every country where it exists? A most interesting & exciting trial for
some fugitive slaves came off a few days ago in Cincinnati ohio The
slaves six or seven in number fled from their masters in Kentucky & availing
themselves of the frosen state of the Ohio river crossed over on the ice
& took refuge in a house in the subburbs of Cincinnati. They were soon
missed & pursued their hiding place was discovered, a warrant was procurd
& officers went to the house for the purpose of arresting them. The slaves
resisted manfully as long as they were able. Among them was a mother & three
children who, finding that they would be captured beyond a doubt resolved to
murder herself & children rather than go back to bondage Sadened by
this resolution she seized a butcher's knife cut the throte of one
child slightly wounded another & struck the third on the head
but did not do it any serious injury before she was taken into custoday. They
were all tried & remanded back into slavery. This was hard it was, you will
perhaps say, cruel. It was, however what was required in the case by what is
called here the fugitive slave law. Had these slaves been brought into Ohio by
their masters or with their masters consent they would have been free the moment
the tuched the soil of Ohio, but coming there as fugitives the law
gave them back to their legal owners. Now is it not remarkable
something that is a disgrace to our common Christianity that the man Archibald
K. Gains who claimed the woman who killed one of her children & endavoured
to kill them all rather than that they should go back into bondadge is a member
in the Old school Presbyterian Church, the woman is said to be a Methodist. Is
this the religion of Jesus? Does the mind the Spirit of our blessed
Saviour prompt to acts of such a character? Can that Church be regarded as
faithful to God that countenances & legalazes such conduct upon the
part of her members? If Slavery is right I dont know for my part what is
wrong If the above mentioned Gains can have an honorable place in the visible
kingdom of our Lord & Redeemer why may not the drunkard & the impure?
While I would not justify the enslaved woman in murdering her dear child is she
not inosent before God in comparison with the man who would sell her body
& soul into slavery for many "Give me liberty or give me death!"
Such is the language of Patrick Henry a man of whom this country is deservedly
proud. We admire the principle as anounced by him. Shall we love it less
because practiced by a poor digraded daughtr of Africa? Blessed be
God the day is coming in which each one will do to others as he would have
others do to him. May it spedilly come! Some of us are beginning to care
little whether it comes in peace or war so as it comes. Well I shall drop the
subject of slavery at present best I become too excited & turn
to another subject with which perhaps you are more familiar I have just been
reading Thackeray's sketches in Ireland. They are certainly interesting &
amusing if nothing more. I am inclined to regard them as instructive also. He
relates what he says he saw in the neighbourhood of Westport in the Sixth
chapter of the second volume. Is that chapter deserving of credence? Were those
awful abominable rites performed as he says the were? You must
certainly know. Dear Robert I want you to write me soon & tell me if those
things be so. The friends here are well as far as I know I received from Father
a few weeks ago & they were all in the enjoyment of usual helth . Father,
however is becoming very frail yet his general helth is good The
paper you sent me came to hand in due time For the favour you have my
thanks you may repeat it as often as you please Mrs A. thinks you
had better come here & get married she sends you her kindest
regards Remember me to those of my friends you may hapen to
see ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To: Eleanor McIlwrath (nee Wallace); Newtownards, County Down, Ireland ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sharpburgh ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To: Thomas McIlwrath High Street, Newtownards, Co. Down Ireland Dear Thomas I received your kind and welcome letter and was glad to here you were all well. We are all well here at present. I am glad to know your father is enjoying such good health at the age of 60 years. I did not think he was so old. Please tell him to except my thanks for the two books he sent me. Mr. Moore was here to see me a week or two ago. I was very glad to see him. I had a good talk with him. He told me all about Newtownards and its surroundings which I was very glad to here . He lives about thirty miles from me at a place called Thornburg. he seems to be a very steady man. Dear Thomas tell your mother to except my many thanks for the Friendly Greetings that she sends us every month. We prize them very much. Dear Thomas you said you had a very dry summer. We have had the driest and hottest here I have seen since I came to the states The oat and hay crop were very light on account of the drought. The pastures are all burned up. The springs all dried up. I had to pump water for my cattle and hogs out of wells most of the summer I commenced to rain to day and has rained all day. And I hope it will continue so until we get enough. I am glad to here that the farmers are begining to use the self binders and harvesters. We could not get along very well without them here. We do all the farming here mostly with horses and machinery. Willie and myself farm 240 acres and does it all ourselves. We had out 40 acres of oats. Seventy five of Indian corn 2 acres of potatoes and forty acres of hay. The rest of the farm is all in pasture Dear Thomas I hope you will son be able to fill your father place as he is getting old. I hope you will be a preaching when I come to see you. I want to come and see you in a few years if every thing goes right, Dear Thomas you might come to America and spend a month or two with us and take in the worlds fair. They are having great crouds of people there and lots to be seen. I think it would do you a great deal of good. I would try and make a Yankee out of you before I would let you go home. My wife & family join me in sending their kindest love to yourself your father mother and Rhoda Jane. Write soon. Your affectionate Uncle James McIlwrath ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Washington CO. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rose Hegarty J.E.COOK. R.E.LEACH. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COOK & COOK Joshua E. Peel & Son Gentlemen:- A little over three years ago you placed in our hands for
adjustment three lots and a house supposed to be owned by Catherine Brannagan
and Rose Hegerty. When the property was first placed in our hands we thought it
was of considerable value, but after investigating the matter we found that we
were mistaken. The property is situated near what is called in our town, Hell's
Forty, that means that it is in the poorest part of town and that the people are
not as law abiding as they are in other parts of the place. There was a family
in it at the time and they had been in it for some time, but they were poor and
we used our best ingenuity to get some rent out of them and failed to get a
cent. They finally moved out. The property was badly run down, the window lights
and doors were broken out, and when we come to have the property appraised on
the petition which we sent you in July, 1902, it was only appraised at $200.00.
We thought that this was too low, but we tried to sell it ever since and never
have been able to get that offer until recently when we sold it for the
appraised value. This suit that was brought, as you will remember from the
petition that was sent you, was against unknown heirs, and in order to comply
with our law, the notice, which was published in the paper, was necessarily a
long one and was published for six weeks at cosiderabl expense, this being
the only way in which a saleable title could possibly be obtained. The estate of
Arthur Woods never had been fully administered upon. The Catholic Priest who
lived here at the time of Mr. Woods' death, was named as executor in the Will.
Unfortunately he was a man who was esteemed very highly, but who became so
addicted to drink that he left no means, whatever, and left the parish here and
removed to a distant part of the state. The costs in the estate were never paid
and the legacies under the Will were never paid, and the matter was left in
about as disconsolate a condition as can well be imagined. We have paid out for
court costs in the matter $72.75; we paid out for an abstract of title to the
premises $17.00; there was an uncancelled mortgage against the property for
$250.00 which we had to have canceled [cancelled?] by court proceedings and
which cost $35.20; we paid out for insurance on the premises $2.50; we paid out
for taxes on the premises $6.76; we paid the Referee for his services $5.00; we
paid for an administrator to have the estate of Arthur Woods finally closed up
and our services as Attorney $25.00; This leaves $60.79 out of the $200.00. Out
of this will have to come $25.00, one third of which will be sent to you for
your services and the remainder will be retained for our services, and we send
you receipts which we would like to have signed by Catherine Brannagan and Rose
Hegerty and returned to us and on receipt of the same we will send draft for
$17.89 for each of them and $8.33 for yourself. We have thought ever since we
had it appraised that we never would be able to get the costs out of it but
finally succeeded in doing so. We regret very much that we were not able to
realize more, but we have spent s great deal of time on it and it is the very
best that could be done because the property was in such a poor neighborhood and
in such a dilapidated condition. It is not necessary that we should have
Catherine Brannagan's receipt as we appeared for her as her attorneys and our
receipt would be accepted for her, but we would like to have Rose Hegerty's
receipt and that will enable us to close the matter up entirely. We enclose you
blank receipts for them to sign and after signed to be returned to us. |
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© 2001 Cathy Joynt Labath
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