Anyone on my flist from NJ?

[essayel]

I ask because this one of the jobs I'm doing this week is to transcribe a series of letters written by an Abergavenny man who went to Elizabeth in New Jersey in the 1850s to work in the gun stock making trade. Apparently he worked at Kane's Saw Mill and I wondered if it was still there. He lived in Elizabeth making gun stocks and died there some time before February 1869.

When one thinks of nineteenth century letterwriters one tends to think of those literary types who thought great and worthy thoughts and shared them with their friends, but this was an ordinary man called Reuben Jackson, who left his wife and children in Abergavenny to go to America because he had heard that the timber was of the finest quality. Times were hard at home and he left his business in his eldest son's hands and hoped to earn enough to be able to send money to the family. Sadly his hopes weren't realised because there was a recession and he was barely able to support himself. The letters are poorly spelled and appallingly punctuated but his homesickness, his grief at being separated from his family and friends and his constant fear about what might be happening at home is obvious.

Just in case anyone is interested - here's his letter from 1850 [we think, the writing is crazy]:

Address:

Mr John Jackson Sawyer
Monk Street
Abergavenny
Monmouthshire
England

Written on thin blue letter paper with traces of seal

Elizabeth Town July 28th 1850

Dear Son, Ireceved your kind letter & worse verre glad to here
From you and your dear Children that you and the are all prittey well
Now – tho iam verrey Sorrey to here of your afliction & your dear children
In the fever tho iam verre thankful to here that you are all got Safe
Over it with the blessing & help of God – Iam verre Sorrey to here of my
Pooar Wife being so verri ill tho ihope with the blessing & help of
God shee will be restoared to hir elth again for the sake of mee and my
Dear Children tho iam verre sorrey that it does not possable ly in my
Power to asist hir in hir afliction at this time tho ihope as things will soon
Take aturn for the better that ishall ave it in my power to asist them but
At this time there is no trade nor Sale for nothing as you can turn into
Money and as been so this three months & the painic is not over yet but its
Thought things will get better Shortley for things cannot go on as they now are for
Thousands are out of imploy and nothing to doo – I wors in new york Last week
Trying to sell some stocks and get the money that is howing me from diferent
Gun makers but icold not stir a shilling iwors with everrey Gun maker in
The city atrying to sell but all to no youse at the preasant till things take
A turn for the better which ihope will be shortley – icannot take money
Anough now as things are at this time to pay for my board for all iave
More then 2000 stocks by mee now & great part of them dry & timber anough
To cut as mainey more and iam agowing to fell a large tree in newark
That ithought as will cut at least 1500 Stocks its from 5 to 6 feet threw it and sound
And good couloured ibought it for 7£ and its firs rate timber but it will cost
Mee a good deal to get it down and get it to the Saw Mill which is about 6 miles
And there is six good carrige load of timber in it and in the neighbourwood
Where iam the best quality of timber grows that is to be found in america
Its stouter and finer grained and equali as good couloured as ours & free from Shake
You ave hird from Mr Webley Lately and hee Sais hee can get a good price
For verri fine Stocks Now iave plenty of first rate Stocks both walnut and
Curley maple but no bird eyed maple I could send him a lot 3 or 4 hundred
If hee wold do Justis by mee, I could send them as a tryal to see if it wold anser
And pay the carrige to Liverpool and the duty on them so as there wold be no
Charge on them only from Liverpool or icould send them to you if there is
A railway from Liverpool to you and you cold go up with them if you wold
The expense wold bee more but that ishold [illegible] you cold pay yourself
For your trouble and cold give the remainder to my wife [illeg] you can
Asertain the price of the carrage to you from Liverpool and send me word
Word which way iad best to act – [illeg] all my works my Selfor icould not go on
As times are so had here for here is nothing to be dun here till things take a turn
Which which ihope will be shortley but he ave arather gloomey apeerance
At preasant – I will send for Thomas to help mee so soon as ever there is a change
For the better as ican turn my goods into money but at this time icannot get
Money anough to find grub for myself till there is a change in trade for
Th better then iwill send for him amedately – I shold ave rote to my wife
Acording to my prommis and ave send hir money but things are heere
In shutch astate heer that it wors imposable for mee to get money to send
Hir which iknow the are hard off & iwill help them as soon as posable it
Lies in my power ihope in less than a month – Iam sorrey in my hart
For hir being so verry ill but ihope with the blessing and help of God that shee
Will soon recover for the sake of mee and my dear Children thank God
Iam quite well myself and able to do as good adais work as ever and work
As ard as ainey man and do as much as most men Tho iam working all
Apon adead stock for iam obliged to keep all by mee for there is no Sale here
Till there comes an alternation in trade which ihope will be soon for
I never saw things so dead and bad here – Iam sorrey to here of pooar Marys
Trouble in Looseing so mainey of hir Children but ihope the are all better of
William and is wife and chilldren are all pritty well which iam glad to here and ishold advise
Him to keepe is place werre hee is – Reuben is in China iunderstand by your letter
And ihope hee will be stiddy and do well & it might bee a lesson for him if hee livs to
Come back which ihope with the blessing and protection of God hee will be
Spared to come back – Gove my kind love to [t]hem all when you write & iam
Glad to here that the are all pritty well – iwish you to go up to my Dear wife so
Soon as you receve this letter and tell hir iam hartoly sorrey to here of hir trouble
And beeing so dreadfully hill But ihope and trust the Allmighty will spare hir for me
And my dear chilldren sake and ishall come home to them so soon as posably ican the
Shall not be lost if it lyes in my power ishall send to them in the coarse of amonth
And ihope this will find hir better and my chilldren all well give my kind love
To william & ihope he is well & iam glad to heer he as got a house to live in & to looke
After the Seminary & ihope hee will do well giv my love to is brother robert
And is wife and famoley & ihope they are all well Likewise hir sister rebecca
And hur husband and famoley & ihope the are all well give my Love to my dear
Wife & all my dear Children & ihope this will find hir better & all my
Chilldren well & all my old neighbours ihope the are all well & give {hole]
Love to them all so iconclude with my kind love to you and your dear chilldren
Hopeing the same will find you & them all well as it leaves mee at the preasant
Thank God for is Blessings Please to write to me so soon as you can for ishold
Like to know how my wife is and about the stocks that iave mentioned So
No more at preasant from your afectonate father
Reuben Jackson

Also can anyone enlighten me how 2 five pound cats can make more noise running up and down stairs than an 80 pound dog? It just doesn't seem right that those tiny paws should make a sound like a wardrobe has fallen downstairs

Comments

[katbeseroc.livejournal.com]

OH that is a heart wrenching read. Poor guy. Are there any more letters from him? Do we know what happened to him?

I think the noise of a cat is related to the magic that they use to bend laws of Physics to take up more space on a couch then physically possible for something thier size.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Laws of Physics as related to Cats is a whole branch of Quantum Theory on its own. No normal laws apply.

Poor Reuben. He never came home. There's a lawyers letter from 1869 winding up his affairs and saying that by the time he had settled all his debts and accounting for the poor exchange rate he was only able to send his wodow and children $50. Not a lot to show for all those years of work and worry. I'm transcribing the letters one by one - there are eight of them.

[cweb.livejournal.com]

I'll have to have a go at the letter when I have more time:)

I think cats defy the laws of physics...mine makes a terrible racket all out of proportion to her size as well -unless she's trying to be quiet- and then she's so silent it's like she's weightless.

[cweb.livejournal.com]

Hah! We both commented on the laws of physics at almost the same time:)

[essayel.livejournal.com]

It's one of those universally acknowledged truths, like toast landing butter side down, that occasionally people manage disprove in the laboratory but ALWAYS works in real life.