Graham Letter - Jonathan Graham 1856

There are no more letters to Joseph from John. The next letters are from Jonathan Graham to his brother Joseph. Johathan was thinking of emigrating to America to be a farmer. Durham Record Office Ref D/X 1035/16 Killhope December 27 1856 Dear brother I now take the pleasure of writen a few lines to you hoping to find you in good health as it leaves me at present for we are all in good health at home and all my brothers and sisters are all in good health at present except Joshua Stobbs oldest daughter* which came home from service on the first of November bad of the tipus fever but she has got a turn now of it and she is in a fair way for recovering and my mother hath had her health very well this winter so far and she saise (says) she would like to see you but she thinks she never will see you any more in the flesh and so she gives her kind love to you and my brother John received a letter from you in October which brought us good news that you are dowing so well in America and I am very glad that you are getten so well on for we are all doing very well in the mines this year for we all have a pay this year for John and Christopher and I are all working together and other five men with us and we will have above 20 pounds a man and my brother Thomas will have more than us for his pay but liven has been very dear but all things is a little cheapper Flour is 2s 6d per stone and mutton is 6½d per lbs and beefs such like but we have bought very little of it for we killed an heifer of our own and pork is from 8s to 9s per stone and butter is 13 per pound and cattle of all sortes has ben very dear but they have fallen a good deal now and we soald a small ox for 5 pound a year and a half old and we sold a few wedders for 10s per head 2 year old and we have 2 cows one stirk and a horse and 2 score of sheep and we have had a very wet and coald summer this last summer and there was light crops all round but we had a fine harvest for we had a fortnight of very hot wedder at harvest and that was the greatest part of fine wedder we had this summer and we have a greate storm of snow on at present and a very hard frost. So dear brother I must tell you a little more about our friends for Thomas Millburn married a gain foreteen months after my sister Mary's death to Hannah Millburn but your daughter is still stoppen on with us** and as for my old ant Bettey and John I think they are as gready as ever but my old ant is waring down I think for she has to keep a servant girl to wait on her now and as for my self I think I would like to come to America for I would like to be a farmer and I think I must come over to pay you a vized(visit) this next summer for it is an unhalthy buiseness is this mining. So please to answer this letter as sown as it lands to you and conveience will allow you to answer it so no more from your Dear brother Jonathan Graham This letter is paid for *This would have been Joseph Graham's sister Elizabeth's child **It seems likely that this Hannah Milburn was Jane Anne's mother. Jane Anne continued to live with the Grahams. She was still living with her Uncle Christopher at the time of the 1871 census