Graham Letter - John Graham 1855

The next letter from John to Joseph gives only the year, 1855. However, John states that he is answering Josephs letter which he received the last day of August. This fact places this letter here in the chronology. Durham Record Office Ref D/X 1035/12 Burnt Hills 1855 Dear Brother. I now take up my pen to Answer your last letter which I recived on the last of August which informs me of your good hilth and of your posspriety in America. Well Dear Brother Myself and Family are in good hilth when this letter leaves us and I hope it will find you boath the same and you will want to know how all your Friends are. Well I think thay are all in good hilth for any thing that I know. All of them, except William who is very poorly yet. He has got no beter yet. He is almost confined to his bed and is reduce almost to a skelicton. He has never been abel to work since the begeening of last march: he begun then with a great lump on his back which rose to a great cise and then the Doctor opened it and many a bason full of Matter has been taken from it. It has run ever since but it is nearly dry now. It has run many a quart full of matter. And he has another Lump begun on his abdomen that is what we call the lisk. It has lade him up from walkon but the Doctor says it will drain his back which will make his Chance better for he has a very fair Apeatite and is sound of his lungs and I think thair is a chance of him geten better yet. Thay are what is called Abcesses. Thay seem to work on him as long as he has any flish left but I hope he will soon get a turn for better. And Dear brother you will want to know more perticklers about your Friends. I cannot write all the perticlers about Friends that I do not know. I have Advices different ones of our Friends to write to you for themselves and thay have not I (think) thay are very carless about written to you. When I recive a letter from you thay are all very sharp to hear what is in it and is very please to hear from you and they all told me when I write again I must send thair best respecks and best wishes to you. I think that is a very poor way of keeping up communication with so distant a Friend as you. I think if I had been as carless you would had very few letters from hear but I will answer all the letters you have a mind to send me with plasuer for I am keeping up commucation with more than you for I recived a letter from Walton Gibson about a mounth after I got yours and I am going to post one for him when I post this for you and a Newpaper with it and a Newpaper to Bill James and I intend to send him a letter to. You will want to know how Bill is coming on. Well Joseph Vickers had a letter from him about. The remainder of this letter is lost unless the following fragment is from it. Or the portion below may be from another letter. In any case it is in Johns handwriting and was undoubtedly written to Joseph. About 90 ares of it clear which he gave 10.000 Dollars for it. That is about 2000£ English money and 2000 Dollars he paid down when he bought it and 2000 Dollars a year till it run out. It is a grand situation. He has a brick House and a great Kitchan to it and an Orchet of 6 Ares all full of frut and frut trees and he got the Crop along with it. The Crop yealded him 500 buhels of wheat and a great quanty of other things that I cannot take time to mintion. And Walter Gibson is laven along way furter Wear than whair Bill James is liven. He is liven on the North shore of Lake Erie and is dowen very well. He has not got any land of his own yet but he hold a little fram (farm) in sumer And in the backend he feeds his stock of and which pays him very well and he has a good Wooden House and a garden and has goods wages And (missing) has many privelages yonder that he ahs not (missing) Dale. .. which will be a great Blessing for him for he has had very poor addling since you left And myself and Christopher and Jonathan and Isaac peart are working together four Parts (partners) but we will have very little pay this year. Thomas Millburn is still working Wageworking yet at Pastergrove and Joshua Stobbs is a Masterman washer yet and Thomas Dalton is still working in the pastergrove yet and Nicholus Padon is a minder of a new Boudel (buddle) at Pastergrove Washing pase and as regards the pays I cannot tell you any things more for thair has been no Reckenons yet but thay will be very soon. I will tell you more in the next letter what pays thare will be. You will want to no how liven is. It has been two years hardest liven that I never I so in my life time. Flour has been from 3s to 3s and 6d all this time and is 3s6d now this lin (missing) Butter is 1s per lb bacon 9d per lb Beef and M(missing) 6d to 7d per lb