The following was posted to the Cook County List earlier this month. I got permission from Ms. Dundon to re-post to the Peoria list since Peoria and Tazewell County are mentioned. The letters are delightful and a wonderful story about the immigrant experience in the 1880's.. Janet ----- Original Message ----- From: "Emma Dundon" <emma.dundon@sympatico.ca> To: <COOK-CO-IL-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 12:49 AM Subject: : NON GEN? Excerpts from letters Illinois/England Good evening. I typed up some excerpts from the letters I have. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did. (the spelling and language is exactly as written). ** indicates MY comment** Apologies for the length, Best regards to all. Emma Dundon/Ontario/Canada. Oct 3, 1886 Dear Father & Mother, I write a few lines to you to let you know how I am getting along. I am getting a little more settled now and liking the place more everyday ..... ......we have all of us a Mustang pony left us for our own use for we have a good deal of prairie land to ride over.......there is no ploughing here only meadows they buy all there corn for the stock it costs tenpence a bushel and we can get as much straw as we want for carting it. We are both going up to the Fat Stock Show at Chicago next month. ..... It is very muddy here in the winter there is no stones on the roads not even in the town it gets a foot deep in mud ....we have a very comfortable room in the stable and we have a few pictures we share with Old Honest Tom and Chance ....... **presumably horses!** Mar 20,1886 from mother.... ...Dear Son, Yours to hand, I should have written sooner .... ...I am very glad to see you are able to save something their very few that has but you know you have every chance their is very few that has not to do something towards helping their Parents. You had a good beginning and had good places and had your health to keep them and I hope good sence enough not to spend your times in the Public House. If you had you would not have had the money you have. I am very glad to hear you take care of it their always is a time when it wanted.... I hope you will get to the top of the tree before you begin housekeeping if that what you allude to don't begin too soon.... ...just a few lines to see how the world is using you. Maa braight me such a grand tie; all covered with horse shoes and when I went up to the stables on Sunday the horses started dancing they were so glad to see me......... 21/9/1886 Dear Bros. ....Ma & Da got home quite safe but I think not very sound for they limped hard.. **visited him in America** I think you had better come here and spend a week or two because Ma said you looked badley and some new milk would do you good .......I wrote home last in February and never heard anything since. I shall not write anymore until they write. I do not know the reason why they should not write.... ....we have had a sweater this last three weeks from 84 to 97 in the shade every day - today it is almost unbearable outside. We are suffering much for want of rain...... ....You want to know how we live here. Well quite different to England. We have potatoes three times a day and flesh meat of some kind and fruit every kind you can name any kind that is in season. Strawberrys are only 5 cents a quart - we get beer to some meals, cofee and tea but there is not much tea used for all it is very cheap. We live very well and people are obliged to do on account of the weather one does not feel the heat the same here as at home. The air is lighter and purer & we do not get any fogs nor damp drisling rains. County Cook is immense now. I am going next Sunday to a City called Peoria about 12 miles from here to have a look round. There is many a thousand acres uncultivated yet all covered with fine timber. We have over 600 acres on this farm some of never had human foot set on it. I should like you to see America it would rather surprise you..... Melbourne Stock Farm, Washington, Taywell Co Illinois Jan 30 1887 ...I am getting a pound a week and Board and I cant get that in England. America is a very fine Country as you might expect but it is so large , it would take anyone a long time to see it all over. The State of Illinoise is as large as England and not so many population in as London so you may fancy people is not so thick here. The people here are very well educated they go to school until they are 18 to 21 You do not here them speak rough language They are all a dark cast ....... ....we have had to cart water 2 miles for our horses all winter and that is not a nice job when the thermometer stands 35 below zero......it is very cold since November ....no man can work round the stables without gloves.....there is no gardening around here they seem to be very few vegetables grown - there is plenty of grapes but they cheaply grow wild . Found any amount of nuts such as hazel and walnuts, hickory and many other sorts. Apples in abundance but not many pears. I dare say you have heard of Maple Sugar - they are just beginning to tap the trees then put taps into the trees and draw the syrup out and then boil it into sugar.. ....The houses are all built of wood and very pretty some of them are. I have never seen any in England to compare to these but you know if one takes fire they have only to clear out - last night one of the largest Hotels in town burnt down - there have been 4 houses burnt down since I have been here. ... ...a christmas I had, well I never knew it was the time of pleasure until I saw the 25 on the Almanack. They do not keep it up much here. They think more of the fourth ofJuly it is a great day, the day the United States was proclared........ ... we get weather here to the extremes, in summer it gets as high as 100 in the shade. I thought when I came here first I never saw so many flies in my life. There is enough to carry one away and the grasshoppers are here by millions They eat everything that is green.... 19.12.87 Dear Brother, Just a few lines to wish you many happy returns of the day. I am sorry I have nothing but a card to send to you. Ma says that when we send you anything it always gets spoiled. I wish you was coming I think we shall be very quiet This xmas. Loving sister Edith Dalton P.S. Ma was very sorry that your hare(?) got so spoiled She thought she had packed it so safe that it might go any distance. > Dec 20, 1882 **From The Grange to Joe in America** ... thank you for your Christmas cards and I hope you have found that bright half penny - they are very scarce here and you must not forget to bring it... We have had a very quiet Christmas, we have had no company yet Aunt Pollie could hae come but it ws too wet perhaps she will come for her newyear. We hope your cold is better before now they are very fashionable here, there is scarce any one without... ..Jersey, Oct 8,1882 **to Joe** You will be tired of waiting for my letter . I have been putting it of from day to day. I was surprised to hear from you I did not think of hearing from you any more. Well, I suppose you want to know what I left home for. All that I can say is that my uncle wrote for me to come to Jersey. Well I came away and I stayed in Manchester two nights and then I came stragt on to Jersey, I only stayed with my Uncle 9 months andthen I was out of work a month and then I went to France and stayed there 5 months and came back here in July and I have done nothing till about three weeks ago. I think they had a good sale in Singleton **sounds like the home farm was sold** I should like to see the old place again very much. I suppose it is about the same. I have consantly had letters from Jim Hope and he has told me how you are getting on. At Singleton I should think tht a lot of the young people are married since I left. I expect if all is well I should have a trip over for a month next summer to see you. I should think my Father and Mother would be very cross about me leaving but I have not regret it for I have seen a good deal of life since I came here. I have been to all the Chanel Islands they are very pretty places much nicer than you see in England. The weather is much wrmer here and have no frost much - much fruit grows here such as figs and gapes and tomatoes. All grow wild and plentiful - I could not decribe this place to you. When I went to France I was down in the south at Brest and Nantes and Mandera and I came back by Paris. I can speak a good deal of French now as they are about half French here. I should like you and Jenny Hope to come over next summer it is well worth a visit I will send you a lof of views of jersey soon and then you can see for yourself if you think the paper from here is any use to you I will send it every week sta rting next week........I daresay you would find it very hard when you left home. I am sorry you cant settle down I expect you angered yourself at the Guild I see in the papers that it was a fine affair when you was at home you would see how they are all at stories...... 9/7/1881 Winona, Illinois .....this town is very rough, it is not so large as Washington nor not such a nice place. There is a coal fit right on the edge of town and there is **derogatory**......and Polish ......and all Breeds under the sun here. You can see more different Breeds here in one day than anywhere else..... ...never heard anything from home for a long time. guess they have forgot me. ..,... ..we had a terrile smash up on the Baibury near here on the 10th of Aug. 120 killed and 225 wounded. There was two engines and 16 coaches , six of them heavy sleepers on behind . They was going down a hill at the rate of fifty five miles an hour and ran into a small bridge that had burnt out and left nothing but the metals. It was an excursion to Niagara falls.... believe me your affectionate brother Geo. Dalton, Winona, "Marshall Co." Illinois U.S.A.