Transcript of letter, 7 March, 1764, Dublin, from Pat Fearis to his bother Barney in Whitehaven (Maryland?). This from photocopy of original from William B. Howland in 1989:

"Receivd the 13th March 1763 (sic66)

To Mr. B. Fearis at the
Post Office
Whitehaven

7th March 1764

Dear Barny Dublin

          I received your letter of 20th past. and have got a recommendation or a certificate which is all the same from Mr Sneyd which I here in send you, God send good success, within, Mr. Sneyd sayd he would have wrote a letter to Mr. Gee. (ship?) Gentn. you mention, but that he did not think proper, having not the pleasure of being acquainted with Mr. Gee it is extremely affecting to know of the (distress?) situation that you must be in at present in a strange place without money & without acquaintances, the more distressing it is too as it is not in my power at present to remit you anything to relieve you, it is however a comfort that you are amongst a humane People who are as capable of Rewarding Merit, as in judging of it, & I hope your behavior will recommend you to protection & prosperity, if any person should seem to doubt this certificate you may show this Letter, which I shall send you (?) a Collier, as we have a vast Number of them now in the River Liffy, & one of them sunk last Night full loaded, opposite our House by striking on an Anchor.
be sure write to me

I am your ever loving affect(?) Brother
Pat Fearis"

Transcript of letter, 25 July, 1784, Dublin, from Pat Fearis to his brother Barney in Philadelphia. This from photocopy of original from William B. Howland in 1989:

"Mr Bernd Fearis in
Philadelphia
In favour of Mr Jackson
(also illegible note on envelope)

Answ 30 Octo 84

Dublin 25th July 1784

Dear Brother

          My last to you was 1st June (?) Mr Jno Brown who is I hope e'er this day safe in your city, I had the pleasure of reading your Letter to Our Nephew who is apprenticed to Mr Alex Jackson Iron Monger in Pill Lane, he seems to be a good boy & is happily employ'd by Credible Genteel good people, I have wrote to Harry & convey'd your anxious sentiments respecting himself & his familly, I indeed had not a Letter from him these 8 Years only once, it is true that Harry incurred my displeasure & resentment by making Uncle Bry Hamill write to me in behalf & favour of Kennedy of Belfast, who got thereby a considerable Sum of Money from me, by his marriage with my Sister, but afterwards on my seeing Kennedy in Belfast, then too late, I would rather have cast her into the tide than let her marry such an idle ugly vulgar bad inclin'd Vagabond; Uncle B. Hamill is still living, & his Children are doing very well, one of his Sons has been in Dublin sevl Times, he is a sensible genteel young Man, & is doing thrivingly in the same Branch in the yarn & Linen trade, that his Father did; Harry is doing well, & you shall soon have a Letter from himself, as to my own affairs I refer to my last (?) Mr. Brown
          Commerce both foreign & domestic in Ireland suffer'd so vital a Stab, by the breaking out, & continuance of the British War with America, & France, that Bankruptcies became frequent & fashionable in this City, Bankers & Capital Merchts stopp'd payments, & a total stagnation of Cash & Discount pervaded in a lamentable degree, in every Business in City, Town, & the Country; & since we have got the Peace, so far as yet, we are doing but Slowly in Import, & Export, last week Mitchell & Anderson of this place stopped for 50,000 they alledge the cause to a large Export of Provisions (?) they made to America, at the time that France declared for America, the Yeomanry of Ireland enter'd upon Resolutions respecting the necessitys of the Time, & form'd themselves into Volunteer Corps, they were abetted, Headed, & Officer'd by Men of the first Rank, & Fortunes in this Island, their publick pretext was to guard against any invasion the French might be inclined to make on this Country, where the Military was drafted out of, to serve in America; these Volunteers were united, unlimited, & corresponsive, throughout the whole Kingdom, they were diligent in learning, & improving in Military exercise, & Government was, or seemd to be, much oblig'd to them for the generous Activity they show'd in defense of the state, at the instant that it was very much wanted, & they had the unanimous thanks of our Parliament; however, when peace took place, Government was pleased to change their Smiles to Frowns, on finding that our Volunteers, instead of dissolving, were augmenting, & multiplying their Numbers, and Advertising delegate meetings, productive of unanimous resolutions, for a total Redress of all National grievances, whether Regal, Ministerial, or Parlimentary, our Volunteers were not activated by the squeamish peevishness, that prevaild at former times amongst us; with respect to Religion, the Roman cathks were invited, & receiv'd with open Arms, in every County, except one; the Co: Meath, where the Commandant Col objected to them; some of our Patriotic orators brot in Bills to the House of Commons for an immediate redress of Nation'l Grievances, great, & tedious debates ensued; Menaces were held out to the Ears of the Court Majority, from a watchfull, jealous, spirited Body of enraged Men, with Arms in their Hands, with large property in their possession; Lord North being Out, the British Army as yet in America, & scatter'd in other places, the Ministry, say the New, were so very good natur'd, to grant us, A Repeal of Sir Edwd Poynings Vilainous Act of Parliament, which Act Robbed the Parliament of Ireland of every reality, except the bare Name; also a repeal of all the English Acts prohibiting our Exports of our own Manufacturers, & West Indian Manufacturers; in short, we have obtained, what we never dared to even expect from a British Ministry what is generaly understood to comprise the Meaning of a free Trade; but in my own opinion, our worthy good natured British Ministry will not give us the virtual reality of our New obtain'd Acts of Free Trade; for instance, they have taken care to poison the Court of Lisbon, against us, that one yard, or one (illegible) of our Manufacture, will not be admitted to land at their Custom house; the ship will not be allow'd to break Buck, if Irish Manufacture, she must Sail to Port elsewhere; besides, they have manag'd so, that tho we have obtain'd what is generally understood to be a free unshackled Parliament, subject to no power, controul, or influence, in Britain, but the Kings own Magnachartical agent, & Signature, to our own Acts, so pass'd; I say they have so corrupted a Majority in our present parliament, that a Duty is laid on our importation of Raw Sugars from the West Indies, so high, that the English Refined Sugars, comes cheaper to our Market, than our own Refined Sugars can be purchas'd at our Sugar Houses, which deprives us entirely of any Trade to the Western Isles, as they never Remit for Goods they buy, but sends the produce of their own, that's Sugars & Rum, in return for all Goods they want from other Countrys; so that the West India Trade does, & still must flow in the Channels of Self Interested English Men, this you will say, is a violent insult to the Irish; & indeed to common Sense; during the Course of the last four Session; of our Parliament, Bills were brought in, & many Motions made, by some of the Commons of our House, in favour of the Roman Cathks of Ireland, great debates ensued, & some Members of Consequence, insisted on repealing all the Acts, that had ever been made against them; however the House was pleased to Repeal many of the Penal Acts in force against them, & they can now vest their Monies in Mortgages of Lands, they can take long Leases of Lands for ever, & become Purchases of Lands, the Conduct of the present times, in respect to Religious Animosity, & peevish snarlings, that former times produced, is quite altered, & you wou'd be no doubt, surprised to see, A Roman Chappel on a Sunday Crowded with Protestant Gentlemen, to hear a Charity Sermon preach'd there, & to contribute out of their Pockets, towards the Support of (?) Charity; & in course of compliment, to see the Church crowded with Roman Cathks of consequence, & properly, to hear a Protestant Sermon, & to contribute towards the support of the same; no longer is our Eyes struck with malevolent, scurrilous attacks, in the Public papers, against this, or that mode of Religious Worship, the powerful Bright Rays of Common Sense has at length penetrated, & dispelled the thick, & dense Clouds of Ignorance, & Brutality that darkened the political, & Moral hemisphere of this Island for Ages late past; All now are, or seems to be, united in Sentiment, to have the full, & free enjoyment, of every commercial Advantage, that the Scituation, & product of our Country yields, the Laws of God, & of Nature Warrants the justice, & modesty of these views; as we want no help, or partial favour, or Boon from Britain; but to stand, or fall in pursuite of our newly obtained Free Trade; at the opening of our last Sessions, in late Autumn, Deputys were chosen out of every Corps of Volunteers, in this Island, the agregate of which, is about 60,000 Men; they Sat in the Rotunda in Britain Street, for 8 or 10 days, Lord Chartemont President, Resolutions were enter'd on their Journal, & a Bill framed, after Notice given to, & Leave ask'd, of the House, by two Members, Mr Brownlow & Mr Flood, to bring ins(?) Bill laying a large Duty on British Wollen Manufrs, to be imported into Ireland, for 3 years; also for a more equal representation in the Commons House, by disenfranchising some of the Borroughs, deem'd objectable, by the usual means there practised, in returning Members to Parliament; & a New plan of qualifications upon Oath, for every person in the Nation, that can give his Vote, to return any Member to Parliamt, by order of the Deputees, this Bill was brought into the House, by the above two Members, whose speech thereon, threw the Court party into so violent a humour, that they wou'd not permit the Bill the honour of even a first Reading; they exclaim'd it was an Attack of open Violence upon their Rights, for a Body of Armed Men, in times of Peace to sit, & form Acts for them to pass, they having no Orders, or Commissions, from the King, or Parliamt, for Arming, & assembling in such numerous confederate Body force; debate, & discussion on the Bill was refused; Uproar, & Noise prevail'd instead; Mr O'Neill, & Mr Hamilton told the House, this short Story: that since they refused to hear the Merits of the Bill, discuss'd, they wou'd be perhaps too soon oblig'd to listen to the inhabitants of the Countys they had the honour to represnt; to say, of Antrim & Tyrone; in Apl last Mr Gardiner Member for the County of Dublin, made a Motion for leave to bring into the House, a Bill he had framed, enacting, what's call'd the protecting Dutys; that is so high a Duty on English Manufacturers, as will prevent their importation into Ireland; his Speech was Nervous, & plain, the facts, & Causes on which he dwelt a long, but very free chain of eventual Reasonings, clearly proved, to a demonstration, the absolute necessity there was, & is, for passing (?) Bill, his Motion was negatived by above 40 Majority; Tarring, & Feathering, is in as much practice now in Dublin, as it was in Boston, some years ago, any Master Taylor, that makes a Suit up of Eng: Cloth, is taken out of his dwelling, by the Liberty Mobility, & conducted in triumph to their Wardrobe, which consists of some Casks of Tar, & some Bags of Feather, & there, without taking his Measure, or suiting his fancy, on the Colours, or fashion of his New Dress, he is equipt, either for a flight on the Airiel, or Terestrial Road; our Woollen Looms, are almost empty of every thing, except Cobweb; the Weavers Slinging about our Streets, in the City, by Scores, begging Alms, their Wives, & Children, in Troops swarm the City over, crying, & seizing every passenger for Relief to their starving Wants, you see now that we have got some Acts in favour of Ireland, & in my opinion had not the War with America commenc'd, we never wou'd have got from Britain the Acts we have obtain'd. I have tired your patience, however in my next shall entertain you with some story or other, you may direct to me at Mr Mark Hamilton Royal Exchange, or Mr Jacksons

(??); with best Wishes to my Sister & family, My Dear Brothers

ever truly affectionate

Pat Fearis"

File: "Thos1851.ltr", 7 October, 1994. A transcript of a letter from Thomas Hamill, Esquire, Liverpool, to his son William Arthur Hamill in Philadelphia67:

14 Kensington Street
Kensington Liverpool

May 3, 1851

My Dear Children
          Yours of the 15th April was gratefully received and hereby acknowledged by my thanks for your kindness and care for and towards us all at this side the Pond now I have no more to say on that score not being disposed to give offense by too much Blarney but I will trouble you with a copy of a letter that will give you some satisfaction in perusal it's as follows Vizt.,

Washington
Surgeon General's Office
March 29: 1851

Sir
          Your communication of the 22..(illegible) to the Secretary of War, asking for information in regard to your Son, Doctor James St George Hamill has been refered to this office - In reply I have to inform you that Doctor Hamill was employed under a Contract at Tampico, Mexico, October 26" 1847 to render Medical attendance upon a detachment of Louisiana Volunteers on duty at Altamira, in that vicinity and that he continued in Service until about the 26" June 1848. about which time the forces of the United States were withdrawn from Tampico.
          Your son left Tampico on or about that date with a detachment of Louisiana Volunteers under the Command of Major I.(?) F. Girault and was discharged at New Orleans on the 5th July 1848.
          As his Military Service then terminate the records of the Department of War of course furnish no subsequent information concerning him -
          It may be proper to add that as Major Girault was also mustered out of Service about the same time, his address is not known at this office -
          It is possible however, that the Army Surgeon who was at New Orleans when your Son arrived, and is still on duty at that place, may be able to furnish some information concerning him; and I will accordingly write to him on the subject to day.
          Should any intelligence be received concerning him, it will be immediately communicated to you.

I am Sir
Very Respectfully
Yr Ob St
By Order

H. L. Heiskell
Surgeon U.S. Army.

Thomas Hamill Esqr.
14 Kensington Street Kensington
Liverpool England.

"3 Greenfield Park
Donnybrook,
Dublin
22d March 1943

Dear Bo
          Thank you for your letter of the 24th Jan. I received the first one on the 24th Feb. and the other a week later. I cannot imagine why they took so long to come.
          I am glad to hear that you are all well and that Uncle Will68 is still alive, mother was very fond of him and worried a great deal about him long ago. I did not think that you would be interested in the family history and Aunt Jo69 thought it was all a lot of nonsense but I have kept all the information that I could find and I have a numer of old letters from 1770 which are interesting reading. Grandmother Watson was born Hamill in Liverpool in 1834, she was first married to Walker Tomlinson, a ships captain, they had four children, after his death she married Joseph Watson in Philadelphia. I cannot remember the year but about 1865. Her parents were Thomas Hamill and Hannah Elizabeth Hall of Shrewsbury. Thomas Hamill was born in 1795 and died in Liverpool in 1858. I have some of his letters. His parents were Henry Hamill and Eleanor Richardson of Springfield, near Belfast, daughter of Thomas Richardson and Mary Acheson. The story goes that his family left Ireland for Liverpool in the year of the Rebellion in Ireland in 1798, and that is how Grandmother Watson was English instead of Irish. The family was then Catholic, but Eleanor Richardson was Protestant and as she was a widow for fifty years she brought her family up Protestants.
          I know very little about the Watson side of the house except that grandfather Watsons parents were Jacob Watson and Beulah Warrington and his grandfather was John70 Watson and Grandmother Christina Nankin/Vankin who was Dutch. Perhaps you can give me more information of this side of the house as I believe Louie and I are Watsons, and you are Hamil71.
         Yes I remember hearing that you were baptized in Londonderry, and that Canon ______ gave you a testament, which I honored no good as it had no pictures in it, at which there was a tremendous roar. When my father was alive he told us many tales of your visit to Ireland, I don't remember you at all, but the stories are vivid. Do you remember playing firemen, and putting buckets on our heads, you pulled the handle down under your chin and could not get it off again, there was a terrific scene, screaming and howling, and you were taken off to some workshop where a man cut through the handle. Do you remember being taken to see the crib, that is figures representing the birth of Christ, there was the stable, the ox and the ass and shepards. my father explained it all to you, Christmas night and the snow on the ground, you said "Uncle ____ that aint snow on hit, thats cotton wool.!!
          Since I have grown up I realize how very lonely my mother must have been in a strange land with strange people after all Ireland is very different, she never got used to the climate and the food, she longed for the light clear air of Colorado, we have so much rain and cold. Our food is also very different and the poor American boys over here long for their native home. I know that a letter from Denver was an event, and she loved the items of gossip of the Smiths, Gilpins, and the friends of her girlhood. I don't suppose you remember my mother, she was very pretty, and I remember her when her hair was very fair, but with illness it lost its lovely glow. She was always frail and delicate, but she had a will of iron and great common sense. I wonder what she would have been like if she had ordinary normal health. I tremble to think of it as she thought we were all a very lazy lot with all our good health and yet so little initiative to do anything.
          My husband is civil engineer as you know and I see that you are engaged in another branch of engineering. All Louis's bent is in that direction but the business has been left to him, so that he has only to carry on instead of striking out for himself.
         Please excuse this long rambling epistle. I shall be glad to hear from you when you have time to write and let me know if you can about the Watsons.

Your affectionate cousin

Dodo"