Name/Title
Letter from Ebenezer Irving to William IrvingEntry/Object ID
HHV 003.174Description
Letter from Ebenezer Irving to William IrvingSubject
“The Morrison” (ship), “The Liberty” (Ship), “The Fremont” (boat), value of silk goods, teas and other items, William seems to have moved to Manilla contrary to plans, duties, cotton, spanish vessels
have lower duties via Manilla, accounts, Charlotte has been ill, Theodore at Edgar’s, brewery by the lake, family trip to Catskills (Eb about 60 at the time), marriage Cornelia Hyslops to DAvid Graham Jr, marriage of Anna Gill to Wilson (brother of brother-in-law), planning improvements to Sunnyside, the [Girard?] (boat), “Brig Latona”Subject Person/Organization
Ebenezer Irving (1776-1868), William Irving (1811-1854), Theodore Irving (1809-1880), Edgar Irving (1808-1873), Amanda Tenant Irving (1814-1885), Cornelia Matilda Hyslop, David Graham, Jr., Anna Gill, Elizabeth Gill, Sanders Irving (1813-1884), Catharine Ann Irving (1816-1911), Sarah Irving (1817-1900), Washington Irving (1783-1859), Charlotte Van Wart Irving Grinnell (1824-1911)Subject Place
* Untyped Subject Place
New York, Philadelphia, PA, Saugerties, NY, SunnysideCollection
Irving Manuscript CollectionTranscription
Transcription
Per Ship Liberty from Phil’a
Mr William Irving
[Manilla] or Canton New York June 12. 1835
My Dear Willie
I wrote last per the Morrison on the / 1st Instant for Canton _ I continue to direct my letters as you will perceive / to Care of Mefs’r Russell + Co Canton and have recently added “or care of Mefs’r / Russell + Sturgis Manilla” _ presuming that either house will see / the letters our in the way to reach you wherever you may be.
We have no arrival yet from manilla, and my anxieties / [page torn] of course _ I trust that the Fremony, now daily expected / will arrive promptly _ I shall be completely at a loss what course / to pursue until I hear from you _ Your removal from Canton / has completely deranged my plans and I fear has marred / your prospects _ almost anything from that place would / have paid this season _ silk goods generally are doing well / and I am told that low priced teas pay a good profit, but / the finer qualities only about cost and charges. I have / made a little enquiry as to the Manilla trade which I / find to be very limited _ Mr. Gillespie tells me that 4.4 / [Brown] American Cottons generally answer especially if shipped to / [Lintin] and then to Manilla in a Spanish vessel - the duty in those / being [7p?] [pr] lefs or one half what it is in foreign _ the returns / from Manillla are in Hemp, Tortoise shell +c.
The promised accounts are not yet prepared _ I intended / to have had them ready, but have been prevented, and I have such / short notice of the sailing of the Liberty + the Latona from Phil’a that / it cannot be done in time for either _ We shall have an opportunity / however from this place shortly _ I started for Saugerties / on thursday evening 4th Instant and returned on Sunday night 7th / after a gratifying visit _ I found all well and your little Sister / Charlie improving _ Theodore who had gone up just before me/ was snuggle quartered at Edgar’s on the bank of the beautiful little /
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Lake where the Brewery is located _ Amanda’s sister Emily is also with / them _ Pierre had promised me that he would make up / a little party for the Catskill Mountains, if I would pay him a visit / so on Saturday he with Edgar + Theodore and myself started imm= / diately after breakfast _ it was beautiful and cool morning / and every thing was dressed in its freshest green _ We found / the road [goo] until we reached the foot of the range there on / the road was rought for three miles as it gradually ascended / and the remaining two miles being pretty rugged and [page torn] had to be accomplished on foot _ Our horse was near giving / out after we had gone about half of the three miles, and / fearing that if [drawn?] further we should find it not so / easy a matter to get home safely with the waggon, we / [left] the waggon on the side of the riad, with our coats, [mounted] / [there] round about and leaving the horse at the next house trudged / up the mountain _ I thought the tour longer than necefsary / for we had to go round the mountain and ascent at the back / when it occurred to me that a more direct route might have been / found _ but after getting to the summit, I found that it would / have been impractical from the frequent and tremendous / precipices _ The weather being clear we had of course an immense / view and we were amply repaid for our toil in clambering up. /
The view was indeed grand, but I do not think it was beau - / =itful as from a less elevated height; all this before you flat like / a map _ you see nothing of the hills and vallies, the slopes and / indulations of the land, which add such charms to a land = / =scape. The peak we ascended is directly back of Saugerties and / a few miles south of the “Round top” the highest of the Catskill /
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Range the “Round top” may be about 100 or 150 feet higher than the peak we / were on _ We got home safely before sundown much pleased with our / excursion though not a little fatigued _ for a trudge of six miles up and down a [rough?] mountain is not an easy job to those unaccustomed / to the exercise _ we all stood it very well however, and as for myself / I thought I rather beat the lads _
The wedding I spoke of in my last took place on Wednesday / evening _ indeed there were two weddings that evening _ Cornelia / [page torn - Hyslop] David Graham first and Anna Gill to a Mr Wilson / a brother of the Mr Wilson who Elizabeth Gill had married some / 12 or 18 months before _ Anna’s Husband is a Prebyterian Clergyman / & widower with two or three children settled near Phil’a _ their / wedding was entirely private _ At Cornelia Hyslops there was / a considerable blow out _ The parties all started up [th-?] [page torn] the next morning _ We are all well in [Bri– page torn] / Street _ that is those left _ the family is considerably reduced / in number and now consists of Sanders, Catharine Sarah you / Uncle Wash’n and myself _ as soon as we get through house cleaning / your sisters will no doubt be off for Saugerties and Ucnle W. will / soon to go to visit his “estate” at Greenburgh _ I am anxious / to get there myself to help plan the improvements .
You have herewith a joint letter from Cathrine + Sarah / We had an arrival from Canton yesterday, the “[Girard?]” _ As there are / few vessels from Manilla direct I thought it possible that you might / have sent letters to Canton to be forwarded as the intercourse between the / two places I am told is frequent _ and you know there is no scarcity of opportunities from [Canton] to the U States : but I will hope for something / by the [Fremont] _ meanwhile assure yourself of my constant and sincere / prayers for you welfare and success _ Thine affectionately my dear Willie
Eben’r Irving
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[ADDRESS]
Mr. William Irving
Care of Mess’r Russell + Co
Canton
Or Mess’r Russell + Sturgis
Manilla
Brig Latona
Ship Liberty
From Phil’a
[LABEL]
Eb. Irving June 12 ‘35Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
EnglishOther Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Former NumberOther Number
W 236
