An 1822 Letter from Philadelphia to Bruntcliffe.
By Charles Soderlund © 01/2024
By Charles Soderlund © 01/2024
In 1821, Thomas Bilbrough left Bruntcliffe for the USA. During this same period, many in the Bilbrough family were involved in the cloth trade with America. His uncle, Samuel Bilbrough of Gildersome, had emigrated to Philadelphia and had become a successful merchant and his cousin John Bilbrough of Bruntcliffe, who lived a nearby, also went to Philadelphia to seek his fortune. The lure of an easy life as a wool merchant must have appealed to Thomas and he saved his wages for the day that the easy life would also be his. The chance came in 1821 when Thomas and his brother, and partner, Edward packed woollen goods aboard the ship “Dido”. Whether they purchased or wove them is not known. Thomas, accompanied by his uncle James Bilbrough of Gildersome, also a wool merchant, boarded the "Dido," bound for Philadelphia and arrived there on the 7th of July 1821. The letter below, written by Thomas himself, gives an excellent description of his activities during the first year and a half after his arrival.
Philadelphia Dec 1, 1822
(To his Brother Edward Bilbrough of Bruntcliffe) “Dear Brother, I received yours dated Feb 23rd 1821 since which date, this is the third letter I have wrote, and have not yet received any answer to them. I would thank you to write rather oftener and I hope by this time you have got settled. ??????????????????? am sorry to see that he has charged you with more than is right by twelve dollars and twenty cents but that I wish you to get corrected and send me an account quick as possible, with respect to the wool, I am certain that he has given me one share too little which you will see by the information I have given you in former letters, the twelve Dollars and twenty cents which I say he has charged too much is for cash paid for Entry Bonds Permits and Portage of Bale of Goods. Two Dollars and Twenty Cents, for freight from liver (Liverpool ?) to Philadelphia, onwards Five Dollars, and five Dollars more on coat and pantolones than what I said I would give and indeed more than I made of them, by this and the former information, you will be able to give me an exact account how we stand. I am glad you have sent no more goods as goods of all descriptions are very low, and if they cannot be made low in England the exporters must lose. I have been in the Western country. I had a fine trip. I started April 19th and got back October 29th. I have made my home with cousin John since and have been trading in cattle. I brought some cattle down out of the state of Ohio to Philadelphia about four hundred miles. I think a person might make money in trading with the Western Country if they had four or five hundred Dollars, so they could purchase goods to load on a large boat and trade them down the Ohio river and then bring cattle back or buy flour or Pork and take it on to New Orleans. There are a great many making a living in trading up and down the river Ohio and the Mississippi which are two very large rivers, the Ohio nine hundred and twenty miles long and then it joins the Mississippi which runs nine hundred miles further down to New Orleans. The two rivers forming a navigable river from Pittsburg to New Orleans, a distance of eighteen hundred and twenty miles, while I guess there is not less than a hundred steamboats employed besides hundreds of Keel Boats and thousands of flat Boats which go down to New Orleans from all parts of the Ohio and Mississippi laden with the produce of the state of Ohio, Virginia, Kentuckey, Indiania, and all the states joining the two rivers. I will now give you a short history of my travels in the western country April 19th. I started on after my goods to Pittsburg which is three hundred miles and is a fine and rich, settled about half way and the rest of the way is all hills and mountains and very thinly settled till within a few miles of Pittsburg which is a very thriving town and a great deal of Iron work done there. They burn coal which they have in great plenty. I stopped about a week there and sold part of my goods. I saw John Dixon of Morley, he is keeping a Dry Goods store. Ben Dixon is in the neighborhood and has been sold out two or three times. While I was in Pittsburg I bought a skiff and loaded my goods in it and then I started down the Ohio river to Cincinatta which is four hundred and thirty miles. The banks of the Ohio are very pleasant all the way down with a great many fine towns where I stopped and traded my goods. I sold my skiff and the remainder of my goods at auction when I was in Cincinatta. I took a ride down to Aurora in Indianna with a letter I had for one Mr Harris and he introduced me to one Mr Fox from Foxhall somewhere near Hightown, and one Mr Rawson from Rawfolds. Mrs Fox knew my Aunts very well, she went to Gommersall school with Aunt Mary. They have bought a fine farm on the banks of the Ohio which they call Foxhall. You see, one meets with old country people in all parts of the globe, in all my travels in the west I was scarse a day but I met with Englishmen. Cincinnatta is above one half English and there are a great many settlements in Ohio and Indianna of nothing but English and nearly all seem to like the country well and most of them get land of their own and are quite independent. From Cincinnatta I traveled through all the estate of Ohio to Louisville? Where I bought my cattle and drove them to Wheeling where I crost the Ohio River into Virginia and then took the Turnpike Road over the mountains to Philadelphia. The state of Ohio is a very fine state, very level and rich land and a great many fine prairies which are fine for raising cattle and the price of the land at two Dollars per acre and they can raise the best crops of wheat that ever I did see and twenty bushels per acre. Price of grain in Cincinnatta was 37 cents per bushel corn 12 ½, oats 12 ½, flour 3 Dollars a ?????? meat 1 Dollar & 10 cents, corn 95 cents, oats 95 cents, beef 6 Dollars per hund(red), pork the same. I shall be glad to hear how you all are. I hope you are all well as we all are at present. Uncle Samuel is keeping a wool store, cousin John is still manufacturing. I remain your well wisher and friend. Thomas Bilbrough |
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