Bradys Bend Rolling Mill, Bradys Bend, Armstrong County. He has had no reply to...

Bradys Bend Rolling Mill, Bradys Bend, Armstrong County.

He has had no reply to his letter of October 1848. He is sending him £10. He urges his brother to come with his family to the U.S. He asks him to bring information on malting, ploughs and other farm implements, mechanical publications on farming and brewing. He asks for the model of the rotary pump invented by William's brother in law and asks for more particulars. It would be useful in his area because of wooden buildings and the danger of fire. He is exempt from military duty as he is 1st Lieutenant on the Company fire fighters. Their neighbours are English, Welsh, German, Irish and Pennsylvanians. There is an English Baptist preacher near them, J. Sharrat from Wolverhampton.

He describes the products of the ironworks, mainly T Rails.

He mentions the crops he grows on his farm - wheat, rye, oats, Indian corn, hay, buckwheat, small white American beans, potatoes and turnips. In livestock he has horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, fowls, ducks, dogs and cats. He has apple, peach and cherry trees.

He asks for news of Easom Alban and Mary and Father and sends his love to Mr Webster, saying he would like to see him and Mrs Webster. He asks after Mr Heat References to his farming. The land was ploughed only 4 ins deep but he ploughs it 10 ins and going to put burnt lime on it.

The letter is continued on 20 August. The works are going to do well and William will be paid £3 a week if he comes. His passage is arranged from Liverpool to Boston. He advises him to do his own cooking on the ship. At Boston he is to go to Mr F.A. Hall, of Horton Cordis & Co who is one of the ironworks partners' brothers. He must not mention the wages he is promised, but make a good impression. He asks him to bring a dozen fine white linen shirts and the pump model in segments so that he wont be charged duty on it. He may meet Mr Sawyer in Boston. He is the president of the company. [Transcript in Appendix]

Transcript of 4543/5/2

Bradys Bend Rolling Mill Bradys Bend Armstrong County Pennsylvania

August 15 1850

My Dear William

I wrote in reply to yours date October 1848 in a few days after I received it And I have not receive any answer from that to this day however I determine to try to get another Letter from you to know why you have not written to me after my answering you so soon according to your own request either in this letter or soon after you receive this you may expect to receive some Ten - 10£ from me which I remit to you Trusting that when you receive it you will be able to sail to the United States providing that you ever intend to come: at all events write and tell me your intentions upon the Matter and dont shuffle of with some Nonesense but make up your mind and put out at once. I would like you could be here without delay as I am keeping a good situation for you at 2£ per week. you will have to assist me in my situation you will have more exercise than what you have now and will have plenty of the fresh air. I have Bought 191 Acres of land and have paid for it and I have 115 acres of it for you when ever you come. You shall have it till you can buy one for yourself and I will see that you want for nothing in reason while I am able and have the means to assist you. But you need not be afraid of this because you can make more money her than what you can there and live cheaper. I will do all for you that I promised you in mine of 48. I am employed at these works as Stocktaker I have a (Contract of the Work by the Ton) I employ my own hands & pay them for Instance to make you understand, this Co. give me 1 shilling per ton to weightheiron well I pay my hands phraps 7d per ton then the balance is my own pay and I weigh as much as 7 & 8 hundred tons per wk. this amount to 40£ I have to pay my hands 37£ the three pounds is my pay. I have made as much as 5£ per week and you will have the same chance when you get in to the buisness(sic) you assisted me when I was young and I am now willing if I have the opportunity to assist you I mean if you will come along and bring your family to the U.S. I think that you and me can get along very well together My land is full of Coal and 2 pitt open. I sold some little coal to my Neighbours last winter; this is a very healthy part of the Country, good water plenty of springs. I am quite assured that if you keep your health in three month after you reach me that you will feel quite independant of England it is much easyer to get along here after you get the start than what it is in England. When you get here Isabel will not have any need to work at her Buisness you can keep her without all this and your children too. I could say a great deal but I will tell you all when you arrive here.

I think that after you receive this offer you ought not to delay any time Nor yet can you refuse to come. I cannot say any fairer then what I have already said. And you may depend upon my word that is if I live to see you and have my health I gave you all particulars of the country before. You must not expect to come to a great Citty when you come to me but you will find some very able and smart men here. I think Bradys Bend population is about 2000. My place is about 6 miles from the works situated on the Alleghany River which emptys itself into the Ohio River - and you can catch fish as long as yourself in this River and eat as good as any of your fish bring your family with you and sail to New York. I would like to see you all

Your Letter dated 48 I have it now before me. You ask me many questions which I answered immediately & directly before but I will give you them all in rotation again.

Malting I wish you to gain all information upon this that you can it will be very useful There is no duty upon Malt here it sels for 4s per Bushel and you may make it how you like and as much as you like when you like

Ploughs & Farming Implements these things I would like you to get every information about them possible Also drawings of them such as ploughs Drills Threshing Machines Winnowing Machines Tile Machines Brick Machines. Also get the Best Works upon Agriculture Horticulture Chimestry of Soils and all kinds of Mineralds and plants of agricultural kind some works that give the componant parts of all kinds of grain and the chimestry that will learn us how to analise the soils and minerals & metals and how to extract the different parts one from the other Also a work treating upon Blast Furnace and Wrought Iron Manufacturing it & so on. I want to learn how to analise Pig Iron or Metal I mean to find out its component parts probibly Mr Bethell will give you some insight into it.

Mechanical Publications These will be very usefull

The Princely Work of Farming Raising stock & c will be usefull

Gold Pens These are as much as 7s each here good ones but when you reach here I will give you one to write with I like them much better then any other kind of pens

Brewing gain all information about this though we may not want it and we may

Rotary Pumps. this I stated very fully to you in my letter and when you come bring a model with you and a drawing and if we think it will answer we will obtain a patent for it for your Brother in Law and then he may come over here and make them I think that he may as well here with them please state in your next how far it will throw the water and if it will draw water from a river or a well and what distance from the water it will draw or such the water to feed itself with (or if forces) You will understand that most of our Buildings here are made of wood except in the large cities and a great many there wood is the cheapest all the buildings have wooden roofs and we have a great many fires in our Cities here so that I think his Engine will be more valuable here then there and the sales will be greater here then there we have some very good Engine in this Country only that they go by leaverage and they take about 20 men to man one but they will throw the water a great way. I cannot say how far but I think not less than 100 feet High or about that at a slant or we have two Engin at these works and I am the 1st Lieutenant of the Company these services exempt me from Milatary duty

District Our Neighbours are English Welsh Jermons (sic) Irish and Pennsylvanians and country born Irish & Germans. One English Baptist Preacher he preachs near to us and will have him to preach close to our home after a little he comes from Wolverhampton J Sharrat

The Work of Brady Bend We make T Rails here and sell them to our own Rail Roads there is Hundreds of miles Rail Roads in this Country and still more being made this Company have an Order for 11 Thousand Tons of T Rails and I want you to come and help me to make them as far as my department is employed we can make 300 ton per week of finished Rails. There is four Blast Furances here that will make 300 to 400 ton of metal per week so that some good work of chimestry will be of some use to me and a work upon Blast Furances and the mode of making Rails for Rail Roads. Steam Boats run up and down our rivers here that carry from 50 to 300 ton per trip and from 1 to 300 passengers. the steam Boat leave goods at my Landing very often for the country ?store around I can go to a markett by the water or by land and sell anything that I can raise and get good pay for it.//

You may if convenient bring out a good Herbal and some family medical work I have Dr Bucans works. I will now give you a moment of the production and stock upon my farm for the present season. I will give the number of acres of land cultivated and its cultivation. I have cut 7 acres of wheat 6 of Rye 12 of Oats 9 of Indian Corn 8 acres of Hay. I have 4 Acres in with Buckweat 2a of small white American Beans ½ an Acre of potatoes some turnips (Stock 4 Head of Horses 5 Head of Cow Cattle 9 Head of Hogs 46 Head of sheep 60 Fouls 4 ducks & four dogs & cats and I cannot say how many partridges pheasants rabitts foxes ground hogs Squerrils &c.

2 Apple Trees 7 peach trees 5 cherry trees and I have a young orchard planted beside but did not do very well they died I planted them too late in season. I get my own coal limestone and Iron Ore

I trust this letter will find you and your family all well and recovered the loss you sustained Please give me word of Easom Alban and Mary & Father Remember my kind love to Mr Webster and I should like to see him and Mrs Webster hoping they are both in good health A Mr Heath wrote me some time since and told me that he had some message from you but I herd nothing I could put him into so that I did not give him any encouragement to come to Bradys Bend as work was scarce at that time. give me some information of him. My kind love to Jane at Mr Websters. After I wrote my last to you I suffered a loss of five Hundred Dollars. I could have got it but the party at that time had 1000 Dollars of my money in their hands and I had not money enough besides that to stand law with them so that I had to make the best of them and this made very much against me or I would have sent you some money before And another thing these works were standing some 19 to 20 months and it took all that I had to buy my stock on the farm with. I ploughed last year some 25 acres of land and sowed harrowed it myself and I never handled a plough before I cut all my grain off and threshed a good part of it this fall I think to kill four or 6 fat Hogs and a cow and 3 or four fat sheep and can the meat for next summer

I have given you an idea of my farming for this year. I may phraps not put any fall wheat in this year. I am inclined to clear my fields down and get some lime burnt to raise my lands up with as the field where worked out in a manner by my predecessor as they never manued the land now ploughed above 4 ins deck(?deep) I plough 10in deep and that as improved it considerable but not enough write to me immediately upon the receipt of this and say what you intend to do.

I remain your affectionate Brother J.E. Barnaby

August 20th '50

Since I closed the above I have received some more interesting news from one of the Agents here which made me write a few lines to give you to understand that these works are going to transact a heavy business this fall and winter and if you dont avail yourself of this opportunity it will not be my falt and if you do you will not repent sailg to the U.States however I start this day to Pittsburgh to remit to you ten pounds as I stated above I hope you will come but bring your family with you if possible and when you arrive I will give you three pounds per week when these works do a good business which they certainly will do.//

I have further agreed with the Agent of this Company to engage your passage in one of the Boston and Liverpool Liner Vessels.

They have written last night to Messrs Trains & Co. of the Boston & Liverpool Sail Packett to authorise them to write to you from Liverpool and inform you what vessel first sails also when she sails and if you cannot get ready by the sailing of the first vesselsee and write to them and enquire when when the next vessel sails and mind to be ready for that one They Captain of the Vessel will find you with everything in the shape of breadstuffs that is potatoe Biscuits Oatmeal Flour and & c but that arrangement you may settle with the Captain as I have requested that you shall come in a comfortable vessel and this is the best line of packett ships that run now and the Best of all is not very comfortable at sea, but this is nothing, if you cannot make the arrangement to cook for yourselves they Captain may find you everything and you will be well provided for but if you can cook for yourselves it will be the cheapest way You will buy yourself some Brandy say 2 Qts and besure assertain from the Captain of the vessel what they will find you with You had better bring yourself a couple of hams and I would like you to bring some good book or work upon Iron Manufacturing Also I would like you to make yourself competent of the Arrethmatic while crossing the Atlantic also when you reach Boston I have I have (sic) an address which you will find below where you are to go to in Boston and introduce yourself to a Mr Hall upon with (which) state that you have sailed from Europe and that you are bound for Bradys Ben. And Mr Hall will render you any assistance that you may want as regards your travel from Boston to this place lend when you are talking to him mind that I am informed that is he is a very smart man and will likely ask you many questions should he ask you anything about what offer I may have made you to come to this country I hope you will say that I said I thought you could do better in respect to raising your family as provision are cheaper and that I had bought a farm for you be sure dont say what wages I have promised you but try to enquire from him all about Bradys Bend and make many enquiries about the rules of this country also mind and watch how you answer him Questions Answer him with much confidence in yourself. it is very likely they will try to find you out what kind & principled man you are as that is the nature of the Yankees. besure dont know anything about what wage you or she can make as if they find we can do well they will try to drop us this Mr Hall is a brother to one of the partners of these works. And another Brother is here the Clerk of the Rolling Mill. He is a smart, fine young man and particularly partial to me as when he came to these works first there was no one that could learn him his buisness in the office but me and this he told me he as not been here more than 5 months. You may very likely be introduced to some of the others of this Company as they all reside in Boston should they ask you anything about my practice in the Iron Buisness you will state that I have been in the Iron Works ever since I was a boy and that I have been a manager in England and a clerk also that I went through the works as a workman to learn the practica 1 part of it. I state this because they have found to be practicable and to be depended upon also you may make enquiries about if I give them satisfaction and if I am steady and anything you please to say to them. You will understand that this Company sent on a short time since several new agent and neither of them understand anything about the Iron Buisness and they had to depend upon me for a great deal of their information and this keeps me in good reputation and also they find me to be valuable to them As aservant and I feel quite glad of this because it gives me that much better and more proffitable a situation.

You will write me at Liverpool and say what money you have left in your pockett and if you have not enough to pay your fare on from Boston to this place I will make arrangements for you to be furnished with money in Boston by this said Mr Hall or by the Company. You understand that I will pay your passage money across the Atlantic you will have to pay nothing till you reach Boston You will bring your fether bed to sleep upon in the vessel and you will need water cans and some cookg utensils if you cook for yourselves while on the vessel take care to keep you boxes all lockd and tie them fast to your berths should you get sea sick I hope you will not be very sick I was only sick ½ a day and then I would empty my stomach and go and eat again. You will find it very healthy at sea you may look round Boston while there and tell me what you think of that citty. I would like you to bring me a dozen of fine white linen shirts I am in want of Linen shirts and you may get them made to fit you and they will fit me have them made up and as you may have to pay duty for them else. and if you bring a model of that pump have it in segments so that you can put it together when you reach here and should the custom house officer see it you may tell him it a little invention of your own and of but little worth but you thought you would bring it with you and by having it in segments they will not know what it is. they will not be very particular at the custom House not with family Should you have any trouble with the custom house just go to Mr Hall and he will attend to your buisness You will find that he will treat you with respect. I told his brother here about you coming out and he will write to in Boston and tell him all about you so as it is his wish for you to see his brother in Boston and I think from that that you will be introduced to some of the Company as they try to see every one that comes to these works I would like you and your family to be dressed well and to appear very respectable and give them to see that you are capable of making your living anywhere. Should you leave anything in England that you cannot pay get them to trust you for six months as you can pay it in that time give them your word for that. Ten pounds is as much as I can raise in ready cash at this tiem. I have been laying out in improving my farm. You may buy yourself a good Double barrd Gun or a long duck gun as there is plenty of wild duck and wild geese in this country also deers run over our land so you may suppose it it is mountainous and wild. You may see a Mr Sawyer in Boston which is a smart shrewd man he is the president of this company. I had a long talk with him at this place a few weeks ago so that if you hear or see him you will know who he is also he knows me. I conclude with dont miss this opportunity of making yourself. your affec. J.E.Barnaby.

I have now the best chance for you that ever I have had and think that you never had such a one before You will talk firmly to all the people in the country as it is the ways of this country I wish you to talk to the Bostonians as if you feared no man still be careful.

You will call upon

Mr F.A. Hall

Firm of Horton Cordis & Co

112 Milk Street

Boston