Page Mounted 19 May
2001
The following are three letters written by James DeWar to his parents during and immediately after his trip from Charlotte County to California. The letters are the property of Heather Cleveland who has graciously given her consent to posting them on the St. James page. In the interest of historical accuracy, the letters are presented as they were written, with some notes in parentheses as applicable for punctuation, explanation of what I think the author’s intent might have been, or missing words. The handwriting in the copies is quite good. For those of us that had relatives who made the trip from St. James Parish to California it is interesting that James DeWar writes “there wasant any of us Sea sick going to new york” who were the others and how many? Should anyone need to contact Heather directly regarding the letters or the DeWar family, please e-mail to: clevefam@nbnet.nb.ca Submitted by Ralph E. Hannan, ralph.hannan@comcast.net
New York, October 26th, 1854
Dear Father and mother
i take this oportunity
to write you a few lines and let you now that we are well at
present hopping that this may find you the same. they are all
well so far and in good spirits(.) there wasant any of us
Sea sick going to new york(.) the flour is all the way from
8 to 10 dollars and every thing here is about as high here as it
is in Calais(.) we are going to leave here tomorrow at 3
o’clock in the northern light of new york(.) She is a
large steam Ship of two thousand five hundred tons(.) She
expects to make the trip out in 22 days(.) we are going to
take a (stewards or stearage) pasage and if we don’t like it
before we get there we can have a cabin pasage. we will
have to Pay $150 dollars(.) we was to two meetings last
sunday in boston we did not know what kind of meeting it
was till after words we found out it was a unitarian and such
religion i never heard it wasn’t as good as (?) straw
we caled it real machinery(missionary?) work(,) but the other was
middling(.) this new york is an awful hole but we keep
Straight(.) there was one little brute that tried to get the
better of us but we knowed a nuff for him(.) there is
the biggest of scoundrels here that there is in the
world(.) we don’t See no such Scoundrals at home as
there is here(.) Alexander is well and hasent taken any
liquor yet(.) i did not ask him if he was going to write
but this will do as well(.) you need not expect any more
till we get there because we may not have any time at the
isthmus(?) but if we do we will rite.
I have no more to rite at Present(,)
James Dewar
Murphys Camp Nov 24th 1854
Dear mother i take this
opportunity to rite you a few lines to let you now that we
arrived out safe and well(.) hoping that this may find you the
same(.) we had a fine passage(.) we made it in twenty 4 days(.)
we did not stay only one night in the City(.) we was one day and
night getting up to murphys and then we traveld 12 miles before
we found William and James Smith and two (H)ill boys(.) we saw
hector Morrison and Elizabeth(.) this is a fine looking place but
it is middling ruf(.) we are going prospecting to morrow(.) we
expect to hunt up a clain (claim) if we can(.) there is a camp
right snug here that we can get and William smith is going to sel
us $45 dollars worth of provisions for the same as he gave for it
and we are very glad to get it (.) John McKensie William Forsiths
and us is going to work to-gether (.) we cant tel nothing about
this country yet but we like the looks of it(.) so far the
prospects are midling good the wages are 75 dollars a month for
working in the (wods?) the potatoes are as large as your foot and
everything else the same in proportion(.) things is not
much dearer hear than they are to home (.) the boys is Just
as contented as they would be to home (.) Cornelius Tiler is 20
miles from here working on a sluice and James Smith is with
him(.) i like the people here very well(.) when we was going up
to the mines we met rashice(Horatio) Dow coming down(.) he
has-ant ben so well this long time(.) we have as good water here
as ever i drank(.) Alexander is well but he is not going to rite
this time(.)
Robert i want you to
rite me a letter and let me now all that is going on(.) i wrote
that other letter before we crost the isthmus in the morning and
the bank was (coverd?) with mules and we got wone a piece and if
we dident have some fun we run them the hole way and they wasant
biger than a shep and our legs wod all most tuch the ground(.)
tell Sandi Hanan (i’l?) write as soon as find out a little
more about the country(.)
Father i will write you the next letter and let you know all
about this contry(.)
James Dewar Murphys Camp
Calaverus County
Calafornia
Dear
Father
Murphys Camp Feb 26th 1855
I take this
opportunity to write you a few lines to let you know that we are
all well at present hoping that this may find you all the same(.)
your letter dated January 11th came to hand February 25th which
we were very glad to hear that you were all well(.) i was very
glad to hear that you was In the new house in season and
comfortable(.) i was glad to hear that the boys get such good
waiges this winter(.) i don’t think that you got my first
letter(.) i was glad to hear my three ants was up(,) i expect you
had a fine time for i believe it is the first time that she was
up(.) i was glad to hear that James Brown got along so well(.) it
is dull times here now for the want of water but we will Soon
have it(.) alexander bought a claim for $100 dollars and he can
get $600 dollars for it now but he wont sell it now(.) i havent
writen any the last four mails because i didenot have an
oportunity to send them(.) we aint with in 8 miles of murphys and
we cant get them over when we want to but i will try to send them
regular after this(.) you can tell Campbells folks that William
and Richard Rose is well(.) i want you to write every mail if you
can find it convenient(.) It is a very mild winter here it hasent
been cold down here this winter(.) some of the trees has got
blosoms on now(.) I have not heard any thing of John
(Raix?) but i heard Andrew (Raix?) was in san francisco a
drinking all he got(.) you can tell (nat?) Spiny that i did
not hear anything about his brother i saw old John Baily out here
that ust to bee about in masqurean he has been out two years(.)
he tells me he youst to know all the folks(.) i asked him if he
was going home again he said that he was afraid that the (?)
would not agree with him(.) i woud not advise any of the boys to
come out here because they might not like the country(.) flour is
eighteen dollars up here in the mines and pork is 20 cents tea is
a dollar a pound molasses the same but down in san Francisco it
is about the same as it is home(.) i have no more to write at
present