LETTER OF JAMES MacMURPHY TO JOHN COLVILLE James MacMurphy made the same voyage the year before with his nine children and accompanied by the twins John and Hugh Breckenridge. John married Agnes Fleming soon after she arrived so it is clear that they were engaged and he went ahead to prepare for her. He does not mention the Breckenridge brothers or any of the other fellow passengers, so I can't say if they traveled overland together. Dear Sir: We arrived hear on the 5 currant all in good health and Spirits after a passage of 46 days, we had a tolerable passage, and no accident of any consequence happened into us, we made land upon the 13th, and sailed up the Delaware in the 4th one of the finest rivers in the world the banks of the river on both sides is most beautifull, all improven with handsome farm houses and orchards and the fruit trees laden with fruit a pleasant prospect to the eye, The City of Philadelphia is one of the largest and finest under the Sun the houses mostly of Brick and the Streets Long, Broad, and regular and crosses each other at right angles the sides paved wit Brick and a row of large trees of poplar and weeping willows on the edge of the pavement. I think the City is as far superior to Glasgow, as Glasgow is to Campbeltown, I enquired of some of your Craft the price of a Cart, and waggon wheels the price of wagon wheels–from 50 to 60 Dollars and Cart wheels – from 30 to 40 Dollars and the wood very cheap. We have agreed with a waggoner to carry our lougage to Pitsburg for 3 and 3/4 Dollars per 100 weight and is going to set out this afternoon if possible, I can hardly describe the obligation I am under to Capt. Gourkin for his kindness and attention to me during the passage, I either breakfasted, Dined or drank Tea with him every day and thinks him one of the best of men he is an able navigator and ingenious cecanick, a great polititian a social Companion and in my opinion an upright moral man, we had the pleasure of seeing a man of war launched this morning a ship of 100 guns, the spectators were immence and about 20 steam boats in the river were crowded with people besides boats full of all sizes you will be as good as to let mr. John Duncann Gigha [?] and David Henderson Carradle know that I write than I get settled in the Western Country the prices of provision hear at present is a follows Beef 8 cents pr lb apples and peaches 80 cents per barrel Tea 75 cents Brandy 1/4 Dollar per gallon Chees 9 cents per lb large watermelons at 2 cents & every one larger than Carrage stocks I have wrote John Colville Malster a long letter and refer the whole of my friends to said letter. I will write you more fully when I arrive at western County and whatever I write you may rely upon on the meantime you must excuse haste as the waggoner goes off and the fever raging in part of the City– I am Dear Sir meantime Your most obedient Servant, James Mac Murphy LETTER OF JOHN MACMURCHY TO HIS BROTHER ANDREW Though John clearly wrote his name MacMurphy, it is McMurchy on the passenger list, and that is the common name of others who settled in Washington County, as well as the name of his daughter in her marriage registry. I have retained his interesting spelling and punctiation. Nevellsville, [now Neville] Dec. 26th , 1820 Dear Andrew, On my arrival at Philadelphia I wrote John Colville a long letter, the particulars of which I presume you have heard already as it referred to the whole of my friends, On leaving Philadelphia the weather was every warm, we came along with the waggon at the rate of about 20 miles per day, we lodged in Taver[n]s all night which are plentifully along the road, we got good entertainment very cheap, the roads are generally very well made and bridges over all the rivers, There are one every elegant bridge over the Susquehanna, about a mile long and that broad that two waggons passes each other, and foot walks on each side, All along the road there are beautiful Buildings, fine farms, orchards, loaded with fruit, they were waggon loads of Apples, pears & peaches laying upon the ground and hogs feeding among them unmolested, there are fine fields of Indian corn, wheat, ray, clover, & in fact everything appeared to me to be more abundant than on the old country except Factors, Excisemen, Taxgathereres & Pa[u]pers, we reached Pitsburg on the 16 day after leaving Philadelphia a distance of about 300 miles, the town of Pitsburg is a large trading town built upon a fork between the Allegory [sic!] & Mononguchilla rivers, which two when joined together form the Ohio, I then bought a boat 36 feet Long % 6 ½ broad for which I paid 20 dollars likewise a book entitled the Ohio Pilate for 50 cents giving full discription of all the villages, creeks, channels, Islands, Pebbles, Rappids, shoals, bars, etc. with a chart of the Ohio River, The boat of which I was Captain, Owner, Pilott, & Supercargoman having got all provisions on board & Materials we proceeded down the river till we reached Marietta. I went out to see your brother John, I met him & James coming to town I came back with them they stopt all night with us, I went out with them next day & saw his place he is improving it well, I was almost persuaded to buy a farm that lines with him, But after consulting with my family we proceeded down the river till we arrives at Robert Galbreath's farm, he was very kind to us, & happy to see us, I then rented a house at 1 ½ Dollars pr month until I got better acquainted with the place, I have spent the most of my time ever since looking about at places and sometimes hunting till after looking about in every direction with you worthy friend Robert Galbreath, I have on Friday last bought 240 acres of good land for which I am to pay 1200 Dollars, they are 90 acres cleared and well fenced, a log house, barn, stable, and other houses suitable for the farm. I think I have got a very great bargain of it as all the money I am to pay would hardly make the improvements on it, I am to take possession of it immediate -ly & means to move to it in a few days my predecessor has sown down this fall 26 acres of wheat 17 of which he throws me to the bargain, likewise all the fodder & dung, two stacks of hay, a brooding sow & sundry other useful articles, he give me the whole stock of cows, hogs, sheep, gees, & fowls every cheap & 4 years to pay them, the whole of the farm is pretty level & produces Indian Corn, wheat, barley, oats, ray, Buckwheat, Potatoes, Beans, peas, Pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, watermellons, muskmellons, Tobbacco, apples, pears, peaches, & gourds besides all kinds of garden stufs, There is excellent timber on it Consisting of black oak, white oak, ash, Hickory, walnut, poplar, beach, cherry, elm, gumtree, sprucetree, sycamore, sugar tree, there is plenty of water, on each field for stock & two springs almost at the door, a milk house on the one of them., the other the well--I do not regret coming to this country and it gives me the prospect of settling each of my family in a farm of their own as they grow up in rotation besides the pleasant prospect of myself spending the remainder of my days on my own farm. I sitting under my own apple & peach tree where neither a madman that is governed by a tyrant or any smooth two-faced hypocrite dares presume to dispossess or make me afraid, it is only since I came to this country that I begin to see the enfatuation of the farmers of the old country who voluntarily offers more for land yearly that it's really worth how [who] but madmen will undertake to cultivate poor barren moors and heaths in Kintyre or pays more for it by the year than good lang can be bought hear forever making slaves of their children & beggars of themselves, in their old days, when their all must go to pamper up a — of ungrateful tyrants, or neither does or wishes any good to their tenants, but looks upon them as another order of being. I think by this time you are settling up your affairs and preparing to come hear if you have not changed your mind since I left there, they are hundresds of people coming to this country every year & I suppose all the farmers in great britain was to there is room enough & plenty of land for them all–I think if you will come to this county you will likely come hereabouts as land is better in quality full cheaper than it is about Marietta or up the river, suppose all the people that was talking of coming when I left should come hear they may easily get settled 12 or 16 mile of one another, if they choose, as the most of the people of this place thinks nothing of selling their farms & moving, perhaps or 3 hundred miles where land is cheaper, Congress has purchased an immense track of land in the state of Indianna & is now selling it off in lots of 640–320–160 & 80 acres for cash down which gives an opportunity for a man of small capital to purchase & begin with formerly they sold it at 2 dollars per acre & 3 years to pay it but now at 1 & a quarter per acre for cash down, If you intend coming one request I will ask of you & perhaps it may not be the last to bring with you for me an iron plough, & a web of fustian of the strongest kind as none of them can be got here, the wooden plough is as dear as the iron plough with you & very ill constructed & performs but very slovenly work, you may have the plough made a great deal lighter than with you, & not so long in either stilts or beam so as to be handy to lift about stumps of trees in new ground James McMillen can make her & pack her up in a packing box which will not be very bulky, you can tell James McMillen if he was here, that he wold make as much by his trade in two years as would buy him a farm & raise as much Tobacco on it in one year as would serve him to smoke all his days, if you come I think it would be proper for you.to take with you a good steady man & maid someone such as you could confide in, as you will have but little help of your own for some time, & as there are few servants here that hires for more than two weeks a month at a time, say that you would pay for their passage & all other charges, the law of this country compells them to serve till you are indemnified of all your expenses, but no longer–unless it please themselves, I would likewise advise you to bring an iron plough for yourself & a set of chains, as all kinds of iron work is two prices in this western country for any thing else I think you are pretty well instructed in former letters from your friends, & you need not be afraid of rising too early in the morning to put out wreck, neither of dithering or draining in this country, nor did I see one in all my travails, & with regard to people here they are far more civilised than in Kintyre, they are kind, sober, intelligent, & industrious speak hard, quick & very proper, thw whole of my family are all in good health & spirits & like the place very well, as to myself I never had a headache since I left Campbeltown ot even with whiskey although It may be got here for 33 ents per gallon, I expect when upon receipt of this you will write me all the news of your place, & what kind of crops you have had this year and the price the different kind offered you & if you really intend coming you will give my best wishes to my mother and family and the rest of my friends, they are too numerous to particularize, I remain Dear Andrew, your affectionate brother till the author of my being cause a dissolution of my earthly Tabernalcke by Death. James McMurphy Direct to me at Nevillesville care of Joshua Pigman slave [?] keeper Clermont County, State of Ohio M. Colville NIAGARA PASSENGER LIST OUT OF GREENOCH TO PHILADELPHIA, ARRIVED SEPT 5, 1820 James McMurchy 48 Sarah McMurchy 19 William McMurchy 17 George McMurchy 15 John McMurchy 13 James McMurchy 11 Jeanette McMurchy 9 Alexa McMurchy 7 Peter[?] McMurchy 5 Donald McMurchy 3 John Breckenridge 22 Hugh Breckenridge 22 John Johnsonn 19 John McNair 22 (Married Sarah McMurchy 10 Apr., 1823 in Brown County James Culbertson 21 Jean Culbertson 21 Jean Harvie Saml Culbertson 17 Alexa Brown 21 Jean Brown 21 William Giffen 30 Isabella Giffen 26 Isabella Reid Matt Giffen 3 John Giffen 9mo Agnes Read 22 Robert Armour 62 David Watson 28 Jean Watson 26 Margaret Watson 6 mo Alex Clark 24 Neal Watson [?] 22 James Watson 24 Donald McMurchy 19 John Shaw 36 James Atkin 60 Umbrella maker Martha Atkin 23 James Broder 22 William Ralph [?] 18 James Armstrong [?] 29 Jean Armour [?] 27 Elizabeth Armour [?] 23 Duncan Stewart 22 Robert Watson 22 James Watson 26 Margaret Watson 18 Some names are nearly impossible to decipher from the microfilm printout The men are all farmers and the women spinsters, except for the umbrella maker.