Hurley Family Emigrant Letters (Ref. U170)

U170/

List of Items

A: Letters from Denis Hurley and Michael Hurley from the United States, 122 items (1871-1928) 26 August 1871 Letter from Michael Hurley, Cedar Pass, Carlin, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A., to 'Dear Parents', Tawnies, Clonakilty, County Cork. He is still in the same employment [with the railway], mentions the lack of newspapers, compared to the ‘five newspapers daily’ in Truckee ‘three english papers, one French and German’. He received news that Truckee was burned down a few days after he left. He does not work on Sundays, but ‘there is no talk about the holidays. I did not hear any one talking about holidays since I came to america…’ except from a French Priest that he met in Truckee who spoke of St.Patrick’s Day. He does not think the ‘movement in Ireland’ (Home Rule) will ‘have much effect to have a parliament in dublin’. Mentions 'Burke and Luby' coming to the Pacific Coast and San Francisco, which ‘was so thronged to see them that some women fainted and were nearly trampled to death…They may thank russia for being liberated. The English thought they would be at war With Russia that time and they wanted to get in good friends with the Irish'. Speaks of the arid climate in Nevada, and the number of Chinese and other emigrants. He can speak some chinese and some of every European language except Russian and Turkish. 4pp 21 April 1873 Letter from Denis Hurley, 688 2nd Avenue, New York, USA, to 'Dear Parents', Tawnies, Clonakilty County Cork. He arrived from Boston by train and boat and is due to 'train it away to the West' . His health has improved. He visited the zoological gardens at the Grand Central Park. Notes that there is no great demand for labour in New York, work men getting 2 dollars a day, servants 12 to 15 dollars monthly. Mentions a number of people from Ireland that he has met, including one who survived the sinking of an Atlantic steamer, 'I suppose when you heard of her loss it caused you to feel more uneasy on my account'. 4pp 25 May 1873 Letter from Denis Hurley, Ormsby County, Carson, Nevada, USA, to 'Dear Coz', his cousin Mr. Denis Ryan, Clonakilty. He and Michael are in good health. Describes the shoemaking trade there, 'This climate is fatal to the longevity of shoes, on account of its