Hurley Family Emigrant Letters (Ref. U170)

U170/

their teeth...'. He supposes father was 'disapointed not being called on to exercise the franchise at the late election', and A.H.S. Barry 'was left in the cold...'. 4pp

21 July 1875 Letter from Denis Hurley, Carson, Nevada, to ‘Dear Parents’, Clonakilty. He regrets the death of a Mrs Hurley and sends regards to the Templebrien friends. Mentions the ‘…tolerably cool nights’ and ‘…too much dust’. He and Michael do not waste their money on whiskey, ‘It is a cause of a great deal of misery more so here than in the old country owing to the greater opportunities working men have to indulge their brutish appetite’, especially on the ‘inferior kind’ of alcohol, which is ‘…the devils own stuff.’ 3pp 6 January 1876 Letter from Denis and Michael Hurley, Carson, Nevada to ‘Dear Parents’, Clonakilty. They are well and have ‘…every reason to be thankful to Providence for its favours towards us. We have good health & steady work which is not very laborious’. The stocks they have bought are rising and the market improving. They are thankful for the papers sent from home, although ‘never a great admirer of the Cork Constitution i.e. the conservative position’. Mentions that the railroad has replaced the stage coaches between Reno and Virginia. 4pp 20 May 1877 Letter from Denis Hurley, Carson, Nevada, to ‘Dear Parents’, Clonakilty. He and Michael request a loan of £100 (500 Dollars) in order to buy stocks, ‘…if we are as successful as we expect we will return your money at least two-fold.’ They are ‘…neither drinking nor howdying nor squandering..’, but ‘Big men have made work scarce and money tight in order to be masters of everything’. 6pp 21 August 1877 Letter, from Denis Hurley, Carson, Nevada, to ‘Dear Parents’. He has managed to cash the £100 draft from his parents. Describes the state of the stocks in mining, and how some of the mines are controlled by Irishmen.