Letters from Hugh & Janet Muir (nee Mitchell) and their children, either addressed to Janet's parents or to a brother
Dalmellington Iron Works, February 21st, 1864. Dear Father and Mother, we write to inform you that we are all well. Hoping that you are all in the same. We wrote you two or three times for John's address but you never sent it. You must be sure and send it with the next post as I have business of importance to transact with him. Be sure and write next post as I may have an opportunity of being in Glasgow in a week or less, so I hope that you will send his address so as I may call on him when I am through.
Janet sends her kind love to you all. Hoping that you are all comfortable and well. No more at present but remain your affectionate son and daughter, Hugh and Janet Muir. Mind the address.
We had a letter from Caterine. She told us that father was at Dumfries. Janet hopes that you will let her know all the news when he arrives home. No more, but remember. Your affectionate son and daughter. H. & J. Muir.
Great King Street, Dunedin, May 14th, 1871 Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell. Dear Father and Mother, We have received your letter of date January 8th and were happy to know that you were all well. We received a letter from George the other day and were happy to know that you were all well. Let George know that we will write to him the next mail.
Dear Father and Mother, Mary's present to her Grandmother is now on its way on board the ship called Warrior Queen in the possession of a passenger named Robert Welsh. He goes near to where Andrew Ferguson and Cattie lives. There (are) two little girls with him. They are going to their Grandfather. He lives in Glenluce. I could not give him Andrew's address. But he said that he would find him out and give the parcel to him for Mary's Grandmother. So you will know to look out for it. The ship sailed on Tuesday last, the 9th May so she will reach home in about three months, about the 9th or 12th of August. I do not know the names of the girls who are going to Glenluce but I may know before I finish this letter. I will now give the pen to Mary to finish the letter.
Dear Grandmother: Uncle John has taken a piece of land about half a mile from us and is coming in on the first of June. And Aunt Elizabeth is coming down to see us in a week or two. They live about 39 miles from us. William will be six years old on the 21st of May and Cathrine will be four on the 30th of May, and Hugh Alexander will be two on the 15th of August. We have one milk cow and two young heifers and Aunt Elizabeth keeps them.
Aunty Cathrine has not wrote to us this five years and I wrote to her but she never answered me and we think it very strange and we do not know their address now. No more at present but I remain your affectionate Grand-daughter, Mary C. Muir.
King Street, Dunedin, January 14th, 1872. Mr. George Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell. Dear Brother and Sister: We write to inform you that we are all well. Trusting you are enjoying good health. We would have written to Father but we do not know but that he might be removed to some other place. We enclose two card de visits to Father. And the rest of the family will be sent next mail. We will send one of each to you and Caterine next mail. The son is sitting on Janet's right knee and you will see that is Mary that is standing between Janet and me. And that is little Hugh Alexander that is standing between my legs. The next card will contain Agnes, Elizabeth, William and Caterine Grace Muir. We fully expected letters with the mail that arrived from home last Friday as they are past due but they might be lost with the mail steamer that was lost near Ragoon about 6 weeks ago. Be sure and write as we like to hear the news from home how you are all. Tell father to write. We hope that he and mother and family are all well. They will have received the working present that Mary sent to her grandmother. We are wondering that they never let us know about receiving it.
We are thinking of taking a piece of land marching with Brother John's place. I am to sign the lease tomorrow if we have got it. It will keep four or five cows so Janet and Mary is going to manage them and I will remain in town at my work. So we will have an opportunity of doing some good as the house rents in town is a ruination. There are plenty of firewood on the ground so between the rent, wood and our own milk, it will be a saving of 14/- per week and there are no doubt but that Janet will make a good deal more than the rent out of it. There is a fine house on it of 9 or 10 rooms so we will be far better and have an chance of making up what I lost and the family will be better out of the town to run about and there is a school within1/2 a mile so after the cows are milked Mary and Agnes and Elizabeth and William will go there. I intend to make Mary a university scholar if possible.
Dear Brother, we will say no more at present. We have enclosed two cards for you also as the letter is not so heavy as I expected.
January 18th. Dear friends, we have taken the land, it borders with Brother John's. They are all. So dear friends, farewell tonight, as it is getting late. Kind love to you all. God bless you all. Amen. Your affectionate brother and sister, Hugh and Janet Muir. Address as formerly, as I am well known by all business men in town and the letters will reach me thought I should be removed. Amen. Amen.
Dunedin, June 23rd, 1872 Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell. Dear Father and Mother: Little did we know the last time we wrote to you what was in store for us. But it is a blessing that these things are hid from our eyes. On Monday the 13th of May last, we were all well and Janet was in town and returned home in the afternoon in time to milk the cows. Elizabeth was sitting at one side of the fire with the twins on her knees. A chair was at the other side of the fire with a blanket drying, and Mary was preparing food for the twins and Hugh Alexander was standing with his back to the fire feeding little Jessie with a spong which Mother brought him from town. Mary took him by the hand and told him to stand out from the fire and she went out to Mother to get fresh milk for the babies' food. Hugh Alexander went on to the chair on his knees, catching the top of the chair and holding the spong over toward his twin sister. The chair over-balanced and came in contact with the handle of a coffee pot newly infused with tea, capsizing its contents on him. He rose and ran to the door crying on Mary. Mary and Mother came in running, tore the clothes off him and poured oil on the burning. He was burns from the lower part of the belly down the left leg very severely. Dear parents, he fell into convulsive fits on the following night and he was taken away from us at 20 minutes to one o'clock on Wednesday morning, the exact hour that he came into the world two years and 9 months before. It is a heavy heavy stroke indeed but we must submit, knowing that he is gloriously happy.
And when the English mail arrived there were two letters for me, one of them was from Brother William announcing Brother George's death. I got it in town when I was coming home. Your may guess my feelings when I received it. I went to Brother John's and requested him to tell my dear Janet as I did not know how to tell her, knowing how much she was troubled about Hugh Alexander, and she was always hoping that nothing would happen to Brother George ever since we knew that he was badly. John told her the next day. Dear parents, it is a glorious feeling to know that we can never die. The body is but the house we live in. We only change our residence at death. Let us know how George's wife is likely to get along. Give her our kind love and tell her to trust in God and she will have no cause to be afraid.
Mary has been badly with a sore leg. It is swollen and painful. (end of letter missing)
Dunedin, June 1st, 1874. My Dear Grandfather and Grandmother: I sit down to write you a few lines to let you know that we are all in good health. We have moved into town and we keep a dairy. We have 7 cows and 4 of them are in milk. I and William and Elizabeth goes out with the milk every morning and we get milk from Aunt Elizabeth every night and morning for we have not enough of milk to supply our customers. And cows are that scarce they are not to be got. Good milk cows are from £10 to £14 each. Milk is D5 per qt. Butter is very dear. It is S1.8 per lb. Eggs are S3 per dozen.
Kattie is in the first Royal Reader. William is in the fourth Book. Elizabeth is in the fifth Royal Reader. Mary is in a shop learning to be a saleswoman and Willim and I stay at home and help mother. The twins are getting on fine and so is little George. He is 7 months old. Mother says he is like Grandfather. He is such a good little fellow but he is a bad sleeper. Father is in steady work just now, and mother and I are kept busy with the cows. I hope that Grandmother is quite better now.
Last Monday, the Queen's Birthday, it was very stormy and there were some games at the Port and 4 tailors and 3 seamen went in a small boat to go to the Port. They were warned not to go, for it was too rough but they ventured across and when they were about half-way across one of their oars broke and all the men made a plunge to catch the oar and they over-balanced the boat and they were all in the water. The tailors were all drowned but the seamen were saved.
They are bringing out shiploads of immigrants every week and of the worst characters they can find in the old country. They are of no use. They were taken out to service and returned in a week or a fortnight for they can't work nor they won't work.
Now I shall send you a piece of the twins hair and the light hair is John's and the dark is Jessie's hair. And Mary is half an inch taller than mother. And I hope you are getting on with your clerking and your must send me word how much wages you are getting now. You must send me your likeness and let me see whether you are fit for a wife or not but you better stay with your mother. That is what I am going to do. Mother says you have to send her word where Aunt Mary is for she does not know. And I hope that Uncle George Widow and family are all well. Uncle Charley promised to write but he never did it yet and I hope they are all well. I hope that Aunt Katie and her husband and family are all well. We have not had any word from them this last eight years. I must bid you all good-night for it is getting late. I remain your affectionate Grand-daughter, Agnes Muir.
Dunedin, July 5th, 1874. Dear Grandfather and Grandmother: I sit down to write you a few lines to let you know that we are all well. Hoping this will find you all the same.
Father's birthday will be on the 18th of this month so we are going to give him an album for a birthday present so I would like if you would get your portraits taken and send them out the first mail for to put in it.
We are into the town to live again. We have a dairy of seven cows and we take the milk out. Agnes and Elizabeth take it out in the morning and then Elizabeth goes to school. She is in the fifth royal reader. William and Catherine are also at the school. William is in the fourth book and Catherine is in the first royal reader and they are getting on fine. John and Jessie are growing fine. They will be three years old on the 14th of this month but they are not like twins for Johnny is far bigger than Jessie and little George is eight months old and mother says that he is as like Grandfather as he can be.
I am learning the millinery and shop waiting. I have to serve twelve months before I get any wages. I have been there three months now and I like it fine. I hope William is getting on with his clarking. He must send me word what wages he is getting. I hope that Grandmother is well again. Uncle John and Aunt Elizabeth and their families are all well. I hope that Aunt Mary and all her family are quite well. And Uncle Charles and his wife and little daughter. He was to write but he has never done it yet. And Aunt Catherine has never wrote to us this long time. Father wrote a letter and I wrote one but we never got any answer to either of them, so we don't know their address.
Things are very dear just now. Milk is 5d per quart, eggs are 2/6 the dozen, butter is 1/9 per lb. And good milk cows are very scarce just now and they run from £9 to £15. They are bringing an awful lot of people out here now; far more than there are houses for. And there are a lot of very bad people, some of them were put in prison a few days after they landed. They are bringing them out to starve for they can't give them work when they do bring them here. Wages are very good here just now. The Carpenters are getting 13/- per day; Stone Masons fifteen shillings, and Labourers ten shillings, and Bakers the first hand is getting £3.5 per week; second hands £2.15 and third hands £2.
No more at present. I remain your affectionate grand-daughter, Mary Muir. P.S. This colour [the colour of the writing paper was pink] is for Grandmother. I would like to come home and see you all. Give our love to all our friends at home.
Undated note, circa 1874, from Mary Muir to her Uncle William. Dear Uncle: This is a few lines to yourself. Write and tell me how you are getting on with your clarking and whether you have to serve any time before you get any wages because if you have to you had better not talk of getting married yet but stay at home a while with your mother. Be sure and write and send your portrait as you promised and I will get mine taken and send it. I must stop as it is getting late. I remain, your affectionate niece, Mary Muir. I think it is funny to call you uncle when you are three months younger than myself.
Tuesday, June 8th, 1880 Dear Uncle: I sit down to write you a few lines to let you know that we are all well. Hoping this will find you all enjoying the same great blessing. It is a long time since I wrote to you. I have got my likeness taken now. I send you one of mine and one of my sweetheart's. You must remember to send yours as you promised me you would. Tell me which of my likeness you like best. I sent Grandmother a different kind. Lizzie has got hers taken. She is going to send you one.
We got Grandmother's coverings. We were very pleased with them and my nice little wine glass I like very much. Lizzie and I are always in the same place. I have been 18 months here last Sunday. Lizzie has been 13 months. We get on fine together.
Aunt Mitchell and family are all well. They are always at Palmerston living but they are in another farm. They take milk in to the township every morning. Aunt Lizzie, husband and family are all well. Her eldest son is growing a big fellow. He is getting £1.10 per week. He is 11 years old. Work is very slack here. This will be a very severe winter for some people. Father is always in work. We got news of his father's death about a month ago. He was very old and weak and one of my cousin's husbands at the same time. Mother has not been very strong lately but she is getting better. The rest of the family are well. Mary and husband and her baby, your namesake, are all well. He is a fine child. He is nine months old. They are living up Pine Hill. They have a dairy and bring the milk into town every morning.
That was a terrible murder that was committed. Mary's husband's sister and husband and child were found murdered in bed on a Sunday morning and the house had been put on fire to hide the crime. But it was discovered before it was burned. It was just part of the bed that was burned and the floor underneath. The little baby had been smothered with the smoke. It was a nice little girl. The murderer has never been found out. One man was tried but he got off. I think he is the man. He has to be tried again. There are more evidence against him. He is a bad character. We think that he must of mistaken them for some one else. It was a great shock to us all. They were a nice young couple. They were married the night my cousin Emily Runciman died.
My mistress sister, Mrs. D. Brown, went home to Scotland for a trip with their only child for her health. We got word today that the little child died four days after they landed. She never seen her Grandmother after going all that way. Her father is here tonight. He is in great grief for his child. He is going to go home to his wife to comfort her in her sorrow.
I must stop now. It is eleven o'clock. No more news at present. I remain, your affectionate niece for ever. Agnes Muir.
George Street, Dunedin, October 8th, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell. Dear Father and Mother: We write once again to let you know that we are all in good health, thank God. We hope that you are all in good health and happy.
I met with an accident since we wrote you last. Going to my work one Saturday morning, I was walking very quickly. The morning being very dark, a black horse was on the footpath. I did not see him. I went forceably against him which stunned me greatly. Thinking it was a man, I threw my arms forward in order to catch him. He threw me on to the street, I falling on my back could not rise nor call out for about five minutes when I managed to get home, not being above 50 yards off our own house. I am all right now except a pain in my side. Do not feel it much during the day but it is painful when I get up in the morning. I was just three days off work, so I may be thankful it was no worse. I was so close on the horse he could not hurt me much.
We have nothing new to write about. Still the Colony is in a very depressed state, hundreds are unemployed.
Sister Elizabeth and her husband and family are all well. John and Family are all well. Our second daughter, Agnes, is engaged to be married on her 22nd birthday, 19th of January 1881. He is a fine young man. A good tempeler and a compositor in the Otago daily times office. We understand that she sent you his portrait.
Janet says that I am to tell you that she is getting grey hairs but as spritely as ever she was. We received your coverings all right and were so proud to see them that I cannot describe the feelings expressed as they were unfolded. Your affectionate son and daughter, Hugh and Janet Muir.
Otago, New Zealand. May 27th, 1883 Dear Grandfather and Grandmother: I now sit down to let you know that we received your kind and loving letter and we are glad to hear you are all well at present and we are all well at present. Father is working down at Port Chalmers about nine miles from hime. He comes home every Saturday night and goes down with the on Sunday afternoon, and William is learning the pastry cook and confectionary and is getting on fine.
This is the first time I have written a letter to you and I hope you will write soon and I will be ready to answer any letter which comes from you. I am going to join the Soldiers. You wanted to know how many of a family. Mother had eleven, 8 alive and three dead. Mary has 2 of a family, boys. William is going on for four years and Roland two years. Mary's father-in-law died on April the eleventh. Agnes has 2 girls. Jessie is called after my mother. Maggie and Agnes is keeping very well. Lizzie is with Professor McGregor and has been there 4 years. Agnes has been 2 years at the same place and was married from there. Katie is learning the dressmaking. John, George and Nina are at school and all learning well.
Mother wants to know if you ever seen John White who left New Zealand for Scotland. Willim has been out rabbit hunting on the 24th of May and we had fine sport. Mother said Uncle William is very unkind. We have never got a letter from him since he were married. Mother said she would like to hear from her sister, Katie. God bless you all at home. I have got no more news to tell you at present. Write soon and tell us how you are getting on. Your affectionate grandson, William Muir. I would like very much to see you come our here.
May 1883. Grandma: I wish you would take it into your head to come out here. I would like to see you and Grandpa so much. Tell Auntie Katie, my name sake, I would like her to write to me. I was always telling Mother and Father that I was going to be married when I was 16 years old like Auntie Katie but I've never got a chap yet. I will tell you more in my next letter, Granma. Good bye to all. I remain your loving Gran Daughter, Katie Muir. Granmother, you wished to know the family names.
Mary Muir - 26 past in April
Agnes Muir - 24 past in January
Lizzie Muir - 22 past in February
William Muir - 18 past in May
Katie Muir - 16 30th this month
John Muir - 11 on 15th August
George Muir - 9 past in November
Nina Muir - 6 past in JanuaryDead: Janet Muir - 20 in May
Hughie Muir - 14 in August
Jessie Muir - 11 on 15th AugustNew Street, January 10, 1886. Dear Grandmother and Grandfather: I received your letter with great pleasure and was glad to hear that you were both well as this leaves us at present. Hoping this will find you the same and wishing you all a happy New Year. Mother, I and family are all well at present. Mother goes out nursing now but she is not very able for it some times. William is grown like Uncle John Mitchell. He is more like him that his own sons are. Uncle John has taken a place in the North East Valley again so we are not far of him now. I saw him today. We went down but he was not in but we met him going home. He has only George down with him just now. They start the milk cart tomorrow morning. The others are still at Palmerston till after harvest.
I saw Richard the last night of the old year. He came to see me. He is a traveller so we don't see him often but he is well and strong and his brother Geroge is down for a fortnight holiday. He is grown a big boy. He says his step-mother is good to them but it is not like his own mother. He has a stepbrother two weeks younger than my wee Mary. She was a year old on the 4th of this month and Mary's little girl was 2 years on the 6th and another Nina was 9 on the 6th, so we all went to Mary place and had a picnic on the grass for their birthdays. My children and Mary children are very fond of getting together for some fun. My wee Mary started to walk the day before Christmas. I had mother, family and Mary all to dinner on Christmas. Lizzie is in a nice place. She gets £40 a year. She helps mother. Kattie is not very strong . She had to be taken away from the sewing, it did not do with her. She is growing tall. But the two boys and Nina are well. Mary, husband and family are well. We are having very dry weather here. It is spoiling the crops for want of rain and things are dull just now but we must hope for better times soon. I have no more news at present. I remain your affectionate Grand-daughter, Agnes Phinn. Address: Mr. John Phinn, Compositor, New Street off Great King Street, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
New Street, Dunedin, September 20, 1887 Dear Grandmother: I received your welcome letter today and were glad to hear that you were getting better. We are all well now, thank God. Maggie is getting strong again. My father in law has been ill but he is getting better now. Mother is away up country about 80 miles up, nursing a lady. We had a letter yesterday from her. She has been ill since she went up there but she is getting better. She says the people are very kind to her and she likes the place. I think the change will do her good.
The others are all well. John is sending you the likeness of mother family by this mail, so you must tell me what you think of them. Mary was in seeing me today. I was showing her the letter. She says she will write to you and send her family likeness. I am going to get my family likeness taken next week if all well so then you will be able to see us all. You must tell Uncle Willie to send me his wife and children's likeness. I would like to see them.
Cousin Mary Mitchell was in today. She was telling me she had a letter too from you. Sister Mary and her husband and her two girls were up at Palmerston seeing Aunt Mitchell and stayed from Saturday till Monday. They had a nice trip. Elizabeth and my husband, myself and family all took a walk down the valley and called in to cousin Runciman's to see them. They are all well. Lena is growing very like her mother and they are very good boys. George is in a grocer's shop and doing well, and James is in a coffee store in town. Alexander and Lena are at school. Uncle Runciman was asking me when I had heard from you and how you were getting on. I have not seen Richard Charles since he was married. He was very ill for two or three weeks after he was married but he is all right now and at work. I will go and call on his wife, one of these fine days and see how they are getting on, but he is so seldom at home. He is a traveller for a large drapery house. He has good wages. He has £3 per week and his travelling expenses paid so that is good.
Dear Grandmother, my Janet is growing a big girl. She will be going to school soon. Mother says she is the best of the lot. I tell her that is because she is called after her that she says that. (Letter from Agnes Phinn. The end is missing.)
Pine Hill, Dunedin October 4th, 1887 Dear Grandmother: I take the pen to write you these few lines to let you know that I have not forgotten you although you will be thinking that I had. I have been waiting to get our likeness to send to you. I am sending one with this and I hope you will get it all right. I will have to tell you their names. The one standing at the back is called William after my brother William. He is eight years old and the one sitting between his father and me is called Roland and the girl with her father is Isobel and the baby is called Daisy. You will have gotten Mother's and all her family. By this you will know odds on Mother since you saw her. She has failed since Father's death. It was a sore blow to her and us all for he was a kind father to us. You will know that she goes out sick nursing since Father died but sometimes she is not very able for it as she is troubled with asthma and often takes very bad turns of it. She is away just now nursing a lady at a place called Kahannui eighty miles from home.
Katie keeps house when she is away and takes in Dressmaking. There is two, George and Nina, still at school, and John is learning to be a hairdresser and Willie is a foreman baker now and getting on fine. He is a nice steady lad and a good son to Mother, and Lizzie is a cook in a gentleman's house about a mile from Mother. I live 2 miles out of town. We have a dairy farm leased and keep twelve cows and three horses and send the milk into Dunedin every morning. Everything is very dull here at present and there are a great many men going about idle and the wages are very low but the provisions are cheaper, I think, than what they are in Scotland. The butcher meat is very cheap. We get the best mutton for 2d per lb and beef for 4d.
Dear Grandmother, Agnes was telling me that you were not very well but I hope you are better now. I was sorry to hear about Grandfather's death. It would be a sore trouble to you. Dear Grandmother, I would like to see you now. If I could get home in the train I would come but I am frightened of the water. Mother has often talked of going home but I don't think that we could let her go so far from us. I was up staying a few days last week at Uncle John's. He and Aunty and the family were all well. (Letter from Mary Aitchison. Last part is missing.)
George St. North, Dunedin, Otago November 11th, 1887 Dearest Grandmother: I write you this letter to ask if you received my letter as I never received an answer last mail. I hope nothing is wrong at home. We are all well at present. Mother has come home and she thinks the change has done her good as she feels much the better for it. Mary and Agnes' children are all keeping well at present.
I have served one year of my apprentice ship at Mr. Coverlid's and have got 2/6d a rise. Lizzie has come from service and is keeping house when mother goes away; and Katie goes out Dressmaking. Mary's two children are both at school now. I hope nothing has gone wrong at home with none of you. Don't forget to write when you receive this letter. If you know Uncle George's address or whereabouts he is staying, please let me know as I want to know him. I did not know I had an Uncle George until mother told me that I had. I hope all our friends and relations are keeping well at home. We had a great day here on the Prince of Wales' birthday. But I did not go and I stayed at home and scrubbed the floor for mother, because I had a holiday. At least I got away in the forenoon about 10 o'clock. It is getting on for nine and we must close the shop as that is the rules of the trade, from 8 till 9 and from 8 till on Saturday nights. I wrote this letter in the shop as I had not time when I get home at nights as it is late. Good night, all at home. I remain Yours truly, your grandson, John Mitchell Muir.
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