Letters to Jacob and Mary Mitchell from John Mitchell and Janet Caldwell Smith
Kelvinhaugh August 11, 1863 Dear Father and Mother, I again take this opportunity of writing you a few lines to let you know that we are all in the enjoyment of good health at present, thanks be to god for his kindness to us. Hoping that this may find you all in the same and I am happy to tell you that Janet and little Elizabeth is getting on very well, so you can tell George that he can bring on his spree as soon as he likes now they are all ready for it. Tell him when you see him that he might write down a few lines and let us know how he is coming on. You can tell him that the rest is ready for him to send word when he want it. We was thinking that he would have been down by this time.
Give all the rest our kind love. We expected father down last Saturday night but he didn't come so I think that I have no more at present as we soon expect to see you. Give our kind love to Edward Tait. So I have no more at present but remain your affectionate son and daughter, John and Janet Mitchell.
Kelvinhaugh the 5th (could be March), 1864 Dear Father and Mother, I take the pleasure of writing you these few lines to let you know that we got home in time and well, and I have to inform you that we have got notice tonight that we are not to join the ship till Monday the 11th of April. I expect that they will have sent notice to Waterside. It is on Monday at ten o'clock with the steamer Nealson that we are going down to Greenock, and I was enquiring when I was on board yesterday how many there was going with her and there is 2 hundred going. Tell Catren the steamer leaves Glasgow at 11 o'clock on Thursday. Tell my brother Charles that I hope that he will forgive me for not bidding him good by that morning when we came away. I was not aware I had done so till I was away. Give our kind love to all and receive the same from your affectionate son and daughter, John and Janet Mitchell
Dunedin, November 17, 1864 Dear Father and Mother, I again take the opportunity of writing you a few lines to let you know that we are all well and in the enjoyment of good health thanks be to god for his goodness to us in this our new home. I would have wrote you last mail only I had little news to send you.
I may tell you that I left Green Island about 6 weeks ago. I got a job in the town at the making of a new wooden key for the ships to come into. Four of us took has a part of it taken by contract. It will be finished in about 3 weeks more. We have ninepence per cubick part for it. It is not very well paid. We have to work very hard at it to make wages. I think it will run about 6 to 7 shillings per day on an average but it is always a beginning for me. Ship Carpenter's wages here is 15 shillings per day but there is very little of that to be got here at the present time.
I believe that we are about 4 years too late of coming to this Colony. That was the time that you was bound to make money but we will live in hopes of seeing that time again. If a good gold rush would break out it will soon make times better. Still I am in hopes if we are all spared that we will make something of it yet. There is no use of sticking to any one job here but take anything that you can get.
I am looking after a place up the country about 50 miles from Dunedin. I got a letter to see what I would take to engage for a twelvemonth and I think I will go up in a few days and see about it . If I am spared till the next mail I will can tell you about it better and I have to give you a sketch of ..... about here. We have a wooden house as there is no other sort here with 2 ends. We pay for it 10 shillings per week. The 4 pound loaf is (1/2), potatoes 10 pound for a shilling, butter 2 shillings per pound, eggs 2/6 per dozen. Sugar, tea, coffee, soap is about the same as at home. Beef 1/3 per pound, mutton chops 1/- per pound.
And I have also to tell you that Hugh Muir is also into Dunedin last Monday week, working at his own trade and he likes it very well. And Janet and the family is coming in to town next week and they are all well. And I may tell you that Janet and little Elizabeth is both well. She is running about now and can speak some words. John Runciman, Elizabeth and little Richard is all well. And I wrote you since we came here and to George. I hope that you have got them. Tell George I will write to him next mail if I am spared. Give him, and his wife, and little Mary, and John, Charels, Jacob and William our kindest love and tell them to take care of themselves and keep from the Barley Brey the same as their Brother John has done since he came to the Colony and still intends to do. It is both bad and very dear. You pay 6 pence for anything you like to call for.
Dear father and mother, I hope that you are all liking your new place well. But the English mail is arrived today and we are expecting letters tomorrow as we have not got any letters the 2 last mails. I saw some people from Glasgow that arrived here a few days ago. I had a letter from John McGlashan and he says that he wrote me before but I never got it. So dear parents, I think that I have little more news worth sending you at this time. But believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter, John and Janet Mitchell. I wish that you would send me a newspaper now and again. Good night.
Dunedin, January the 17th, 1865 Dear Father and Mother, I again take the pleasure of writing you a few lines to let you know that we are all well and in the enjoyment of good health and strength. Thank God for his goodness to us all. Hoping dear parents this will find you all enjoying a part of that great blessing.
And I may tell you that the job I was working at is finished last week. I have been working by the day since, up till today the 17th. I have got a new sort of a job today. I have joined a steamer that runs between Dunedin and Wellington picton ameriou and ameriou and some other places along the New Zealand coast so will be in Dunedin every second Friday. If all goes well with us, I am to join her tomorrow the 18th at 11 o'clock and my wages is to be 10 pounds a month but if I am spared till the next mail I will be able to tell you how I am getting on and I may tell you that this place is not in a very flourishing state here. At the present time a good job is very hard to get but thank god I have been very lucky for work since I came here.
And I am happy to tell you that Hugh is still working in the same place and likely to be so and they are all well and quite happy. John and Elizabeth was in last Saturday and they are in good health. They had 2 of their cows died about a fortnight ago.
And you will perhaps be thinking us careless for not writing you oftener but the truth is I had no great news to send you and another thing we have never got a letter from you since we came here but one, and one from Janet's mother, and one from John McGlashan. Only 3 altogether, in 6 months. But the mail is due here tomorrow and we are in hopes of getting a whole bundle of them together. I hope that you will all write us as often as you can to us and let us know how you are all getting on, and I wish that you would send me a newspaper as often as you can.
And I may also tell you that Janet and my little daughter Elizabeth is thriving very well and she is running about and can speak very well, and we all send our kindest love to the whole of you. Tell my brother George to be sure and write me a letter and let me know how he is getting on now. I wrote him a letter which I hope that he got from you, and give John, Charels, Jacob and William (I will not call him little William any more as I expect he will be growing pretty well by this time) our warmest love and tell them to be good lads and we wish you all a happy new year. I may tell you that we had New Zealand lamb for our dinner on New Years Day which seemed very strange to us all, and I will send you a newspaper along with this letter. Give our kind love to all inquiring friends. So dear parents I will draw to a close now. Dear mother, I will send you the price of a new gown next time if I am spared and well, so I will conclude and believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter, John and Janet Mitchell.
The following letter was incorrectly dated April 16, 1864 as John and Janet Mitchell only arrived in New Zealand in the fall of 1864
Dunedin, April 16, 1865 Dear Father and Mother, I take the pleasure of again writing you a few lines to let you know that we received your letter last mail and was happy to hear that you was all well and in the enjoyment of good health and happiness, as thanks be to god this leaves all here enjoying part of that same great blessing.
And we were happy to see that you had made such a good change in the changing of your master as you have done and that he has been kind enough to give you a cow. I think that mother will be satisfied with herself now when she has got what she so long talked about having and I am happy to inform you that I am still in employment as yet. There has been a new gold field broke out here lately called the Hasokilicker. It has caused a great deal of alterations here this last few weeks but is not what was expected to turn out still I believe there is a good number getting a good share of gold at them. I was thinking of giving them a trial myself but I will let the winter past first as there is a great number coming back at present owing to the weather and there being no roads through the bush yet.
And I may tell you that as I was walking along the street I met with John Lees that lived in New Cumnock and I knew him as he was passing and named him but he could not make out who I was till I told him. He is very little altered only he is very fat and a most powerful looking man as I have seen here. He is working on the roads up country. He said that I was to give you all his compliments and tell you that he was well and still a stiff teetotlar.
And I may tell you that little Elizabeth was very ill for a while but thank god she is better again. Her mother is quite well and Hugh Muir has left the place that he was working in and has got a better place this time. They are all quite well and John and Elizabeth is quite well and if any of you is down at Glasgow, I hope that you will call down and see Janet's mother and send always word when you write how she is coming on. I expect that James Smith will be home by this time if god spared him to get across but he was very bad when he left Melbourne.
Give John Thorat and Charels and Jacob and William and all enquiring friends our kindest and warmest respects. I hope that the boys is still with you and all doing well and are still temperate. I expect by the time that you get this letter that you will have summer weather. The winter is commencing to be very cold here now. You will be thinking me very careless for not writing you oftener but to tell you the truth we have no news worth sending you yet from this new world but I am living in hopes of having some good news by and by. There is one thing I never had so good health all my life as I have had since I came to New Zealand and it is worth more than we can describe. So I think that I will have to draw to a close for another time. Hoping this will find you all well. I had nearly forgot to tell you that they are pushing us up here at present for our passage money and believe me to remain your affectionate son and daughter, John and Janet Mitchell.
Dunedin, July 17th, 1865 Dear Father and Mother, I again embrance another opportunity of writing you a few lines to let you know that we are all well and in the enjoyment of good health and strength, thanks be to god for his goodness to us all. Hoping dear parents that this may find you all enjoying a part of that same great blessing.
Dear father, we have a requst to ask of you and that is if you would be good enough to go to the length of Glasgow and see Mrs. Smith, Janet's mother and see how she is getting on and learn as far as you can what circumstances she is in at the present time as we have no doubt but that you will have heard before this time about the death of her last and only son that was left to her; likewise, her main support being taken away from her and send us word by the next mail and we will feel greatly obliged to you if you will as Janet is very anxious about her and we have got no word how she is placed.
And I am happy to tell you that we received our little brother Jacob's letter and was glad to see that you was all well and in good health. Tell him that I am very proud of it and I will write him if I am spared. Tell Charels and John that I am sorry that they will not grant my request in writing a letter to me themselves and we were sorry to hear about the death of Brother George's son and my only namesake. But we must submit ourselves and say god's will be done in all things. This last mail has brought us the sorrowful news of the loss of 2 of our near relations but such is life and its ways, we have to bear it all.
And I am happy to inform you that Janet and little Elizabeth is both quite well. Janet is very ill about the sad loss of her brother James. Give our kind love to Charels, John, Jacob and William and tell them all to be good boys.
Hugh and Janet and all their family is quite well and their little son is thriving very well. John and Elizabeth and their little son is all quite well. John will write you next mail if he is spared. I am to tell you that he has bought 2 fine milk cows. He paid £20 for the one and £14 for the other. I am out at his place this last few weeks helping him to plow his land as there is not much doing at my own work here at present.
Give George and his wife and little Mary our kind love and tell him that I will write him next mail if we are spared. Likewise John McGlashan and his mother. Tell him that I received his letter. I forgot to tell you that Hugh and Janet has opened a shop a few weeks ago and is doing very well as far as it has went. So dear parents I think that we have little more news to send you at present and will draw to a close but believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter, John and Janet Mitchell.
This is about James Smith.
Kind friends I hope you will drop a tear
For him whom we all loved so dear
For him again we ne'er shall see
For his body lies in the deep deep sea.
John MitchellDunedin, December 17th, 1865 My dear father and mother, we now embrace this opportunity of writing you. Hoping, dear parents, this will find you all in the enjoyment of good health and happiness, as I am happy to state this leaves us all well. Thanks be to god, this leaves us all in good health and happiness,.
And I am happy to inform you that Janet was safely delivered of a fine little son on the 5th of November and I am happy to tell you that they are both as well as can be expected. The little one is growing very well and little Elizabeth is doing well. I would have wrote you last mail but I was not at home at the time that the mail went away. I was down at Port Chalmers. I am down there at the present time. I travel up on the Saturday night. It is about ten miles by the road and I may tell you that we received no letters last mail from any one but we received the mail before and was happy to hear that you are all well, as I am happy to say that all of us that is here is quite well.
John and Elizabeth was in here on Saturday and they are all quite well. Hugh and Janet and family is all quite well. Dear mother, I think if you was to see your 3 little grandsons all together you would be very proud of them. They are all going to be very stout. I think that children is more stronger in general than what they are at home. Dear parents, you will be thinking that I am very long in sending you the small present that I promised to send you but I must tell you that I have been purchasing a little. I bought a young cow and a calf last week. I gave £12 for them and they are out at John's. He is keeping them for the milk of the cow.
And I am also taking a share in what they call a quarts reefing company that is crushing the gold out of the rocks with machinery. They are just getting the company formed. The shares is £5 each share but it will be a chance whether I can get one or not as there is the double wanting shares that is required and the shares will have to be drawn by a lotra to give all a chance. We only require as much as will get the machinery from Melbourne and set the work agoing but if I am spared till next mail I will be able to tell you better. It wants a little money here to make money and then good luck. All I am intending to get working at the claim as soon as it starts if I draw a share.
Give our kind love to all our brothers and sisters. Tell George that he must excuse me for not writing to him oftener as I should do but the reason is that I am not long at home at a time. This is the country for a man to ... about. You must go where you can get employment. Give John, Charels, Jacob and William, George, wife and daughter, our kindest love and tell them all to write to me as often as they can. Dear parents, if you are spared to get this you will have seen the beginning of another new year which is drawing very nigh at hand and we wish is may be as happy to you as .....
Dunedin, September 17th, 1866 (hand-written by Janet) My dear father and mother, I now embrace this opportunity of writing you and I am glad to state this leaves us all in the enjoyment of good health. Hoping dear parents this will find you all enjoying same blessing. And I am glad to state that Mrs. Runciman got a fine son last week and they are both doing well. Mrs. Muir was out and seen it. She says it is a fine baby.
We was very sorry to hear of the death of little John. Tell Mary not to grieve after him. He is gone to a better place before his little breast was grieved with the cares of a wicked world. Dear mother, you mentioned in your last letter that you thought we had forgot you but it is not so. I would have wrote you sooner but my poor brother leaving in so bad health and then getting word of his death on the voyage going home, my mind has never been so settled as to write to no-one. If you know the thoughts I have about my dear mother you would not blame me. And we would have sent you a small present before this time but they are pushing for the passage money and we have paid some of it and hope to be clear of it soon, and then we hope be able to mind you and mother more fully.
There is a great stir here owing to great numbers going away to the gold fields every week or two. The boats is crowded with diggers and nothing is so common here as men with their tents and blankets swung on their back taking the road for the diggings. Some I hear are making fourtings (sic). Others losing all they possess in the world and with ought the means to leave them. John would like to go but I think if he can get work that he is better here for the loss of life at the diggings this last winter has been fearful.
Now, dear mother, you must remember us in kindness to all our brothers and sisters and to little William. Tell him I would like to see him now. Little Elizabeth is growing fine and sends a kiss to her grandfather and grandmother. She says they are away way at the big water. Now dear parents, I think I must draw to a close. Hoping you will excuse bad write, and believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter, John and J. Mitchell.
Green Island, July 2nd, 1868
My dear father and mother, I again take my pen in hand to write you a few lines to let you know that we are all well and in the enjoyment of good health at present, thanks be to the giver of all good in his goodness to us. Hoping my dear parents that these few lines may find you all enjoying a part of that great blessing.
Our little son James is not very well for the last few weeks but we think that it is his (teeth). He was about the stoutest child that was in this place.
Dear father, mother was saying in her last letter that you would not write unto me until you got a letter from me. I confess that I have not done my duty to you as parents in writing so seldom as I have done but I hope that you will forgive me for the past and I will try and write oftener for the future and make up for it as well as I can. The reason that I did not write to you oftener was this. That I am not in a position to do to you as I would like to have done in sending you something long before this time but if god spares us till we are able we will yet fulfill our promises with the greatest of pleasure in doing so. thank god we have the comfort of thinking that you are not depending upon anything having to come from us for if we thought otherwise it would come and that very soon but as you understand by the last letter that I sent, the position that we are in in commencing a new place for our selves that we had enough to do to try and better our position which every man is anxious to do and which I am happy to tell you that I think there is no fears of us doing here in a short time if we keep our health and our cattle lucks with us as they are looking very well in the meantime. We have 12 in the meantime, 10 of which I may call my own. I bought 2 cows from John at £15 which I got a year to pay as we had grass for more than I had of my own and the other 2 that I have belongs to a young man that belongs to ..... that I am grassing for him but he has given the chance of buying them from him at his own money by giving him a small percentage on his money and I intend to buy them if I can, and the price of the 2 is £24.10 shillings. They are very nice young heffers both to calf in the month of April and if I manage to get them and they all do well I will have 6 in milk for winter and I will not need to buy any more cattle and the increase of the 12 will soon do us some good. I also bought a horse about a fortnight ago. He cost me £15. I had John's horses (bred) from him but as her big mare has foaled he needs all the rest for the harvest but I think this one will do me till I am able to get a pair of good ones. He is 9 year old and we have got 2 pigs. We killed our big sow last week and it weighed 294 pounds in weight. We sold part of her. I bought her about a week from the .... for £7.10/-. She had 10 fine pigs. Janet has learned to be a capital milker and butter maker. She says that she wouldn't go back to live in a town on no account.
Give our kindest love to George and his wife and family. Tell him to be sure and write soon and send his address. And to Charels, John, Jacob and William. Tell that all that I would like very well to get a letter from them all. Now dear parents, I think that I have little more news worth sending you at present but believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter till death. John and Janet Mitchell
Kelvin Grove, North East Valley, November 18th, 1872
My dear father and mother, I again lift my pen to answer your kind and welcome letter which we received last mail and we were happy to hear that you were all well and in the enjoyment of good health, so thanks be to god for his goodness. I am happy to inform you this leaves us all here in the same. Hoping that if you are spared to receive these few lines that you will still be all well and I would have wrote you in answer to your letter sooner but we just received your letter the night the mail left here for home so I hope since we have commenced to write again that if spared we will not forget to write often to each other. I will try and not neglect writing to you often if spared and always send you what news I can about what is going on in New Zealand. I can assure you that I am happy that father has got another good situation and I hope that you will all have good health to enjoy it with him, for health is better than all the world's wealth that man can have. You was saying in your letter that mother was troubled with a sore leg but I hope that it is well again by this time.
Dear brother, you were giving us a list of the home markets and I can assure you that there is a great difference in the prices with you and us here in New Zealand. I may tell you that the price here for farm produce is very small at the prsent time. I have killed a very fine pig this afternoon about 300 pounds (weight)* for £3:10/- which will not run 3 pence per pound, small ones about 120 lb you can get 4 1/2 per pound. Butter is 7 pence per pound, eggs 1 shilling per dozen, cheese about 4 pence per pound. That is about the wholesale price. I may tell you that I was at a sale this week and there was a pair of good mares sold for £23: and £13. There was two first class dairy cows sold from £2:15 shillings to £4: 5 (shillings) the highest, and in first class condition. There was one of them the pure Ayrshire out of imported stock which I believe by the home news would have brought from £25 to £30. So you see that it does not pay to rear catttle here very well at present. We have had 18 cows calved since we came here and has not reared one of them for we can buy cows cheaper than rear them. I bought another mare about 4 months ago for plowing for £10 and I have 3 horses now but I am going to sell 2 of them and buy a good mare for breeding with if I can manage it.
The crops if looking very well this year all over the country as it has been a very good season so far. We have a splendid show of fruit in our orchard of all sorts but the plums we had a very severe night frost which I think nipped them. I only wish you and us was that near that you could see our place as it is now but we must content ourselves for the present and live in hopes.
Dear parents, I may say if spared to see another mail leave here that we will have all our family circle's likeness taken and send you so that you will have some idea of what we are all like in New Zealand and I hope you will not forget to send yours in return. You may tell my brother Charels not to forget he has a brother here and write me a few lines. Give our kind love to Mary and her little family. I hope she is well. We will not forget her if spared. Give our love to all enquiring friends and accept the same yourselves from your affectionate son and daughter. Dear father and mother, please to write me a letter yourselves and I will not forget to answer it in return.
Dear Brother William, I am very proud of your writing to me and you have let me see that you can do it well and I hope that you will not forget to do it as often as you can. I have a request to ask of you. If you would be kind enough to go to Janet's mother and see if she has any word to send and if you would be kind enough to write a letter for her in answer to our last 2 letters and send us all the particulars.
Now dear friends, will draw to a close for this time by bidding you all goodbye for the .... Your affectionate brother and sister, John and Janet Mitchell, Kelvin Grove, N East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Kelvingrove, North East Valley, March 12, 1873 My dear father and mother, I again take up my pen to write you a few lines to let you know that we are all well and in the enjoyment of good health as this leaves us at present, thanks be to god for his kindness to us all. Hoping dear parents if these few lines reach you that they may find you all enjoying a portion of the same blessing which is above all other worldly blessings in this world to the human race.
I am happy to inform you that we have got another addition to our family of another fine little son the 6 of this month and thank god both mother and son is both doing very well so far as can be expected for the time.
And I am happy that I am able to partially fulfill a long promise in getting our likeness taken to send you. We would have sent you all the family but our son Jacob has been away stopping with his aunt Elizabeth for some time and if he is spared to come back we will send you the others and the little sons. The little one you see in this likeness is Mary along with me and George with his mother. You may know a difference of me but I do not think that you will know much of Janet. She is keeping her time very well. These likenesses were taken only 10 days before our little son arrived among us. We send these 2 cards to you this mail and if you would be kind enough to give one of them to Janet's mother and we will try and have all the rest taken and send them all one of each sort.
The mail has arrived here today but no letters for us have arrived as yet and I was looking very anxious for letters from some of my friends this time. I hope if you are spared to get this that you will not forget to answer it by return of mail.
Dear mother, little Mary sends her 2 grandmothers one pound each to buy a new gown and if spared I hope soon to be able to send a little often. Please to give Janet's mother one of the likenesses and one pound. Tell her that we are looking for an answer to the last letter that was sent. Give our kind love to all the rest of our friends and tell them I would like a letter from them very well. I also send you 2 newspapers along with this letter. Please to send me a letter soon and give us all the news. I will write you a long letter next time if spared. Send me a paper sometimes to see how my native country is going ahead. We have had one of the finest harvests this season that we have had for a long time but the weather is broke now. It has rained steady this last 30 hours and is raining now. It is about 4 o'clock in the morning now. I am just going away to get the cows milked to get to town with the milk cart. It is not very pleasant in bad weather but go we must. We are milking ten cows at present. I am going away today to buy 3 more for the winter as mine has been milking all summer. They are getting dearer than they were. There are about £2 a head dearer than they were.
Now I will draw to a close for this time and believe me to remain your affectionate son and daughter. John and Janet Mitchell. Father you must draw the money and sign your name for it.
North East Valley, May 5th, 1873 Dear grandfather and grandmother, I try to begin and write you a few lines though I cannot write very well yet and I am at school and my brother James is at school with me and I hope I will be able to write you a letter better soon. And I am in the fifth book and I am in writing and reading. And I am getting on very well, and James is getting on very well for the time he has been at school. And I go with my father every morning to help him to supply his customers. Elizabeth Mitchell, 1873.
Kelvin Grove, North East Valley, May 10th, 1874 Dear father and mother, I again lift my pen to write you a few lines in answer to your welcome letter which we received and was happy to hear that you were all in a fair state of health considering your time of life. We cannot expect to enjoy good health all our days. We were sorry to hear that mother was not so well as formerly but we hope by this time that she is keeping a little better.
Dear parents it is with feelings of sorrow that we have to inform you of the first break of our chain of worldly happpiness in the first loss of one of our family. With a sad heart I have to single out the name of our little son John who is now sleeping his last sleep in his little grave at the early age of one year old and I assure you he was as fine a little boy at his age as you would look upon. He was only 5 days from he took unwell till his death. His trouble was diarea and disentry and the trouble went into his little head which caused his death. I may tell you that it is very true when it is said man proposes but god disposes. We had the day set to get his little likeness with all the rest taken to send home to you but it was otherwise ordained. We had Friday arranged for getting them taken but he died the day before on Thursday.
I may also tell you that troubles does not come singly in general. Little George was the first that commenced the sad change. He was climbing up into the spring cart for to get the whip and fell on the step and broke his collar bone. The doctor had got him out of his hands when Jacob was nearly burned to death on Tuesday the 10 of month. He had comed out of his bed to the kitchen fire when his shirt caught fire. If it had not been that his mother was just newly comed into the house from letting the cows out when he gave the scream. His mother was not able to hold him and put it both. He was that strange with the flames about him, his side and one of his arms was very sorely burned but the nervous system had got a heavy shock for he was not sensible for about 10 hours the first night not even for a minute. That was on the 10 of month. Little John took unwell on the 15 and died on the 19 of the same month. We had about 12 days that we scarcely got any rest night or day but I am happy to inform you that Jacob is almost better now. He is going to school again tomorrow. But I assure you the loss of our little son is greatly felt in this house especially by his mother who thought there was never such a little boy. He had only commenced to run 4 days before he turned unwell but we must submit and say not our will but his be done. Thank god the rest of us is all in good health.
John Runciman and Elizabeth, Hugh and Janet were all very attentive to us in our troubles and stayed up with us several nights. If we are all spared and well you may rely on us sending all our likeness by the next mail.
Dear parents, we hope that you received the last letter and the small present which we sent you by this time. I am very happy that you are in the way of seeing Janet's mother occasionally. We have not got any word from her lately but I hope you would know where to find her when you got the last letter and send her small present to her. Janet is writing to her tonight to the care of you. If you would be kind enough to send the letter to where she is and send us word in your next letter her address.
I am very happy to inform you that as far as getting on in the world is concerned, we are beginning to do very well. Things is looking up greatly in Otago. Everything is the shape of going ahead in a new country is here at present. If it only stands, but some is doubtful whether it will last and go on steadily which I hope it will. There was much need for it. Everything is looking up in price now. Horses and cattle is getting very dear from what they were. Good horses is bringing as much as £80. Cows that could been this time last year for about £6 or £7 is bringing from £10 to £14. I went out about 3 weeks ago into the country to try and get some calving cows for to keep up the supply of milk in the winter and I bought 7 for £40 all near the calving and I could have sold them when I got them home for a very good profit. They are turning out very well those of them that is calved. I was at a sale last week where I seen some sold as high as £13:17/6d. I have 19 at present.
We will be able if all goes well to do very well here before our lease is out of this place. We have to keep a man now all the year round. We pay him one pound per week or £52 a year and found. I had 4 horses lately but I sold one of them, a little mare, yesterday for £17:10/- but I have her little foal. She was rather light for the milk cart in winter. I am running a young colt in it at present.
I am intending to have the thrashing mill this week. I expect to have as many oats as will do myself for feed and seed this winter and a good job for oats is up to 4/6d a bushel now and expected to raise yet. 40 lb to the bushel here.
Dear parents, I am happy to hear of my brother William that he is doing very well. I hope you will feel a comfort in his company at home. We are very proud of his letters when they come. Dear brother, I hope you will continue writing steadily to us. I will only be too glad to answer them and for brother Charels he seems to deny us the pleasure of a letter from him. I have requested a letter from him in all the letters you have got lately but without any avail. I hope that his mind is not so much taken up his young wife, his child, his business and his fast trotting poney that I heard of last Sunday that he cannot find time to write his old brother a few lines. Give him my kindest love. His wife Mary and her children, and all our friends our kindest love, and believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter till death. God bless you. goodnight. John and Janet Mitchell. Please send me Charles address.
Kelvin Grove, North East Valley, June 7th, 1874 (hand-written by Janet) Dear father and mother, I now take this opportunity of writing you a few lines in answer to your letter which we received in due time. We were sorry to hear that you had not been so well for some time. We sincerely hope that long before this reaches you, you will be well again. And dear mother, you mentioned in your letter that you thought we had forgotten you but I will answer for your son and me that that can never be the case. And I think there must be some mismanagement with the letters as we are not sure of the address. Be so kind as write your address in your next letter and we will write to you oftener.
John wrote to you last mail. I hope you received it. It was bearing the sorrowful news of the death of our little son, my dear little Jonney. He was taken ill with disentry and died in a few days. He was a promising little flower but God pleased to plant him in a better and happier place and we must submit and say blessed be his holy name and trust in him who doth all things well. But often it brings to my mind a song my mother used to sing. It was why did I dote on fast fading treasures, and writing about my mother, I am sorry she is gone away so far from you because they never write to let me know about her and I am very anxious about her.
And Hugh and Janet and family are all well and Mrs. Runciman was with me in town when I received your letter and I read it to her and she said they would write to you. They are all well.
Now dear mother I must conclude with my love to you all and believe me to remain your loving daughter, Janet Mitchell. If you do see my mother be sure and tell her to write as I am anxious about her. Give father my warmest love.
(last page of letter hand-written by John) Dear father and mother, we have gotten our likeness taken to send you according to the promise I made in my last letter. You will see by the names at the bottom of the card they are very well taken. I suppose you will know who it is that sits in the middle of the group. I think I need scarcely put my name to it. We were very proud of my mother's likeness with Billy sitting on her knee. But I would liked very well to have seen fathers along with it, but if you are spared to get these I hope you will be kind enough to get yours and mothers taken together and send them to us by the first mail. We will receive them thankfully. Give three of the likeness to Janet's mother for to give to her sisters one each. Be sure and give one to George's Mary and one to Cathrine. Tell Charels when he writes to me I will send him one in my reutrn letter. Be sure and write when you get this letter and let us know what you think of them and believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter. John and Janet Mitchell. Good night with you all. I have sent you an letter with the 3 likeness.
River Bank Farm, February 25th, 1881 My dear parents, I again lift my pen to write you a few lines to let you know that we received your kind and welcome letter last mail and was happy to see that you were still in the enjoyment of good health, as thanks be to god this leaves us all the same in New Zealand. Although I may tell you there has been some changes since I wrote you last. I told you in my last letter that we were going to sell our farm which I did shortly after I wrote to you. I sold it for fifteen hundred pounds. That was one hundred more than we gave for it and we kept the crops that was on the gound and thrashed them. We had about 300 bags of oats and wheat but the oats is very cheap in this country now. I sold them at one shilling and sixpence per bushel and they are now cheaper than that.
We fully intended to go back to Dunedin again but we did not succeed in getting a place to suit us. We thought we would not be so dull if we were back there after the loss of our beloved daughter. I assure you the loss of her has made a great change in our family circle here. Mother has never been very well since. For I assure you they were a loving mother and daughter as ever was on this earth. She was a great comfort to her mother at all times in health or sickness and more like a mother to the rest of the children than a sister. As for myself, I will say very little only I feel the want of her beyond what I can tell any one but thank god we have consolation that she lived and died very happy and told us she knew she was going to a better world as this was only a world of care and sorrow. The children also misses her very much but we must submit to the will of god in all things. But I may tell you that this world seems different to us altogether than what it used to be when she was with us and all going well. I assure you there was not a happier family in New Zealand but things is altered and we must now do the best we can.
Thank god the rest of our family is in good health and doing as well as they can. They are a great comfort to us in our troubles. They are 4 of them at school and the three little ones at home. At the last examination the four of them got 12 prizes amongst them. Mary and George got a special prize for the best behaved girl and boy in the school which we were very proud about. They are at the same school as they were at when we had the other farm and we are now living close to the school.
When we sold the other farm as I have said we intended to go to Dunedin but not finding anything to suit there this farm was for sale at the time and after due consideration we bought it. It is the same size as the other, 150 acres. We gave twelve hundred and twenty pounds for it. It is not so level as the other but it is much better house and a far heartsomer place to live in. It is close on the main road and the new railroad is not 3 hundred yards from our door. There is a flour mill, blacksmith's shop and in view of Palmerston township.
After we bought this place, I started a milk cart into Palmerston. It is about 4 miles and a very level road all the way. There was no milk cart till I started one. There is about 1000 of a population in it but there is a good many keeps a cow still. If spared and all well, I think we will get it to pay through time. We have 15 cows and 6 horses. We have 60 acres of ground made ready for wheat. We have only about 26 acres of crop this year. We finished our harvest only yesterday and the crop will thrash out very well but not much strain as the season was rather dry so you have got all the particulars of our position at the present time and if spared I will not be so long of writing again and let you know how we are getting on in New Zealand.
Tell my brother William I am very much obliged to him for sending his likeness and for his kindness in writing to us and we hope he will continue to do so. We hope he is as good as he looks for he really looks a fine young man at his age. I am to tell you that Janet and all the family sends their kind love to you all and hopes you will write them a long letter when you get this if all spared and will give all the rest of our brothers and sister our kind love, and dear father and mother I think I will draw to a close for this time and believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter. John and Janet mitchell.
Shag Valley, August 6th, 1884
My dear Father and Mother, I again take the pleasure of writing you to let you know that we received your kind and welcome letter last week and was happy to see that you were both in the enjoyment of good health and happiness at your time of life and I am also happy to inform you that we are all in the enjoyment of good health in New Zealand.
And I am also happy to inform you that we have got another addition to our family on the 17th of last month of another fine son and his mother and him is both doing as well as can be expected. This is the eleventh one so you see we are coming pretty well up on our own family but as my Father used to say there never was a mouth sent but there was something to fill it and thank god that has been the case with us as far as we have seen yet. You were saying in your letter that we were to send you all their names which I will in full in this letter.
Dear Parents, mother was saying in your letter that she would give something to see Janet again but whether that will ever happen or not we cannot say but I can tell you that if you were to see her I am sure you would say that you did not know very much difference in her yet considering the work and family that has been. Until the loss of Dear Elizabeth you would not have known her one year older and I am also happy to tell you that our son James thank god is again seemingly as well as ever he was. He was ill 6 months altogether but he is back at his trade again this last 6 weeks but he does not come home now only on Saturday night. His master would not allow him to ride after being warm in the shop all day. He stays with his master and they are very kind to him.
And I may tell you also that Jacob has made a start today with the plough in my place. We are ploughing with the double furrow plough with 4 horses in it. It is a great change from the old swing plough. We get over about 2 1/2 acres per day. We have about 90 acres in crop this year, about 40 in wheat and the rest in oats. We have all the wheat sown about the 10 of May last and this is the month for putting in the oats. We have about 20 acres to plough yet. We have 6 horses. You were saying in your letter that horses was fetching about £100 at home. I may tell you that would buy 4 very good horses here at the present time. I have one young filley rising 3 years old. If she was with you, I think you would be able to get 100 for her. About 30 is as much as she will bring here, but I am going to keep her for our own use. And cows is about £4 to £8 each. When we came here they were from £20 to £30 each. Things is very cheap in this country at present. Wheat is about 3 shillings per bushel, 60 lb oats about 2 shillings 40 lb mutton 4 pence lb, beef from 4 to 6 pence lb, butter is 10 pence, eggs 1 shilling. So you see things is cheaper here than in Scotland. Ploughmen's wages is still about one pound per week.
Dear Parents, you was saying in your letter that my Brother William has not been very well. We were very sorry to hear about him but I hope he will soon get better. When you see him tell him that Janet says if he will send his wife and child's likeness she will send hers and her 3 little ones the 3 youngest to him. We were also sorry to hear of the death of George's son, Jacob. We seen it in a home paper. He was a young man cut down in the bloom of his youth which shows us the uncertainty of life. Now, dear father and mother, I think I will draw to a close for this time. Hoping to hear from you soon again and believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter. John and Janet Mitchell.
Dear Father and Mother, I am giving you the names of all our family in full as they were christened.
Elizabeth Runciman Mitchell
James Robert
Jacob
Mary
George
John the little one that died
William Charels
David Caldwell
Violet Lees
Jessie Stewart called for her mother
Baby Allan McGlashan. He is called for cousin McGlashan at home. You might tell us if spared to write again if you have Brother Charel's address and if you hear from him much since he went away. He has never wrote to us yet, neither has Andrew nor Cateren, but I hope some day to hear from them all. John Mitchell. Goodnight. Past 11. Please be sure and send us when you write John McGlashan's proper address, also Charel's if you have got it.Last section of undated letter
... is not the case. I may tell you that I nearly lost them as the man you sent them with left the ship the day after she arrived, left them in the ship without any address. Had it not been for some of the passengers that knowed about them I never would have got them as the Custom house officer opened the case and seen what was in them. He seised them for duty but I seen the first mate of the ship and he sent them to the custom house in Dunedin and I got them there but they were open. When you write if you would send word if there was anything else in the box. He did not deliver them as he had promised to do or it would have been all right. He told me that he would get it when I saw him in town and was to come down to my place but I have never seen him since. Now dear parents, I will draw to a close for this time by bidding you good night. Hoping that you will not forget to answer this and believe us to remain your affectionate son and daughter. John and Janet Mitchell.
North East Valley Nov 5th 1886 Mother, My Dear and Beloved, It is with a sore heart I begin to answer your letter which I received with the last mail of the death of my good kind and loving father having gone to his last resting place the grave. I cannot explain to you the surprise and feeling I had when I opened your letter with the sad news and unexpected as I was not aware of his being unwell. I assure you I did not know what I was exactly reading at the moment but soon I felt the reality of having lost my father for ever to me in this world. Soon the tears of my sorrow began to flow and is at this moment when I am writing to you for I always had the hopes that I would soon be able to come home to see you both in your old age but men proposes while god disposes and may we both be able to say thy will be done as my hopes of seeing him now is for ever gone in this world but I trust we will meet in that world where there is no more parting and where the weary is at rest.
My dear mother, I know you will feel this world a weary wilderness without him you loved so dearly. Few lived so long and happy together as you did but I have every faith that you will both meet again when you will part no more. I do wish I was near you to speak and try to comfort you in your sorrow but it is otherwise ordered. Fate has a wide ocean between us at present but my heart and thoughts is ever with you.
Dear mother you will grieve but I know you will not murmur as you place your trust where it ought to be in your god whom you have always relied on in your time of trouble and you have had your share of it in this world but the loss of my dear father and your husband is I know your greatest trial but may god be with you to cheer and comfort you in your sorrow is the prayer of your son that is far from you, and may I yet ask your forgiveness for not writing oftener than I did but I trust I will not forget again that I have a parent to write to.
Dear mother, I was down here when I got your letter and my wife was up at the farm but I sent the letter up to her and she came down at once and I assure you Janet and the family got a great surprise. She only stopped two days as she left all the children at home. There is none here but George and me at present. Mary had to go home to help her mother. They are milking a good many cows and Janet had more work than she was able for. I never seen her so thin in my life as she is now. She has had a hard winter of it with a big family and cows besides. We are getting on down here with the milk cart as well as we could expect for the time we have been at it but we are trying to get a larger place here if we can and then I would let the farm and bring her and the family down here. It would be much better if we were all together but it is not easy to get a dairy farm here.
James is still at his trade and Jacob is managing the farm with his mother. All the rest is at school but the two youngest. You might get my brother William to write me a letter if you are spared to get this. We all send our kind love to you and all the rest of our friends.
Now dear mother I will stop for this time. Believe me to remain your affectionate son till death, John Mitchell.
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