Dear Brother and Sisters and all my friends,
I am very happy to hear of all your welfare. We are all
well at present but Magdalene she has followed Agnes and Mrs Hutcheson’s
example for she had a daughter upon the 9th of February. She is to be
Magdalen the second. Magdalen equally missed her female friends for Angus
Campbell’s wife has been very badly this some tiine and could not attend
but Mary, his sister, and myself had to officiate. We are almost like
brothers and sisters! they are 4 miles from us. The Dutch are very kind
sort of people but their manners is so different from ours that we carry
on no kind of friendship, altho we have visits fromsomeof them every day
and we are visiting them often yet there is a something just we do not
like. I would have wrote sooner but I wanted to announce the birth of a
new friend. In your letter you put a few questions to me, for my land I
have to pay 32 shillings the first payment and 48 shillings the second, 64
the third and 16 shillings every year, that is Paisley money. The 13th
year I will have 40 dollars to pay. It comes to 16/- per acre. I have
wrought 1600 yards since September and I have got about 16 dollars in cash
but I get flour and in fact anything I want. Clothing is very dear here,
moleskins is about 3/6d sterling a yard, stockings 4/- per pair, in fact
everything is about the double in the clothing by what it is in Paisley.
Shoes is the only thing that is about the same price. Quarter boots is 9/-
and long boots is 16/-. I bought a side of ripe leather and half a side of
sole leather for 5 dollars and got boots for us all. The shoemaker made
for 6/- a pair, that is 2/6 in Paisley. The flour at present is 3 dollars
per barrel of 200 pounds, oatmeal is 2.5 dollars per barrel of 200 pounds,
pork is 4 dollars and a quarter per bushel of 200 pounds, potatoes is one
shilling per bushel, apples is 1/6 per bushel, butter 12 pound for a
dollar, cheese 12 pound for a dollar, so you see that living is cheap. You
ask me to give an account of one day at work. When I gave you that you
have every day for there is no change. When we rise in the morning we
commence work our conversation commonly turns upon scenes that is past in
old Scotland and about our friends, in fact there is none of you forget.
My father and Robin is in my mind both night and day, and in fact our
friends in our companions in thought. There is no sense of pleasure but
has been talked over a hundred times. We expect to leave this place in
about 5 weeks. It is going to be a hard pull for us for a few years for
money is not easily got and we will have to buy all our provisions for one
year but with the assistance of God I hope we will be enabled to weather
the point and we are all in good spirits if perseverance and industry can
do it we will push through. Our place is about 5 miles from the Godrick
road but in a few years we will be on the main road from London to Godrich
as there is a nice road to pass my lot. It is well inhabited and they are
all Scotch. My three nighest neighbours is within two minutes walk. They
came over in the Bukenham in the year '20. The river is just like grifs at
Blackston they cross it in canoes. You want to know if I know anything of
Martha Parkhill. I do not nor any of rhe Society but McConnel he came to
Hamilton last fall. I should like to know where James Pollock is if he
came to Canada. Give my kind compliments to my Mother and all the rest of
our friends. We are all well. Magdalene's just as well as can be expected
in the time. She has not got our of bed yet it is so very cold. The snow
in the woods is about 3 feet deep. It is not very cold in the day but in
the night it is most shocking. There is a kind of dryness in the air that
makes it very cold but neither cold in winter nor the heat in summer is
any great change for a Scotch man. I should like if you would send me a
newspaper as often as you can. When you write to me direct to - Lot No. 20
8 Concession, Township of Downie, Stratford Post Office. John has been at
home this 3 months. We have been working night and day. Little John is
with a Dutchman. James is also with a Dutchman. He would like keep him for
he is a good worker but I dont like to leave him. He would give him 36
dollars a year. Margaret is a stout little girl. She milks the cow and
feeds cow, calf, sheep and pigs, and Ann minds the poultry. She is just as
happy as she can be. William and her is just like cipeled sheep. Give our
compliments to Uncle George and Margaret Greer, Uncle Robert and all our
friends and to Thomas Brown and family. Magdalene would like you to give
her kind compliments to her father and let him know that she has had more
real happiness since she came to America than ever she had in her whole
life but she is very sorry that he is very frail and it would have given
her great pleasure to him here and nurse him in his old age.
No more at present but remaining your
Loving Brother
James Good.
