Burrows Working Tree....Jane White Writes to Her Brother Alexander Burrows on June 26th 1890

 

  Photo Credit: Omedia from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage website October 2020

Rosses Point, Sligo.  The Metal Man navigation beacon has been located mid channel between Rosses Point and Oyster Island in Sligo Harbor since 1821.  Jane White would surely have seen the Metal Man on her visit to Rosses Point in June of 1890.  

Rosses Point Beach. It was a popular Victorian era seaside resort when Jane visited in 1890.  The area is still a tourist destination that advertises family friendly beaches, B&B's, pubs, cafes and golf courses. 

   Here is the letter that Jane Burrows White wrote to Alexander Burrrows, my Great Great Grandfather.  Jane was his older sister, born in 1838. She married Adam Eliott White in 1866.  The transcription with notes follows. 

  

Letter folded into fourths front side.  The letter begins on the right half of the page. Page 4 is on the left hand side. 

  

Back side pages 2 and 3 

Inserted letter folded into fourths front side, right hand side. 

Inserted letter back side pages 2 and 3

  

This transcription is a collaborative work between myself and several dna cousins whom I have been corresponding with through email.   I have added punctuation and corrected spelling to make the letter easier to read.  Imagine the first letter folded in half  to make a rectangle.  Then, add another inserted letter folded into smaller segments.  These were all then folded again into a square to fit into a small envelope. This letter was discovered with quite a few Burrows letters this summer, and is one of three written by Jane. 

Page 1 actually starts on the right side....

  

  

     Jane's handwriting and lack of punctuation made transcription very difficult.  Her thoughts flowed across the pages and it took many tries to figure out her intentions.  Other passages were not hard at all...especially her thoughts on how much she missed her "scattered" family and how she knew she would never see them again on this earth.  She was worried about brother Adam, who ended up in the Sligo asylum.  She was worried about the distribution of the will after her father died almost a year from the date of this letter. She was worried about her health, and thought that two weeks by the ocean might do her some good. She passed away in 1918 at the age of  80.  According to a dna cousin, her death certificate indicated that she died from "senile decay and exhaustion".  I hope that Rosses Point provided her with some rest and relaxation for a little while. 

Rosses Point with the Metal Man in the channel. 

A modern map of Sligo Bay and  Rosses Point Village  from the  website rossespoint/.ie