"I was in the linen room keeping account of the table linen...."
via /unsplash
This is another letter written by Emy Burrows (Ismena Burrows) to her brother Alexander Burrows. I believe it was sent with a letter written by Jane Burrows White to Alexander on August 6th, 1890. This letter has pages 1 and 2 missing, as there is no page with a greeting or date and so begins on page 3. Emy seems to be in mid thought, as she describes her keeping account of the table linen before she goes on to talk about their fathers' will. As the letter goes on, we get a sense of her discontent, her anger towards her father and brother Tom and the uncertainty of her future. As an unmarried spinster (she was around 30 years of age at this time) she had good reason to worry. Was her three hundred pounds going to be enough to see her through? Was her health going to hinder her ability to earn a living? She was dependent on her male relatives as well as the Reverend Moulsdale (the executor of the will) to make sure details in the will were taken care of. To add to her worry was the uncertain fate of her older brother Adam, who was not able to take care of himself and would eventually end up in the Sligo Asylum.
The transcription follows the original letter....
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(Page 1 front, right side)
3+
I was in a linen room keeping account of the table linen[.] You know what I mean[.] Father left three hundred in bank in my name. I had to come home to see after it. got it all right. I hoped to go back to American again but I'm in bad health. The doc says I have got a weak heart.
Tom is expected home this month to Drum. Mr. Molsdale sent him 40 lb to bring him home[.] As far as I know there is nothing about the Manorhamilton property in the will except that he willed it to Adam & that he had to do, as the
(Page 1 back, right side)
law compelled him do so. He thought to sell it at one time but would not be allowed its only 20 lb a year[.] you know your grand fathers daughter has half the property & I believe its ain't lawful[.] she should on account of her father and mother not been married[.] Mousdale has all fathers papers. You should see after them, as he may go away[.] he has been to America before and may go again[.] After I came home I sent him your address[.] he said your friends refused him for it. I gess they did too. 4+
(Page 1 front, left side written vertically)
No one saw it but Mrs. Porteus[.] I had it by heart. Poor Adam is greatly failed[.] he is an old man, but got very [worse?], since Fathers death[.] He sleeps in Drum alone[.] poor fellow he asked me to stay with him when I went to see him, but that I dare not do. I [?] do call to Drum now [.] I only suffered what my poor mother did. I believe there was only 2 persons present when Father made his will they were W. Crawford and Rev Mousdale[.] some say he was not in his right mind to make a will, that he [done?] as they told him[.] Molsdale & Tom were
(Page 1 front, left side)
very great [?] when Tom was in Drum[.] my opinion is Father was not in right mind months before he died. He was ill only a few days & he was calling me. I hope he is happy now after all his troubles in this world [?] is too bad to be [?] I could often be married but he would not hear of me doing so. but had me for a slave & would not allow me even a servant.
Mrs. White has quite a family 10-6 sons-4 girls[.] Her eldest son is in New York. book keeper there[.] 2 more in Sligo in [stores?], [their?] father don't drink this 12 month back.
(This next entry may have been an insert to the above letter. It is signed at the end by Emy. The coloring and the folds are the same.)
(Insert to letter, front)
All the Burrows are dead only Mrs. Collas. She lives in Carrowcrin with A. [Burrows?] Jenny [Jane] Porteus is married to Billy Golden. [Fanny] is still in Clara. I hope you enjoy good health yourself, also your wife & family[.] Please send me your picture. [Now?] about [?] going to Sligo to live as you suggest[.] I would not be alive to be idle & my money would not last [?] to be buying everything I'd require. You know I have no one to expect anything from now. I am left to myself. a lonely 'bird' alone[.] friends are very good but don't trouble too often or dont be in [their?] power. I'll either take a situation at home
(Insert to letter, back)
Or return to America. I liked it well & the ladies I worked for liked me first rate. I'm afraid you will not be able to read this scribble you must excuse it. I was in Clara last week. They did not get the money. [?] [?] as yet. Did Moulsdale write to you. I did not see him since I got your letter. He is away in England. When I get a copy of the will I'll send it to you. Write when you get this[.]
I must conclude. With warmest love to you & yours
From your [affectionate?]
Sister Emy
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Notes and thoughts on this letter...
Tom was given the responsibility of taking care of Adam after Alexander Burrows died in August of 1889. He was in America when Emy wrote this letter, and was expected to come home with his expenses being paid for by the Reverend Moulsdale. Tom was in America as early as 1884, per the letter that John wrote to Alexander on March 18, 1884. John mentioned that Tom originally left because he was not getting along with either his father or Emy. Tom did go back to Sligo, as he married his cousin Georgina Foster in 1888. She died sometime in 1890, so Tom probably decided to return to America and forgo his responsibility to his brother. By 1896 he was in South America and Adam was in the Asylum. I can find no other records for Tom after this.
Emy mentioned in her last letter how badly Tom had acted towards herself and their father, and yet he inherited a larger portion of the estate than all the others. Was it due to pressure put on Alexander by Tom and the Reverend Moulsdale? Emy thought so. There was obviously a great deal of tension between Emy, Tom, and their father. You have to wonder what Tom did with his part of the inheritance.
Emy mentions the Manorhamilton property. In my last post I looked at the deed and memorial for this property. It stated that the property had to be passed down to the children of Alexander Burrows after his death, which he stated to be the case in his will. The property originally belonged to the Elliott family and was given as a marriage settlement when Alexander married Fanny sometime in 1835. My DNA cousins and I are still not sure what Emy was alluding to when she mentioned "your grandfathers daughter has half the property and I believe it ain't lawful. She should on account of her father and mother not been married." She may be referring to Adam Elliott (the grandfather) and Frances Elliott Burrows (the daughter) or more plausibly another daughter who had the other half of the property rights. There is a possibility of an Eliza White who may have been a Roman Catholic. Her husband, Samuel Hamilton, was of the Church of Ireland (Protestant). He was a witness to Adam Elliott's death. Fanny was probably deceased by 1889, so the possibility that there was another sibling is probable. This Eliza may have even been a daughter of Fanny's sister. This is still a mystery, and more research is needed. Whatever the situation was, Emy was not happy with it. At least Adam had a steady income from his half to pay for his care.
You have to feel for poor Emy. Did she at one point want to be married? Was she pressured to stay home and look after her father and Adam? She calls herself a slave and was bitter because she was not even allowed a servant. The work load in taking care of a household the size of Drum House would have been heavy for one person. Was her father wary of spending any extra money? Was the economy bad enough that he was having a difficult time making ends meet? Was she trying to get away from her brother Tom? We don't know for sure. We do know that in May of 1889, several months before her father's death, Emy got on a ship and went to America to find work of her own. She only came back to claim her inheritance. I found an Outward Passenger List for the ship Anchoria that departed Ireland the 12th of September, 1890. It lists a 30 year old Ismena Burrows, headed for New York looking for work as a seamstress. It was most likely Emy. I am still searching for her after 1890. I hope she eventually found some happiness in her life.
UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 for Ismena Burrows Ancestry.com
Emy's age compared to the other girls on the ship is striking. (ages on the far right).
Who is Emy referring to when she says "Mrs. White has quite a family.."? It is possibly the family of her sister, Jane White (married to Adam White), whose oldest son Robert Alexander White may have been in New York at the time. The Whites, the Elliotts and the Burrows intermarried several times and we are still trying to sift apart family lines. Adam White's sister was Ismena Jane White Frazer who came to America with her son and they settled in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1885. It is still not clear who this Mrs. White is. I share DNA with family members from this line.
"All the Burrows are dead only Mrs. Collas"...Emy was referring to Margaret Burrows, sister of Alexander Burrows of Drum. She married Thomas Collis in 1838.
Marriage Licence Bonds record for Collis, shared by KKelley.
Jenny Porteus was the daughter of Margaret Burrows Porteus, oldest sister of Alexander Burrows, Jane Burrows White, Thomas Burrows, Adam Burrows, John Burrows, Ismena "Emy" Burrows and Elizabeth Burrows Bucher.
Jane Elizabeth ("Jenny") Porteus married William Golden (Goulden) around 1880. I share DNA with family members through this line. Jenny's sister was Frances "Fanny" Porteus, whom Emy mentions as still living in Clara. Fanny married John Graham in late 1890. I share DNA with family members from this line also.
Where was Clara? In August of 1890 Fanny Porteus was still living in Clara according to Emy.
Claragh Irish map from townlands.ie
According to DNA cousins, Clara, or Claragh Irish, was located between Tobercurry and Collooney. This was where Robert and Margaret Porteus had their home.
The home of Robert and Margaret Porteus, and daughters Jenny and Fanny. It remained in the family until 1925. Picture shared by AMichalia.
The house in Claragh was sold in 1925.
Sligo Champion 28 Nov 1925
Shared by RODriscoll
That is the last letter I have that was written by Ismena, "Emy" Burrows. She wrote it while staying with her sister Jane White at Whitehall in the summer of 1890. Where was she keeping an account of the linen? It could have been at Drum House on one of her visits to see her brother Adam. The house was sold in the early 1890's, so this could have been in preparation for a sale. It also could have been at Whitehall. I just don't know for sure, without the context of the first part of the letter. What I do know is that Emy was able to make her feelings very clear to her brother in far off northern California, which probably seemed a world away. I can only hope that they kept in touch, especially after Emy went back to America. If they did, sadly, there is no record left.
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The following tree is our "working tree". It will change as we do more research, fit more pieces together and verify family members. This is the basic tree as of now.
Alexander Burrows of Carrowcrin (based on his will of 1834) father to....
*
Dr. Thomas Burrows
(son Alexander Burrows, possibly the A. Burrows that witnessed Margaret Collis' death in 1890).
Margaret Burrows m. Thomas Collis
Johnston Burrows m. Mary Moysten parents of Mary Anne Burrows (m. George Foster) parents of Georgina Foster (see Thomas Burrows below)
Alexander Burrows of Drum (based on his will of 1889) m. Frances "Fanny" Elliot, youngest daughter of Adam Elliott (based on the Memorial of a Deed of Settlement 1848, original marriage around 1835) parents of.....
*
1. Margaret Burrows (married Robert Porteus) of Clara/Claragh Irish
*daughter Frances "Fanny" Porteus Graham
*daughter Jane Elizabeth "Jenny" Porteus Golden/Goulden
2. Jane Burrows (married Adam Elliott White) of Sligo. The White family lived at WhiteHall (Whitehall), County Leitrim, Ireland.
*son Robert Alexander White born at Whitehall, County Leitrim, Ireland.
3. Adam Burrows (was living in Drum in 1890; lived at the asylum in Sligo sometime after that. )
4. Alexander Burrows (married Elizabeth Jane Hurd in America) my G G Grandparents; they lived in Grass Valley, California.
5. John Elliott Burrows (came to America) m. Margaret O'Leary in St. Louis. Children Frances Burrows Riley and Thomas A. Burrows.
6. Thomas Burrows (bequeathed house and land in Drum and was to look after Adam per will of 1889. Left for America shortly after his father's death). m. Georgina Foster b. 1871 d. 1890. Per marriage index Ireland, Civil Registration of Marriage, she married Thomas in 1888. This relationship was also mentioned in Emy's letter of 24 June, 1890).
7. Ismena "Emy" Burrows (spent time in America but went back home to Ireland to claim her inheritance, per letters written in 1890. Left for America again in late 1890.)
8. Elizabeth Burrows (came to America) and married Hermann Bucher in 1892 in New York; was called Emma (based on letters written by Hermann Bucher)
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