[Note
The following letter was written by the late Hon. Peter A.
VOORHEES, better known as "Sheriff"
VOORHEES, then of Six-Mile Run (now
Franklin Park). It was addressed to Henry Vroom
DeMOTT, of Middlebush.
According to the then custom it was folded and
sealed, without envelope,
and
endorsed "Single Sheet," and also "25," the latter
indicating the
amount
of postage.]
"Middletown, Kentucky, December 9th, 1837.
"Dear Uncle: According to promise, I now
embrace this opportunity of
addressing a few hasty lines to you. And in
doing so I feel grateful to our
Heavenly Parent for that kind care and protection
which He has manifested
towards me in all my journey, and can this
morning say that I am well, and
I hope that
these few lines may find you and all in the enjoyment of the
same inestimable blessing; and then, though
far distant, we may unite our
praises and bless our God for all His mercies
towards us. I shall now give
you a brief detail of my journey and leave
particulars until I see you.
"We
left the 12 of October and reached Fairview in Illinois the 16 of
November.
Just five weeks, but we did not travel on Sundays. Lost some time
for rain, besides our visiting on the road,
and some distance out of our
way we travelled to see the country. I think
we rode about 26 or 27 days,
making about 1050 miles, and old OBlackyı
took me safe through. We had good
company, mostly good roads, and for the
length of time the finest of
weather. We travelled to Wheeling 8 in
number, with 5 carriages, and
attracted a good deal of attention, being
generally treated with marked
respect. But it was hard on their coffee pots
and tables where we supped
and breakfasted; and here I would remark that
our specie came sometimes in
excellent demand. I spent one week in Fairview,
Ill., leaving there the 23
of Nov. and going by water to Louisville,
Kentucky, which I reached Decır 2
in the morning, having lost some time waiting
for the s. boats, and then
one of them broke its main shaft and laid us
by, but we landed in safety
and were taken off by another boat. But our
passage was pleasant, for the
weather was warm and up to this is warm
still. I found my friends all well
and doing as well as they can.
"But perhaps you would ask how I was pleased
with the country? I would
answer, in general I was much disappointed.
Some parts about which I had
heard much bragging I disliked, while on the
other hand many places cried
down appeared to take my eye. This arises in
part from the attachments
which people have to their situations and
their endeavoring to build up
their neighborhoods, and next, I perhaps
viewed it in a different light
from what I would if I had intended to
emigrate. But in short I do say it
is the garden of our Republic. I may be
mistaken, but I think the soil as
rich as ever the sun shone upon, and with
proper cultivation these Western
States will
become (and very soon, too) the pride of our Republic. Do not
think I brag when I tell you I believe I can
do better here with 10 dollars
that I can with 100 in N. Jersey. I have seen
many openings for a man with
$1,000 capital in 5 yrs. to realize 10,000,
yes, 15,000 dollars advance.
In short there is no business in which a man of
enterprise may not embark and
realize a tenfold increase.
"Almost all of our number purchased land at Fairview. Abm.
CORTELYOU
bought 200 acres for $2,300, a delightful
place. Daniel POLHEMUS bought
240
acres. 80 acres of which is good woodland,
for $1,800. Cheap; cheap! John
G. VOORHEES bought 240 acres and five town lots one
with a new frame on
it
Abm. WILLIAMSON bought 80 acres next to town for $850, and Henry KOCKS
bought 140 acres for $1,650, besides some
breaking and rails. And there are
some fair bargains yet to be made. I traded
Black for 5 acres of land next
to town and two town lots, so now I am a
landholder in the West, --and
honor, you know, for a Jerseyman Yankee.
"Fairview is a Jersey settlement and Mr. WILSON has organized a
Dutch
church there, and they are in fine spirits about
building a house next
summer. They have set off their lot for the
church and subscribed about
$1,100 in a little time for the work. We must
remember them in N. Jersey
for they have the only Dutch church West of
the Alleghanies.
"And
they feel very near to me as a people. The Sabbath we spent with
them was a precious day. You may judge when I
tell you such men as Peter
PUMYEA
and Lawrence WILLIAMSON and others were
bathed in tears, and some
asking what they must do to be saved. My Dear
Uncle, here is an open door
for usefulness, and I must confess that a
strong sense of duty bore hard
upon my mind when, with earnest persuasions
and entreaties, they plead with
me to move among them. I love them as a
people; their town is a strict
temperance town, and all long for the
establishment of a church among them.
The Lord
prosper their efforts!
"Pennsylvania is the finest improved State I ever saw. In Ohio I
saw
the finest corn, and in Illinois the best
wheat, and the prettiest prairie
in Indiana. In Kentucky I have seen some
delightful situations, and around
Lexington it
is hard to be beaten. I had the honor of seeing and passing
over the plantation of Henry CLAY. A
delightful one it is, too, but for its
buildings, which are but common. But its
beauty for scenery and richness of
soil are rarely equalled. I had not the
pleasure to see either him or his
son, he being at Washington and his son in
the Legislature at Frankfort. I
think I will leave Kentucky on Monday, the
11th, for Cincinnati; tarry 3 or
4 days in Ohio, then make for home by the way
of Washington, Baltimore and
Philadelphia. I think I will be home by New Year with luck, but if
you see
our folks tell them not to look for me until
about the 8th or 10th of
January. I
long to hear from home, as I have had but one letter.
"I
remain, your friend,
"Peter A. VOORHEES.
"I
spent a day or two in Springfield. Saw Lewis, Cornelius Van
NOSTRAND and
Cornelius Van LIEW. All Well."
-Somerset County Historical Quarterly, vol 7
no 1, Jan 1918 pages 53-55
====Thomas
Ray McElroy=======
Thomas
Ray McElroy mailto:mmcelroy@mmcable.com
http://www.oocities.org/thomas_mcelroy/Thomas_Ray_McElroy_home.htm
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