Letter from John B. O'Keeffe

Letter from John B. O'Keeffe
to Ellen O'Keeffe

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Ballinahulla

20th Aug. 31

My dear Ellen
I received your letter some
time ago glad to know you like
your new place it is too bad you
stayed so long with the jews for
such small pay but it was good
to get anything for a start I did not
think Molls wedding was coming
off so soon I suppose your were able
to get off to attend the big affair
and of course have a big time It takes
a bit of pluck to settle down in
New York at the present time but
it may be just as well if people
are lucky You did not mention
where Tim is from there are a lot

[Molls refers to Mary Anne O'Keeffe
who married Timothy Murphy in
New York -- My grandparents]


of Murphys around Millstreet
I was talking to Tade Hickey the fair
day at Knocknagree[*] he know a lot of
people of the name around Millstreet
but he could not know as I did not
know the of the place so
let me know in your next letter
the name of the land where his people
live and his fathers name if you
can find out also what he does or
what kind of a job he got or pay
&c &c  So Joan idle all the time since
she left her last job or why is she leaving
Boston I think if you have a nice
place where you are now you ought
to stay there moreover when the bank
account is so slender until you
see something better turning up I was
always under the impression that
Boston was a nicer place to live than
New York


We have the have saved and inside
I bought a field of hay from
Con Leary Wmstown some of that
is out yet we would have it
drawn in a day if we got a
fine day There were a few fine
days lately but the weather is
broken again When I got up this
morning I looked over towards the
blackwater it looked like the
Atlantic the biggest flood anyone
living ever saw it broke into Dan
Williams meadow and took away
four winds of hay I paid Con £6
for a field of coarse hay We lost
a cow last spring you remember Pet
she died there did two calves die
also big strong heifer calves 3
months old reared You want to know


about the foal he is fairly big
now getting to be a little horse
We have nine [  ??  ] pigs nearly 4
months old there was nothing for
bonhams so we kept them you
would get a fine fat pig for £3 now
We have another sow going to have
bonhams next week I suppose it
would be as well to drown them
I had to stop writing this letter for
a while it was music day  [  ??  ]
and Patrick were wrangling about
two tunes the high caul cap, and
Patricks Day he is coming around
regular I have £3 or 4 paid him by
this and she is not much good
yet They got the parcels all right
and they are dressed up in the
latest Yankee style Kileen is
like an old yank she attends


the halls now both Wmstown
and Lacks Cross Nora is nearly
the same as always sometimes
fairly good more times not so
good we dont take the trap to mass
at all now or make any use of it
I was going to write before now but
Joan send a card to Nora sometime
ago she said she would write describing
all about the wedding but we did
not get it yet sp we are axiously
waiting The spuds are not so good this
year as they used to be the blight came
on early we sprayed three times so they
are not too bad some people have
nothing but  [        ?????           ] have
every second time at the hall as I write
now they are just arriving from
The [  ??  ] Hall and a news that
Ellie Patrick is going to have

a big dance on September 19th
at the Capital Hall tickets £1 each
so you see there is no lack of amusement
here at present the wonder is where
all the cash comes from There was
a big dance affair at Tom Jones
last night also the occasion being
thoses London Tarrants are around
now again Kitty Tarrant is home
now on holidays also she was in here
the other night with Helen
we are starting to cut oaks now
all the industry and work
and comes to nothing in the finish
No pay day here I must finish
up now We expect a full account
of this in your next
Your Affectionate Father
[ John B. O'Keeffe ]


[Note: Knocknagree is located on the Cork side of the Cork-Kerry border.
If you ever wondered how your ancestors from Cork and Kerry met, the fair
attracted people from both counties for miles around.]

I was surprised to receive an e-mail from a descend of the "Tarrant" listed
above, if you are interested in the Tarrant family line, drop me an email
and I will be happy to forward it on.


[email protected]

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08 Sep 2018