H. T. Lawler, New Orleans, to Richard Lalor, Tinakill, Queen's County, 16 May 1880
Description
Lawler is a commission merchant and a sugar planter, who claims that he and his brother, Patrick, have lived in Louisiana for 23 years. He asks Lalor to please recommend 10 Irishmen (with their families) who would be willing to, in effect, indenture themselves to him as tenants and workers on his plantation. He promises to give to each family four acres of land, a house, and employment for $4.50 per week-more during peak season-and claims that there is a Catholic church nearby. Lawler will pay their passages, but they will have to repay him out of their wages. The unspoken subtext was the desire of Southern planters to replace African Americans as tenants and laborers on their plantations. Such enticements were not uncommon, but they weren't very successful.
Date
16/05/1880
Date Issued
27/03/2023
Resource Type
Text
Archival Record Id
p155/1/2
Publisher
University of Galway
Extent
3pp
Topic
Lalor Letters
Geographic
New Orleans (city),Orleans (county),Louisiana,United States,Tinnakill (townland),Laois (county),Ireland
Temporal
Nineteenth century,Eighteen eighties
Genre
Transcript,Reproduction
Note
Title, description and transcript text by Professor Kerby Miller.