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David Moore, Larne town (and parish), Glenarm Upper barony, County Antrim, to his brother Thomas Moore, Baltimore, Maryland, 26 January 1817
Luaigh an doiciméad seo Amharcóir IIIF
Bailiúchán McHenry-Moore Letters
Title David Moore, Larne town (and parish), Glenarm Upper barony, County Antrim, to his brother Thomas Moore, Baltimore, Maryland, 26 January 1817
Description David Moore is a struggling, and soon bankrupt, cotton manufacturer in Lame, writing to his brother Thomas, a watch- and clock-maker in Baltimore. Another brother, John, has already emigrated and may be working in South Carolina. David describes severe distress in northern Ireland: in agriculture, caused by awful weather and worse harvests; and in trade and manufacturing, during the economic depression that followed the end of the Napoleonic wars. Both have resulted in a sharp rise in both rural and urban unemployment and poverty. The results include a wave of bankruptcies, imprisonments for debt, and mass emigration by formerly secure merchants, shopkeepers, manufacturers, and artisans, as well as by members of the rural poor. Moore also describes charitable efforts for the Ulster poor. The second half of the letter is dominated by family news and by Moore's own difficulties in collecting unpaid debts, so he can emigrate-despite his fears, his middle-age and the fact that, by his own admission, he was "no worker".
Date 26/01/1817
Date Issued 27/03/2023
Cineál Acmhainne Text
Archival Record Id p155/5/3/1
Publisher University of Galway
Extent 5pp
Topic McHenry-Moore Letters
Geographic Larne (town),Antrim (county),Ireland,Baltimore,Maryland,United States
Temporal Nineteenth century,Eighteen tens
Genre Transcript
Note Title, transcript and description by Professor Kerby Miller.
Creator / Author Name David Moore