1859 Letter from Sarah and Maria Hall to their Parents
Included in the Gratton family files collected by Wilfred Harrison (1905 - 1992), of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, a descendant of James Gratton, was the following letter from Sarah and Maria Gratton to their parents. Following the letter is a transcription and some notes regarding the people mentioned.
Transcription
6 George Street [later notation: Liverpool]
May 30, 1859
My dear Father and Mother
You will think us a long time since writing our last letter but we have been waiting for some money we have owing us for some work done. We have not received it as yet and you must know to live as cheap as we can it takes 10s/weekly. We pay 3s/ per week for lodgings, then it takes 6s/ to keep us, without anything else. We pay our rent every week to the day so we could not send any home at present. But don't think it unkind but we are a long way from home and if we had not a penny I don't know where to get one. Although we can have plenty to say [who say?] "if you are short Miss Gratton any time we will be most happy to lend you any thing you may want," but we never lend or borrow. If we have not it ourselves we do without. We have a many little things to send home. We know Emily might do them up well now she is at home, [or We know Emily might do them up. We know she is at home] but its no use sending one thing till we send all and we will do as soon as we can.
[A corner of the page is missing, affecting this next paragraph]
Dear Father Mother, we have not wrote to Denton as yet. I do not like to write to Miss Taylor, I would sooner write to cousin James ... send us word how she likes. We hope she w... very well. We have many little things for. I will tell you what we think we would ... to see her and the fare home ... ??/6 and sometime next month or the month after to ask cousin James to come up and bring Agnes with him and we will pay her fare. Come in the morning and go back at night. Then she will see us both and see Liverpool as well, as we can not both leave home at once as many might call about work, and so sure would it be the case if we were out. But just as you like send us word when you write.
I will tell you how we saw the other day George Topliss of Chesterfield but he goes by Roberts, not Topliss. He said he was going to America. He has been in Dublin. We have not seen him since. Send us word how wrote the address on the Sheffield paper you sent which we were very glad of. We sent a paper every week and one today along with this letter.
O I forgot we are leaving this house this week and they're (?) been out. I can not send you the number of the other house they have taken, but I will write you again this week and let you know as we want to hear from [you.] Give our kindest love to all friends and accept our kindest love Dear Father and Mother, Brothers and Sisters. Kisses for the Boys and Dear Sister Frank, they all must be getting big children by this. God Bless you all from your ever affectionate Daughters, Sarah [and] Maria Gratton.
Notes
There were a lot of people mentioned in the letter but the only ones I can identify are Sarah and Maria's sisters Agnes and Emily. I have a little information about the Jenkinson cousins and don't see a James mentioned among them. Maybe James was on the Gratton side of the family. I don't know who Denton is, and I am curious as to why the sisters didn't want to write Miss Taylor. As far as George Topliss, AKA Roberts, of Chesterfield is concerned, he is a complete mystery, as he might have been even then.
The letter was sent from 6 George Street, Liverpool. You can find it on the map off Old Hall Street, one street in from Chapel Street.
6 George St, Liverpool, 1854
Sadly, Sarah died within 7 months of the writing of this letter, on December 27, 1859. Notes on her findagrave page, presumably taken from her death record, say she had contracted pyemia (a type of sepsis) and died in the Workhouse, Brownlow Hill, at age 25. She is buried in Walton Park Cemetery, Liverpool.
Credits
The full map of Liverpool in 1854 can be found in the Harvard Map Collection of Harvard University at https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/ids:10327532. The clip is provided by Harvard University for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Sarah Gratton's findagrave page: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/274770192/sarah-grattan.