Series 34 - John McClelland letters

31pp

PRONI provided reproductions of the letters to Kerby A. Miller, from which Miller created his transcripts. The original manuscript is held in PRONI [reference number D1005/1].

Transcripts and reproductions of two letters written by John McClelland of Philadelphia to his father and brother in Donegore parish, County Antrim in 1821 and 1835, respectively, along with Kerby A. Miller’s notes on the letters.
Per Miller: ‘These letters were written in the twilight of McClelland's life. The latter was written within a few weeks of his 75th birthday. His two daughters were married to prosperous and respectable mechanics in Philadelphia; his son was a merchant in Alabama. His brother evidently resided in Washington. McClellan had been a school teacher all of his life, and had evidently made a respectable living. His letters breathe contentment with his lot in life, and with his financial situation. But in particular, they are filled with pride in the advancements and improvements in the United States, which he obviously regards as the finest country in the world. Despite the fact that he is getting on in years, there is no regret that he left Ireland, nor any nostalgia for the old country or for his past. He seems to have been a product of the glorious young days of the American Republic, filled with optimism and pride in his adopted nation, without the bombast of later Irish emigrants.’