Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1819-1991 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
84pp
Context area
Archival history
The Neal Campbell letter is held as MS 2300 in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin. Related materials appear in Miller et al.,Irish Immigrants in the Land of Canaan (Oxford, 2003).
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Materials related to the Neal Campbell letter, written in 1819 by Neal Campbell, a Catholic farm labourer in Youngstown, Ohio, to his brother, John Campbell of Dernagh townland, Clonoe parish, near Coalisland, Co. Tyrone. This detailed letter emphasises the economic opportunities and political liberties available in America, encourages emigration and provides detailed information and advice. It also gives insight into the status of the church in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, as well as demonstrating increasing Ulster Catholic immigration. The collection includes a photocopy and typed transcript of the letter, Kerby A. Miller's research notes and correspondence including biographical data, and copes of pages from early histories of Eastern Ohio and the area's Catholic diocese.