Letter from Thomas Falconer to John David Falconer, December [January] 5, 1841
View
@ Southwestern University
Description
Letter from Thomas Falconer to John David Falconer, dated Dec. 5, 1841, but the December is probably a mistake for January since Falconer was captive in Mexico in December 1941. The letter chronicles Falconer's trip by steamboat down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Louisville, KY, to New Orleans, LA. There is a small sketch of the steamer, the William French. The letter gives details of the price of passage; accommodations and food; how the steamer is different from "ours"; the stokers (slaves) who "make a most infernal singing"; fellow passengers; Americans for whom "the making of money is their chief pursuit from the time they can talk until they die"; and various towns and cities along the way. From New Orleans, Falconer went to Texas where he was caught up in the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. This letter has a modern handwritten transcription available via the Portal to Texas History.4 p.
Text
Available for research use; permission needed for publication.
Record Contributed By
Southwestern UniversityRecord Harvested From
The Portal to Texas HistoryKeywords
- Business, Economics And Finance Transportation
- Correspondence
- Description And Travel
- Falconer, Thomas, 1805 1882
- Inland Navigation
- Landscape And Nature
- Mississippi River
- Ohio River
- People Individuals
- Social Life And Customs Correspondence
- Social Life And Customs Travel
- Steamboats
- United States