John Benjamin was born in England in 1823. In 1849, at the age of 26, he immigrated to America with the goal of seeking opportunities in the new world and improving the life of his family. During his immigration and eventual settlement in Hutchinson, Minnesota, John saved many personal letters that were written by and to him. These letters, the subject of this web site, bring to life his immigration and the life of others during this courageous adventure. The most recent letters posted on this sight are on this front page. To see all the earlier letters, keep pressing the “Older Posts” button on the bottom of this page. The earliest letter recorded here is June 20, 1849. The letters…………









Oct. 21,1853 Robert Benjamin-1795 to John Benjamin-1823

Bagillt,
October 21, 1853
Dear Children,
We take the pleasure of sending for once more a few lines to you in answer to yours of the 26th ult., and was very glad to hear that you was all well in health as these leaves us but very indifferent since we wrote to you last, and you must excuse me for not writing an answer to yours in the last week for I am sorry to relate to you that I did not know how to write for your mother was so ill that I could not write to you, but thanks be to God that she is a little better.  She had had such a bad cold that I hardly never saw her so ill before.  We was exposed to the open air for about four or five days and nights and when we was getting a little better with that, in about a fortnight after, the gable end of the house next to the road was condemned to come down to the ground, and by that it very near settled your mother and it laid Mr. Faulks sadly ___ about it and very much frightened about it to, but it is hoped that when everything is done that we shall, if God sends, be comfortable and he will try to make us so as well as ever he can.  We have been ___ now in repairing this eight or nine weeks and we will hardly be finished against Christmas I think with everything. 
I was obliged to send for your sister Charlotte to Chester for to come home as soon as she could but we are in hopes that she can return home to Chester on Saturday next, and for your brother Edwin you have not sent to us at all how you are pleased in him, that is, in his work and also in his person and everything.  We should of been very glad to hear that in your next, and that we are in great hopes that he pleases you in all ways, and I am very certain that we cannot be to thankful to him, that is in regard to his kindness towards his sister Harriet, and that she and we are very exceptable [sic] of the kind preference as he sends to her, and indeed we should be obliged to have a stout girl to assist your mother for she cannot attend to the bake house and to the house with public business also.  Therefore we hope that Edwin will bear in mind what he promised faithfully before he started from home; that is that he would get you to do that is to make the money up that you sent to us to pay our half years rent with, and that they all went in his expenses and more with them that we was obliged to borrow along with them, and that we have never been able to return them ever since, and we hope and trust that you will have the goodness to see and get him to make our twelve months rent up against the first of January next, and after that we hope that we shall not trouble neither of you for a while after for Mr. Faulks has been so kind as to pay the last half year himself in Denbigh instead of us .  Therefore as you may be well aware that we should not wish to deceive him upon no account whatever and he makes us fair promises as any man can make, and that is that he will do his best for us in all ways as ever he can and he keeps telling me that he knows that his interest will go as far as anyone in Bagillt nearly, and if he sees us looking after our ____ well that he knows that he can get us the old license in the next year and that he shall do his best for us. 
And another thing I have to inform you of is that your brother James fell down the stairs in the mill last week and he spraint [sic] the arm as he broke before, but thank God he is gotten better.  He is doing a little this week again and he is not able to write to you this time. 
Your mother is very thankful to Elizabeth for the small ___ as she was so kind as to send to her and she says that if in case that she could write that she would send a very long one to her, and that she would be very glad to see the day to hear of the launch of the steamers that is to run between Liverpool and Boston in three and a half or four days, for that she should see you then or else that you should see her and that quickly to, and she is great hopes that the little girls is getting on again bravely.  We should wish very much for you to try and take notice when the steamer Affrican is bound for Boston for Edwin knows that Peter Billis of Flint and Robert Ellis of Caerwys are fine men with her and therefore you could send anything with them as you would like.
PS – Mr. Jones the watchmaker and family sends their kind respects to you all.  Your sister Charlotte was in Holywell today and called there to see them and Mr. Jones was very thankful to you for the newspaper as you sent to him and I should be very thankful to you likewise if you two would be so kind as to try and contrive between you and send us a good proper weekly, for you should not believe such talk there is about the thing between the middle class as I may call them, that is, what conveniency [sic] it will be to get to see the Yankee papers and what they cannot get to see in the whole place. 
You could not judge from where you are what a house we shall have as I told you in my last, that there will not be such a house in the place nor nothing like it only if we can complete everything up in it that is such as license and everything, and everybody says there is no doubt but we shall do business.  Therefore I must give up this time gain.
All your brothers and sisters sends their kind respects to you all and that they are all well. 
PS – John Evans the smith and all at the mill sends their kind respects to you and that John Evans is very thankful to Edwin for the newspaper as he sent to him.  Your sister Charlotte sends to you all that little Mary Ellen sends you a kiss apiece and one for her cousin Mary Ann Ellen o-o-o-o from as good temper a little thing as ever you saw, hoping that her cousin is the same. 
I must conclude for the present and this from your dutyful father and mother,
Robert & Sarah Benjamin
A very large kiss for Mary A. Ellen from your mother.
PS – There is your mother signature to all but I believe there is neither a Yankee nor no other countryman in America as can pronounce it.

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