[To Andrew Walker, Mason in Town and County of Skelkiak, Scotland]
Mount Morris May th 1st 1842
Dear
Friend it is with pleasure that I being to write to you to let know that
we are all well at present hopping this will fin dyou all the same thanks
be unto God for it we received your letter about the first of January and
was happy to hear that you was all in good health when it lef tyou and we
hope this will find you all in good health when it reaches you.  I hopee
that you will not think it hard for us for not writting sooner it was not
through neglect nor lack of afection that we have been so long in writting
to you we was not certain whether we stayed here any longer than the first
of may and we thought if we had moved away that we would have been gone before
we could have had an answer back from you but I have made another engagement
with Mr. Alyphant and we are going to stay here another year if we be spared
we intended if we had left Mr. Alyphant to have gone where land was cheaper
then it is here and bought a place for ourselves but we are pretty confortable
here and all enjoying good health which is one of the best of gods belssings
in consideration of which we have great reason to be thankful and we could
nto see the propriety of makeing a change at this time we have a cow and
an acre and a half of land and we fat a Hog for ourselves we grow melons
and cucumbers in abundance in our garden andeverything that is grown in hot
houses in scottland is all raised in the open ground here we have not given
up hopes of seeing you gain we expect that you will come and live with us
when we get a plce of our own and Marry will have come along wiht you we
would be verry happy to have you live the remainder of your days with us
We intend to buy a farm of our own when we leave Mr. Alyphant if we be as
fortunate as we have been and blest with as good health as we have been hitherto.
 Renting farms is verry common here a great many old ountry men prefer renting
farms rather than buying new wood land it takes about as much money to go
on to a farm of ninty acres cleard land to rent it as it would take to buy
a hundred acres of rough new land their is three Scotchmen that rents farms
not far from here and are all doing verry well.  Mr. Alyphant has let all
his land his farm hands was all payed off on the first of april he has a
coachman a gardner and myself engaged by the year and he hires labourers
by the day as he wants them heintends to have his place improved before he
farmany himself again we are makeing a new kitchen garden and laying out
pleasure ground is our general employment for as plenty as wood is in America
we have planted fifty hundred trees this spring all imported from England
Scotland and France, we have had a verry open winter little snow and not
much cold weather, we have had a favourable spring so far.  Markets are pretty
reasonable flour is five dollars and a half bper barrel of fourteen stone.
 WE get fifteen cents per pound for butter and twelve for eggs.  the Temperance
cause is progressing rapidly here.  The demon alcohol is almost Banished
from the place their isn ot more than one but