FAC152/1/10

Letter from Reverend Charles Edward Searle to George Thomas Askew. Sent from Earl Stonham, Suffolk

23 May 1866

From: 1866 To: 1866

Thanks George for his letter, had not heard from George for some time and was worried that some misfortune had happened. Reassures George that every new colony has periods of elevation and depression but then seems to settle as Canterbury, New Zealand, did about 15 years ago. Is sad to hear that George is considering having to borrow money and that the rates are exorbitant. In England money is worth 10 per cent. Offers to lend George £100 and believes that he will get a considerable return for it, asks George to pay £5 per cent for the loan if George wants it. Suggest that George name the mill he has bought Odell Mill and hope George and the opposition Company find a sufficient demand for their lumber. Sad news from Tom Kennedy's family in Odell, as their boy George has died. The family is not doing well and suspects some of the other family members may also die. There has been a deadful fever in the village and several villages have died in the Spring; Mrs Turney's only son John Turney, believed to have caught it from his sister who survived it. William Bradshaw, Patience Pettit or Wright and some others all dies around the same time. The village has received help from the people who live in Odell Castle and also from the Rector, Mr [William Cornish] Hunt. Lets George know that his sister Kitty didn't suffer during her illness and the baby is well cared for by her mother-in-law and husband. Asks if George has heard from his cousin George Askew in Ohio, there is a rumor he went to the wars but returned unharmed. His brother [George Askew's] has settled near him. Still hears good news from George Odell in New Zealand.

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Searle, Charles Edward,
Askew, George Thomas,
Askew, Thomas George,
Kennedy, Tom,
Kennedy, George,
Turney,
Turney, John,
Bradshaw, William,
Pettit, Patience,
Wright, Patience,
Hunt, William Cornish,
Fosket, Richard,
Fosket, Kitty,
Fosket, Catherine,
Askew, George,
Askew, Thomas,
Odell, George

Suffolk, Canada, British Columbia, New Zealand, MILLS, ODELL