From:

    William and Mary Briggs
    Plymouth Township
    Richland County,
    State of Ohio
    Near Paris
    North America

To:  

    (Assumed)  An unidentified cousin of William Briggs, later passed to William Priest - No address

Plymouth, Monday May 17th, 1847

Dear Cousin, we received your letter on the 12th of May I embrace this opportunity of writing to you hoping to find you all in good health as it leaves us all at present we thank god for it   you rite to know the state of America as you have a Desire to come    you wish to know what you can Buy a farm for       farms are at Different prices according to size and quality        farms range from 80 to 160 Acres     a Farm of 160 Acres good improvement and good Buildings and good Orchard can be bought for about five Thousand Dollars      that one Thousand pounds of your Money        in generally every body that dont like it at first       we all have to do our own farming for Laborers can not be hired here as they can in England        me and my sons dose all our farming ourselves only in Harvest       i own at this time four Hundred Acres of Land and about 160 of it Cleaned       i feel thankful to god that i came to America for the sake of my family       i have five sons and one Daughter     i feel satisfied that i can fix them all well      all thing is selling well in this country   now wheat is selling at one Dollar a Bushel where we live and everything else in propertions and i ham well satisfied with America     all industrious stedy people need not fear coming to America     for my part i would not pursuade none to America because every one can use their pleasure about it but i shall give you a true account of it      but where we live is a fine helthy improved Country       a man can buy land in the far West cheap but it is all woods and willows and i would advise no English people to go      their is where we live about 40 English families     the America people is all well people and they hould out a friendly hand to respectable people        land where we live is advanced four times the value of what it was when i first came to America       new towns are building all the Country       it looks some strange to a person when they first come but after they have been a while they get settled        William Manchester and Valentine Plum Did not like it at first but now they well satisfied and Both of them as Bought land and has no desire to return    William Wilson from Denton is here and well satisfied and is doing well and as no desire to return. John Ellis from Barrowby is here and well satisfied and doing well and as bought 160 acres of land and is clearing on it and will soon have a good farm Cleared       i think i have given you  a true account of America and as you wish to know what would be best to bring i would advise you to bring no heavy luggage nothing but Clothing and bedding as you will want on board of the ship Blankets are of better quality with you than they are here      everything else is as plentiful here as they are in England and Money is the best thing to bring      if you should come to america i should feel obliged to you would get 28? Strub? bags made of the quality of sacking and i will pay you for them when you come     and put W Briggs Plymouth on them and the number        you stated in your letter you wished to know the routs      and will you first to Liverpool and then to New York and thence to Albany and then to Buffalo then to Sandusky City and thence to Plymouth by rail road    and all the Murchants know me their      and i would advise you to come Liverpool to come on board the New York liner       i advise you to be on your guard against swinellers      and i am happy to hear from your uncle and aunts family       Give my respects to all your brothers and sisters and all inquiring friends       as i remain your affectionate cousin William Briggs

I would wish you to hand this letter to my brothers and Sisters

My Brothers and Sisters     i take this opportunity of wrighting to you hoping to find you in good health as it leaves me at this present     I should have rote to you Before now But i Did not now what part of Grantham you lived in     i would like for you to send me a letter stating how you are all getting on         we expect it rather hard in England for por people but here all industrious people can live well        i would like to know how Isaac Zackarias is coming on an where he is and where John and Robert are living and how they are getting on     i heard of the death of my Brother George but thought it rather curious you never sent me no word about it

So i remain your Brother and Sister
William and Mary Briggs