Leaving from Liverpool

An extract from John Hedge's letter to his mother

My Dear Mother I promised to send you an account of the voyage and now fulfill my promise. I intended to send you the original paper but it is on very thick paper in a Pocket Book and I thought it would only be the trouble of writing out a copy for you and here it is, such as it is, a true and faithful copy. I found very little to write about generally, and many times I was on the point of giving it up as useless, but I thought of my Promise and Kept it up to the end of the voyage. I have given the temperature nearly every day it was taken three times a day. I have the noon reading of the thermometer in the shade, therefore we had it much hotter in the sun, and colder at night than I have given, for instance when I have given 86° it was 100° in the sun, and when I have given 36° it was only 32° at nine at night. I have given the latitude and longitude when I could get it but it was only occasionally I could depend upon it.

1858 Monday Sept 20. We reached the Depot about 9 o clock, after a very long and tiring journey, the authorities very civil gave us some tea. Emigrants all gone on Board this morning. Had all the place to ourselves, very large, clean and comfortless.

Tuesday 21, got up at 5 o clock, went on board to see Farr found Mrs Farr with very bad cold, ship left the Depot while I was downstairs, had a difficult matter to get away from her had to climb down the side and scramble over a lot of boats and barges and scale, etc. Luggage came from station at 9 1/20 am. It was too late when arrived last night to bring them. Had a walk in the Afternoon, to Birkenhead Park, it is very prettily laid out, it has an entrance very like the Marble Arch, Hyde Park. The town is a miserable black looking affair, many of the [Houses ?] built of stone quarried on the spot, which is darkish coloured sandstone. I saw a Church, very lately finished, its colour gave it a very singular appearance, the children run about the streets and in the Park (by scores) without shoes. They dry bricks here in a different way to whatever I saw before, they lay them flat all over the ground and when they are a little dry they are stacked in Hacks they are all slop made bricks and when they are picked up from the ground they pick a quantity of dirt with them which makes them very rough.

Wednesday 22. A very wet day thankfull that we had not to travel in it not allowed out today. Passed the commissioners, received our Bags and repacked the Boxes we had opened. Made ready for going aboard several fresh Passengers came in, rather bad night on account of some coming in late.

What happened next - John Hedge's original diary/letter to his mother