Preston | August 30th, 1843.
Dear Father
You tell me in your last letter1 that I have omitted to mention the name of the ‘head man’ at Somerset House2 in accordance with the Dean’s3 wishes. I hope the Dean does not imagine that this omission was caused by neglect or a want on my part of appreciating his very great kindness. The department of Somerset House to which my application referred is, as the Dean has stated in his testimonial, ‘a map office under the superintendence of the Tithe Commissioners’.4 The names of these Commissioners I know not; there are I think four of them.5 I could obtain their names by writing to some of the London Journals. I have done so before in similar cases. I however have reason to believe that an application at present would not be attended with success. A Captain of the Royal Engineers a short time ago applied to Captain Dawson, Assistant to the Commissioners, in behalf of a young gentleman from Limerick who has been on the Ordnance Survey as long as I have. The answer of Captain Dawson was, that at present nothing could be done. I have this from the lips of the person on whose behalf the application was made; besides I would think it best to wait for some news from America and let that determine our future proceedings. I had a letter some time ago – the fifth of this month6 – from Wm Wright. I quote from it the following: – ‘It would give me great pleasure to hear you signify your intention of emigrating to this country, nay to this city, for it possesses so many opportunities for a young man to acquire the requisite information to enable him to earn an honest independence’. Again:– ‘If you ever should think of coming out, make straight for Cincinnati, and in it you will find as hearty and as welcome a reception as you could wish for, in fact I have been for some time looking forward to the day when I will be able to grasp your hand in the street of this goodly city. I do not see any hindrance to you at once starting, except that of leaving your parents’. I could quote much more in this strain – Let this suffice. He tells me he has been blessed with another lovely child – a little girl, a month old, but as plump and large as a child of three. From the tone of William’s letter I gather that the wildness of his youth is quite gone that he is a settled – nay a religious man. Tell his mother what I have told you. If I knew her address I would write to her on receiving his letters, he always desires me to do so. I have written to him asking him many questions, he no doubt will give me punctual answers. I received a paper from him to day
<rest of letter missing>
RI MS JT 1/10/3296
LT Transcript Only
your last letter: letter missing.
Somerset House: on the Strand in central London.
the Dean: Dean Richard Bernard.
Tithe Commissioners: see letter 0173, n. 7.
The names of these Commissioners … I think four of them: There were in fact three Tithe Commissioners, William Blamire (1790–1862), the Chair of the Commissioners, Thomas Wentworth Buller (1792/3–1863) and Richard Jones (1790–1855). Tyndall was subsequently told the names of the three Commissioners by Archibald McLachlan, who warned him ‘observe the 3 distinctions – Blamire Esq – he is for the land owners – Bullar R.N. is for the Admiralty – and Jones is for the Church – each party is to watch and preserve the interests of his caste’ (18 October 1843 RI MS JT/1/11/3813–7).
a letter some time ago – the fifth of this month: letter missing; the most recent extant letter Tyndall received from William Wright was letter 0217 dated 11 July 1843.
Please cite as “Tyndall0230,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 4 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0230