London. Sunday morning
My dear mother
I have at length a quiet hour to write to you. Since I last wrote to you2 I have been very busy, but the store of strength which I obtained during my visit to the Isle of Wight3 enables me to get through my work cheerfully and with satisfaction. It is the greatest pleasure of my life to work when I am quite well. In fact I only value life for the purposes of real earnest work.
The weather has been extremely dry in England, so dry indeed as to injure some parts of the country. This morning the clouds look heavy, but the wind is still east and as long as this continues—as long as the wind blows over us from Asia and Africa instead of from the Atlantic ocean we shall have but little rain. Still the country looks lovely and in an hour or two I take the train, and roll into one of the most lovely parts of England. There is one beautiful family4 which I often visit on Sundays and with them I intend to spend the afternoon and evening of today, returning by a night train so as to commence my work in good time tomorrow.
I invited a son of Dr Tyndall’s5 to come to see me, but as he was getting ready he received an appointment as surgeon on board an emigrant ship.6 He has a younger son named John7 and he is coming over to see me in June. Were it not that I have such a load of work pressing upon me I would make a trip to Ireland and pay you a visit.
I think you told me the name of your grandmother’s father was Malone8 and that he cut her off with a shilling for marrying out of connexion. Your great grandfather Malone was, I think you told me a man of property, and that he divided his property among his sons. I think you told me that Janeville9 belonged to him: is this Janeville near Ballybromwell?10 Excuse me for bothering you with these questions. They may be of interest at some future day. Did not my grandfather Tyndall11 own some property at Coolcullen,12 and did he not change his will on his deathbed taking his property from my father;13 and did not Lord Frankfort14 afterwards obtain the property by lawsuit. All this I remember hearing when a boy. I suppose I am quite right.
Your affectionate son
RI MS JT/5/16a/-
LT Typescript Only
[October 1858]: the year and month are given by a note LT wrote on the typescript: ‘Oct. 1858 is the date of the Mother’s answer, pinned on to last page of Journal VIII a’. Tyndall recorded an extract of his mother’s reply (included in n. 8 below) at the end of his manuscript journal which begins in September 1858 and ends in June 1871 (Journal, JT/2/10/66 [manuscript] and JT/2/13c/1383 [transcript]). This letter and his mother’s response probably relate to Tyndall’s courting Mary Drummond. He often felt he was not in the same social class as the Drummond family, and was likely seeking information from his own mother about his family’s heritage to garner the favour of Mary and her mother Maria. See letter 1578 in which Tyndall shares with Hirst about his relationship with the Drummond family.
last wrote to you: letter 1552.
my visit to the Isle of Wight: Tyndall frequently visited the Isle of Wight, the largest island in England (located in the English Channel) which was a popular destination for holidays
one beautiful family: probably Maria Drummond and her daughters Mary, Emily, and Fanny.
a son of Dr Tyndall’s: not identified. Perhaps the son of John Tyndall (d. 17 April 1875), a doctor in Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland. See ‘Obituaries’, Lancet, 1 May 1875, p. 633. The obituary states he was 67 when he died, so in 1858 he would have been around 50 years old, old enough to have two older sons that could potentially travel from Ireland to London to visit with Tyndall.
an emigrant ship: not identified.
a younger son named John: not identified. Perhaps another son of John Tyndall (d. 17 April 1875), a doctor in Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland (see n. 5).
the name of your grandmother’s father was Malone: William Malone. Sarah Tyndall’s reply (letter missing, but an extract can be found in Tyndall’s journal for 1871, with the date October 1858: ‘My grandmother's family were people of wealth & property. their name was Malone, but my grandmother marrying out of meeting she was denied by them. Her father left three townlands one to each of her brothers—Ballybromwell to William, Ballintrain to Thomas, and Killkay to Pim. I believe that is Nehemiah, and to my grandmother one angry shilling This however never altered the affections of her husband towards her, and they had abundance while they lived. there were no such farms in the country as he kept. They had one son & that was my father and she reared him as she was reared herself as a Quaker, and I went along with him to meeting where Mrs. Lecky, first saw me. Oct. 1858’. Journal (JT/2/13c/1383 (transcript) and JT/2/10/661 (manuscript).
Janeville: a townland in Co Carlow, Ireland.
Ballybromwell: Ballybrommell, a townland in Co Carlow.
my grandfather Tyndall: William Tyndall (1766–1823), of Coolcullen, Co Kilkenny, Ireland, was the father of Tyndall’s father John Tyndall (1792–1847). He married Emelia Byrne in 1790. John Tyndall moved to Co Carlow, settling in Leighlinbridge. He worked for William Steuart, who owned many of the properties in Leighlinbridge. John Tyndall and his father looked to the Steuarts for patronage and approached them for support when Tyndall was considering various forms of employment as a young man. For letters between Tyndall and Elizabeth Steuart, see letters 1555 and 1561.
Coolcullen: a townland in Co Kilkenny.
my father: John Tyndall (1792–1847), grew up in Leighlinbridge and married Sarah McAssey in 1813. They had two children that are definitely known: John and his older sister Emma (b. 1817). He probably served in the Royal Irish Constabulary at the police station in Nurney from 1828–33. The family then moved to Castlebellingham, Co Louth for the next three years before returning to Leighlin Bridge, where he worked as a boot and shoemaker. He may also have served as a land agent for William Steuart, one of the principal landlords in Leighlin Bridge and also the main patron of the Tyndall family. His 1847 death was a blow to his son, who relied on his father for advice.
Lord Frankfort: the Viscount Frankfort, a landowner in Co Kilkenny and Co Carlow.
Please cite as “Tyndall1569,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on