Skip to main content
GSSA
The 1820 Settler Correspondence
 as preserved in the National Archives, Kew
 and edited by Sue Mackay

pre 1820 Settler Correspondence before emigration

ALL the 1819 correspondence from CO48/41 through CO48/46 has been transcribed whether or not the writers emigrated to the Cape. Those written by people who did become settlers, as listed in "The Settler Handbook" by M.D. Nash (Chameleon Press 1987), are labelled 1820 Settler and the names of actual settlers in the text appear in red.

RYAN, James

Written by Sue Mackay on .

National Archives, Kew CO48/45, 453

May Pole Road

Cork

22 July 1819

Memorial of James RYAN late Captain the 32nd Regt of Foot pension 1s1d per day to His Royal Highness the Duke of York Commander of the Forces

Humbly sheweth

That memorialist served 25 years 347 days in the army 5½ years of that time in the West Indies. That his family consists of a wife and 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls. That his own age is 47, his wife 40, 3 boys from 10 to 5, the 2 girls from 4 to 2 years of age.

That memorialist hopes Your Royal Highness from the above statement will take it into your most gracious consideration that with such a youthfull family I would be a fit and proper person to emigrate to the Cape of Good Hope.

That memorialist will take the greatest care to instill into the youthfull minds of his children the love of loyalty for your Illustrious Family, devotion for the Established Church and respect for the British Constitution and a family so instructed must be a great acquisition to an infant settlement.

That memorialist hopes that if there is a deposit required he will be allowed the benefit of the Act in favour of former pensioners to make good the same but at the same time begs leave to state that I would consider myself fully satisfyed with a compensation in the new settlement for any loss of pension I may sustain.

Memorialist hopes that if there is any thing informal or disrespectfull in this memorial your Royal Highness will impute it to my ignorance not to a want of respect for the Royal personage to whom I hope you will excuse the liberty I have taken to address this memorial.

If I am so lucky as to suckseed in this myselfe and family will be in duty bound to pray

James RYAN

Late Captain 32nd Regt Foot

Out pensioner of Kilmainham Hospital

  • Hits: 5688