ABSTRACT
The John Wilson letters, written from Lowell, Massachusetts, to Halifax, Yorkshire, are from a textiles immigrant to his parents, and they are valuable documents on the close relationship between the British and American textiles industries, as described in the introductions to these volumes. They include advice to others who may follow, and Wilson’s statement that ‘my future good conduct will I hope be a sufficient atonement’ seems to refer to his promise to send money when he can, so others can follow. He advises not to take fire irons, ‘as they are not used in this country, the fire being in a stove, and wood the fuel’, but to ‘Bring all your pots and small useful household articles’. He is working in Lowell and doing well: by 21 April 1849 he proudly reports that ‘I am still on firstrate terms with my Boss’, who is glad to hear that more English workers are coming. Later letters indicate that his sister is joining him, that he has many English friends and, most important, he has enjoyed considerable occupational mobility: ‘I am now Overseer of a section of Carpet Power Looms, of course I had to learn and shall be learning for some time, they are the most complex piece of machinery I ever saw, I am very fortunate in getting this job’.
