Letters
There are hundreds of letters contained in the family archives, the earliest of which is the end of 1804/beginning of 1805, to a then young Thomas Waters Sr. from Mary Anne Sillifant, wife of his benefactor John Sillifant, as Thomas was preparing to enter the British Royal Marine life.
The letters written by Thomas Sr. and his son Thomas Jr. not only illuminate the thoughtful, creative and talented writers that they were, but also so much about their lives–at sea, of course, but also, indirectly, through their letters to their wives, we get glimpses into the lives of their spouses on land, raising children and coping with life in the 18th and 19th Centuries in England and on the shores of what would later become Canada. We see the family’s lives intersecting with world events, like the Napoleonic Wars, the slave trade, the coronation of King William IV, the Industrial Revolution, the Opium Wars and the Great Potato Famine of Ireland.
The letters continue down through the ages, with the descendants of the Thomas Waters line, right up to the time we are living in now. More than two centuries of stories of adventure, everyday life, triumphs and tragedies. Laced through all the letters are a sense of faith, responsibility to family, and even humor.
