In an 1848 letter to solicitor Christopher McNally of Dublin, Ireland, Dr. J. F. Wilde of that city and recently arrived in New York, mentions that he expects to travel in the United States and that he has been offered free passage on "coasting vessels" in return for his medical services. A second letter from Thomas McNally of the same firm, solicitors to Wilde's daughter in London, concerns her financial and legal affairs and suggests attempting to have Dr. Wilde declared legally dead since he had not been heard from in twenty-one years.