UN: JN316
LN: Kelly
DH: Patrick Martin (21)
DW: Margaret Anne (19)
Beginning Year: 1847
Old Country: Galway, Ireland
New Country: Boston, USA
The Ó Ceallaighs of Galway weren't among the hardest hit by the potato blight, but the suffering was enough that Pádraic knew he needed to leave his beloved Ireland or else watch his family -- which now included a young wife, Mairéad -- wither away. His older brother Seán had departed for the United States a few years prior to look for work, and Pádraic intended to join him in Boston.
The voyage across the Atlantic was none too pleasant, and many of the passengers in steerage didn't survive the journey. Pádraic and Mairéad were among the lucky ones, and they certainly counted themselves blessed. America represented a chance at a completely new life -- literally, as the immigration official had registered them under entirely new names seeing as he had no idea how to spell Pádraic and Mairéad Ó Ceallaigh. And though Patrick and Margaret (as they were newly christened) was loathe to leave their family names behind, they were more eager to strike out on their own in the land of opportunity.
This message was edited 11/20/2011, 2:34 PM