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in reply to a message by britto08
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.
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
Replies
Welcome!
Patrick and Margaret have welcomed a baby girl!
UN: JN316
LN: Kelly
DH: Patrick Martin (22)
DW: Margaret Anne (20)
-DD:
Beginning Year: 1847
Old Country: Galway, Ireland
New Country: Boston, USA
Patrick and Margaret have welcomed a baby girl!
UN: JN316
LN: Kelly
DH: Patrick Martin (22)
DW: Margaret Anne (20)
-DD:
Beginning Year: 1847
Old Country: Galway, Ireland
New Country: Boston, USA
UN: JN316
LN: Kelly
DH: Patrick Martin (22)
DW: Margaret Anne (20)
-DD: Kathleen Brighid "Kate" (nb)
Beginning Year: 1847
Old Country: Galway, Ireland
New Country: Boston, USA
1848 -- After spending a few days in New York sorting out travel arrangements, Patrick and Margaret made their way north, to Boston. Patrick's brother, Sean, met them at the train station, and they were pleased to see that he appeared to be in good health. It had been agreed that Patrick and Margaret would stay with Sean and his family, at least until they could get on their feet.
Sean found work for his brother at the steel mill where he was also employed. The foreman was brutal and the work exhausting, but Patrick was thankful to have any job at all. Margaret spent her days with Sean's wife, an American named Clara, and the couple's three children. Being so surrounded by family made Margaret yearn for the one she had left behind in Galway, even more so after she discovered she was pregnant. It didn't help when a letter arrived from home, proudly announcing that Margaret's sister Caitríona had given birth to a little boy. Margaret was inconsolable that her own child would likely never know its Irish grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.
But all that sorrow washed away when she delivered a healthy baby girl. To be sure, Patrick had been hoping for a boy to name after his father, but from the moment he first laid eyes on his daughter, he knew he would not trade her for the world. The couple named her Kathleen Brighid, after Margaret's sister and mother.
LN: Kelly
DH: Patrick Martin (22)
DW: Margaret Anne (20)
-DD: Kathleen Brighid "Kate" (nb)
Beginning Year: 1847
Old Country: Galway, Ireland
New Country: Boston, USA
1848 -- After spending a few days in New York sorting out travel arrangements, Patrick and Margaret made their way north, to Boston. Patrick's brother, Sean, met them at the train station, and they were pleased to see that he appeared to be in good health. It had been agreed that Patrick and Margaret would stay with Sean and his family, at least until they could get on their feet.
Sean found work for his brother at the steel mill where he was also employed. The foreman was brutal and the work exhausting, but Patrick was thankful to have any job at all. Margaret spent her days with Sean's wife, an American named Clara, and the couple's three children. Being so surrounded by family made Margaret yearn for the one she had left behind in Galway, even more so after she discovered she was pregnant. It didn't help when a letter arrived from home, proudly announcing that Margaret's sister Caitríona had given birth to a little boy. Margaret was inconsolable that her own child would likely never know its Irish grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.
But all that sorrow washed away when she delivered a healthy baby girl. To be sure, Patrick had been hoping for a boy to name after his father, but from the moment he first laid eyes on his daughter, he knew he would not trade her for the world. The couple named her Kathleen Brighid, after Margaret's sister and mother.