In Search of Michael E. – Part 4

I was really struggling letting go of the opportunity to see the real property since we came so far.

I decided to call Josie and she was so gracious and accommodating.

We meet Josie back at the Church on our way out of town.

The Sexton Farm

She led us to the Sexton farm about seven kilometers away which covers 32 acres in Aghamore Upper, County Longford Ireland

Josie was born in the old house and moved into the new house in 1975. It was only she and her parents in the new house then. She has never lived anywhere else and has always been single.

Josie seldom goes down to the old house these days. She said to me, “Ya gonna need ya boots in all the muck Michael Edward.”

The property has always had cattle, calves and sheep on it and some of the acreage is now rented by a cattle farmer.

Who knows? There is a good chance that James and his father Patt were Cattle Farmers or Ranchers (or Cowboys as we call them in the States).

A Hard Life

Most of Patt’s life and all of James’ life were living on the farm as farmers or laborers. They worked for the landowner in exchange for a roof over their heads and food to feed their families.

Here is a sample of what a farmer or a Laborer’s house may have looked like in the 17 and early 18 hundreds.

Bothan Scóir, was a typical one-roomed house of a landless laborer who worked for a local landlord. Many of these houses, with their thatched roofs, disappeared along with their tenants during the Great Irish Famine.

Maybe that’s why Michael E made his way to America in 1891 at just 18 years old. He just didn’t see himself living the farmer’s life.

(Stayed tuned. There’s more to come.)

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In Search of Michael E – Part 3

Today we headed into Longford Township to meet with local Historian Martin Morris.

Using the free ancestry website www.IrishGenealogy.ie Martin was very helpful pulling up civil records. He was also able to identify the Parish and Cemetery where my great-great grandfather James was buried.

Finding the cemetery

Using a hand drawn map of the cemetery we were able to locate James Sexton (1831-1913) as plot #296.

On the sides of James’ headstone was his oldest son Bernard (1864-1950) and his grandson James (1924-1996).

Meeting Josie

This is a classic divine appointment.

After visiting St. Colmcille Catholic Church and Cemetery in Aghnacliffe, County Longford we headed up the hill toward Dunbeggan in search of locals that might give us some insights and possibly identify distant relatives still living in the area.

At the top of the hill were two pubs and a fast food place.

I asked the two women behind the counter and a customer in the restaurant if they could point us in the right direction to Aghamore Upper.

The customer, a petite woman named Patricia Boyle, immediately chimed in and asked why Aghamore Upper?

We told her of our journey and and as God would have it she knew Josephine Sexton who lives in Aghamore Upper. “In fact,” she said with her thick Gaelic brogue, “she goes to church right down the way here. Let me go to the church and point her out for ya.”

So she grabbed her food and before we knew it she was in her car and off she went. We caught up to her in front of St. Colmcille Catholic Church (were we just came from) and she scurried into the church where there with eight or ten older folks praying the Rosary.

As she search for Josephine she realized she wasn’t there yet. She suggested we wait since the Mass was starting at “half past 7.”

20 minutes later, A sweet older woman with glasses came walking up the drive to the church. Patricia described her perfectly.

Within five minutes she tells me, “Call me Josie!” Quickly followed by. “Tell me. Who are ya now?”

As it turns out, Josephine Sexton’s great-grandfather is James (born in 1831).

This makes us Second Cousins one removed. I think?

Josie shared with us that she was the only Sexton still living on the Aghamore Upper property and the original house could not be reached.

Since she was going to Mass we let her go thinking this was the end of our time together and bid our farewells.

We went up the hill toward Aghamore Upper to where we guessed the property might be. We knew we were close.

(Continue on to In Search of Michael E – Part 4

In Search of Michael E – Part 2

We have had a productive couple of days in Dublin and enjoying the Republic of Ireland’s bustling capital.

Today we head Northeast of Dublin to Longford where we will continue our search for Michael E.

My wife, Lisa, and I are heading to Aghamore Upper in County Longford hoping we find the property and cemetery for James & Bridget Lee (Michael E’s parents).

Finding exact locations, addresses or coordinates have been a challenge. We are getting closer.

It seems a part of our journey is realizing that the Irish are great story tellers and the stories are not always factual. It depends on what story the story teller heard or how much Guinness they’ve consumed when telling the story.

Record keeping is similar and sketchy due to merged family names and terrible penmanship. Again, it may be the Guinness.

From what we have gathered so far, it appears that Michael E’s grandfather may have been Patt who worked the farm in Aghamore Upper before his son James bought a portion of it. Any clarity on that will be welcomed. All we have to this point is Lot 14B on a Valuation map.

From County Longford we plan to head southwest through County Roscommon. Somewhere in this region is the home of Mary Gallagher who Michael Edward Sexton married in Lower Manhattan years later.

The biggest challenge thus far is identifying where to find accurate records; properties, cemeteries, church name and locations for marriages and baptisms, etc.

From Roscommon we head to Cobh (formerly Queenstown) to see what sailing records we can find. We are assuming that Mary Gallagher (who sailed in 1888) and Michael Edward (1891) went to Castle Gardens in NY from Queenstown rather than from Galway.

Queenstown is where the majority of journeys to America began for millions of Irish men and women.

(Continue on to In Search of Michael E – Part 3)

As we head out of Dublin later this morning, please send up any prayers since this will be my first time driving on the left side of the road. Pray for the others on the road (and sidewalks) as well

In Search of Michael E

While embarking on a journey to Ireland in search of my family’s heritage I am reminded how lucky and blessed we are to live in the United States of America.

We are rich beyond compare. Especially when we reflect on what our forefathers had to endure to insure our freedom. We are free because of their bravery.

In researching the plight of Ireland and the conditions they worked and lived in, it is amazing we can simply get on a plane to fly to the Old Country.

When our Irish grandparents and great grandparents came to the New World it was a minimum seven day voyage.

On the sailing vessels pre-dating the great steamers it was a three month adventure across the Atlantic.

I am Michael Edward Sexton (born in 1956). Son of Robert William (1923-1994) of the Bronx and grandson of James Jerome (1898-1975) of the Bronx.

James Jerome was the first generation Irish-American in our lineage.

His father was Michael Edward (1873-1940) who came to America in 1891 on a journey from Ireland.

At just 17 years old he had to be eager for a new life in the new world where millions of Irishmen emigrated to. The journey from the northern hills of Ireland to the docks of Queenstown must have taken him weeks or possibly months to find the ships heading to America.

From what we have been able to gather through genealogical research Michael E was a laborer and son of a farmer in County Longford.

We also know that Michael E married an Irish girl he met in Lower Manhattan and had seven boys and two girls including their first, James Jerome.

Her name was Mary Gallagher (1870-1956) from County Roscommon and she sailed to the new world in 1888. She was just 17 or 18 years old.

Our next seven days in Ireland will hopefully shine new light on where they came from and how we got to where we are today.

(Continue on to In Search of Michael E – Part 2)