Last edited on August 27, 2007
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© Ginni Swanton 2005,
except where otherwise noted.
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Number of Visitors
since March 13, 2000
"America is a bad place for young girls to go to, unless they have their father, or brothers, or somebody to look after them. . . .
Take my advice, Mrs. O'Hara, and keep your girls at home . . . "
"The father and mother who suffer their young daughters to come out unprotected to America in search of imaginary goods
would rather see them laid in their graves than lose sight of them, did they know the dangers which beset their path in the
New World."
For more great background information on the Irish in America, visit the Mary Anne Sadlier website.
Bessy Conway, or The Irish Girl in America
by Mary Anne Sadlier, 1861
I've recently started going through my microfilms of old Irish newspapers and transcribing articles I found interesting.
This letter to the editor talks about the Kinneigh Round Tower in Cork and some of the legends of the area. It was published in the West Cork Eagle on July 18, 1868.
Kinneigh SteepleOn a trip to New York City last summer, I found two Swanton wills in the Manhattan Surrogate Courthouse which were written in 1798 and 1835. The testators, Ellinor and Robert Swanton, also resided in Cork, Ireland.
These wills contain a wealth of information regarding Swanton relationships (fathers, sisters, brothers, nephews, nieces, cousins, etc.) and their property ownership, both in the United States and in Cork, Ireland. Ellinor Swanton may have been Robert Swanton's aunt. I've linked Robert's will to some interesting biographical information about Robert, including his involvement with the United Irishmen in 1798 and his escape to America. There is also extensive information about Robert's nephew, Thomas Swanton, a noted Gaelic scholar and outspoken patriot.
Ellinor Swanton's Will, July 1798, Cork City
No known relationship
Robert Swanton, Counsellor at Law, Cork and NY
No known relationship
You can contact me at ginnisw@ginnisw.com.
