Continuing from the last post, I'm hoping to figure out when members of the Moriarty family arrived in the USA from Ireland. A great immigrant wave came over in the wake of the Great Famine aka Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852) and the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). In North America, the Western Lands were being opened up for homesteading on vast territories contested by Native Americans/First Nations.
As previously noted, members of the Moriarty family had made it to Kansas by the 1860s. Thanks to state and federal census records, we know that some were born in Ireland, some in Kansas, and one -- Elisabeth Moriarty -- was born in Connecticut (occasionally she is listed as having been born in Wisconsin, which may have been a transit point along the trek to Kansas). This clue, combined with an initial combing through passenger arrival records, led to a possible breakthrough.
On March 3, 1851, Catherine Moriarty, aged 24 (born circa 1826) and Michael Moriarty, aged 2 (born circa 1849) arrived from Ireland on the Princeton, destination Connecticut. This matches other records as to approximate age, and sets up the right place for the birth of Elisabeth Moriarty in Connecticut circa 1852.
There is a John Moriarty, aged 48 (born circa 1803), arriving just two days later (on March 5, 1851) on the Liverpool. Destination: USA (no specifics). He would be about nine years older than the John Moriarty living in Kansas in 1865, but given the vagaries of the record-keepers at the time, he could very well be the same guy, or some other close relative.
Meanwhile, I'll keep seeking answers.
Erik Donald France: efrance23@gmail.com
"It's a long way to Tipperary. . ." I was humming that tune late in January when on the 31st, rec'd an email with the information that the Moriarty family originated in Emly Parish, Tipperary County, Ireland. Yes~!
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