James, a tailor by trade, arrived in Boston aboard the Catharine on November 13, 1848, having left behind his wife, Betsey, a little tyke (Thomas), a challenging toddler (Mary), the baby (John), a son just forming in the womb (Patrick), and the memory of the infant daughter (Joanna) who had died a few years before.
James Fitzgerald was about the same age as one of my husband's ancestors, Henry Webster, whom I have previously introduced. James relocated from Ireland to America about the same time Henry immigrated from Scotland to Ireland. Both men were in their mid-thirties when they made these significant changes. James Fitzgerald struggled to find a way for his wife and family to join him in America, whereas the transition was less arduous for Henry.
James and his wife, Betsey, were both from county Kerry. I believe Betsey was a Graney from Killelton, a townland on the north shore of the Dingle peninsula in the civil parish of Kilgobban. I suspect that James also was from the civil parish of Kilgobban. A book about the history of the town of New London, New Hampshire, indicates that James's brother and his family were from Kilgarvan, Ireland. In my opinion, this is a transcription error, and Kilgavan should have read Kilgobban.
I may never know for sure when and where James and Betsey were born, where they met, or when and where James and Betsey were married. Nonetheless, with abundant hope, I shall continue the quest for records that may reveal more of their story.
© 2010, Cathy H Paris
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