Is Meets Was

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 wa...

In the early 1850s, while thousands were fleeing Ireland and the devastation caused by the potato famine, somebody or something lured Henry Webster to leave Scotland and to move his entire family to Ireland. By 1851, Henry Webster, who I introduced in my first post, had become the farm overseer at Inch in the parish of Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, Scotland.  When the census was taken, Agnes was alone at their home in Scotland with three of their four children: John, age 4; Henry, age 2; and the baby, James.  Jessie, their 5 year old daughter, was staying across the river at Cowie Hill in Edzell with her Aunt and Uncle, Elizabeth and Richard Alexander. Henry wasn't home.  Perhaps, Henry was away scouting Ballykeenan, the farm in Ireland where they would soon be moving. Two years ago, I went on a most extraordinary journey to Ireland. One of the many highlights of the trip was finding my husband's ancestral home, Ballykeenan, near Myshall in Cou...

In my first post, I wrote about Henry Webster, the progenitor of the World Wide Websters, my email buddies who are descended by blood or marriage from Henry Webster and Agnes Low. Members live in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, and the USA. The 1841 Scotland Census has the earliest record we have found for Henry. He was a young man, age 23, working as an agricultural laborer at Inch in the parish of Fettercairn. His wife-to-be, Agnes Low, was working in the town of Fettercairn as a dressmaker, along with her twin sister, Margaret, age 22, and younger sister, Betsey, age 20. Their family lived at Meikle Tullo, the farm in the parish of Edzell where the sisters were born. Stephanie and Martyn Robey of New Zealand, members of their World Wide Websters, went to Scotland in September 2006 to find a vestige of Henry and Agnes .  You may join their journey by clicking on  the slide show,  THE ROAD TO FETTERCAIRN . Enjoy. © 2010, Catherine...

An avid reader as a child, I aspired to become a great novelist. Now approaching the onset of Medicare, my dreams and aspirations have changed. I still aspire to be a writer: Rather than a novelist be, I will write about my family tree. With much trepidation about going public and energized by yesterday’s inspirational news that prayers and modern medicine have partnered to shrink Joey’s brain tumor, I am writing the first article for my genealogy blog.  Joey is the firstborn of our four grandchildren. It was almost five years ago that I sent an email to the World Wide Websters heralding Joey’s arrival. From: Cathy To: WorldWideWebsters ; Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2005, 5:33 PM Subject: New great-great-great-great grandson of Henry Webster Our grandson was born yesterday at about 7:20 pm ... Baby and parents are fine. Grandparents are ecstatic. I will send pictures soon. --Cathy To commemorate yesterday’s great news, I decided to write abou...