October 2, 1879

Irish immigrant Catherine Coll arrived in New York aboard the SS Nevada on this day in 1879. Coll later met and married Juan Vivion de Valera, a Cuban settler and sculptor. The couple reportedly married on September 18, 1881 at St. Patrick’s Church in Jersey City. Kate Coll would later give birth to Eamon on October 14, 1882 in New York. With Juan Vivion de Valera deceased, Coll was to poor to support her child, so Eamon de Valera was sent back to Ireland with his uncle.