• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Irish America

Irish America

Irish America

  • HOME
  • WHO WE ARE
    • ABOUT US
    • OUR CONTRIBUTORS
  • IN THIS ISSUE
  • HALL OF FAME
  • THE LISTS
    • BUSINESS 100
    • HALL OF FAME
    • HEALTH AND LIFE SCIENCES 50
    • WALL STREET 50
  • LIBRARY
  • TRAVEL
  • EVENTS

Photo Album: As American as Apple Pie

Submitted by Ellen (Faron) Powers, Millbury, Massachusetts
June / July 2002

June 1, 2002 by Leave a Comment

1941 - The Faron Family, Massachusetts.

Proud of their country and their new house, Lawrence and Blanche Faron hosted the Faron family’s first July 4th clambake at their home in Millbury, Massachusetts in 1941. Lawrence’s grandfather Peter Faron (Fern) had emigrated to the United States as a boy with his mother and six siblings from Kileary, County Armagh, in May 1853, six months after his father, Michael. Michael had gone on ahead of his family in order to seek work and accommodation, before their arrival. The family landed in New York and settled in Millbury, an industrial town along the Blackstone River. Michael became a laborer/small farmer and left his farm to his eldest son, Patrick, while younger son Peter worked in the local mill. Peter’s family and Patrick’s family shared a house on Rhodes Street, Millbury for many years before Peter’s family were able to move into their own home.

Lawrence worked for New England Power Company and married his high school sweetheart, Blanche, when they were both very young. The July 4th family gatherings continued until Lawrence’s death in 1971, but the sense of family remains so strong that Lawrence and Blanche’s eldest daughter, Nancy (third from left in front row), continues to host a similar gathering every July 4th.

Bill Faron, Lawrence’s brother who took the picture, was a detective in the Boston Police before he retired in the early 1960s. Because of his professional experience in taking pictures of felons and crime scenes, he became the unofficial family photographer and for that reason rarely features in a family photograph.

Gathered on the front porch are: Top (left to right): Fr. Arthur A. Faron, Mary E. (Connell) Faron, Margaret (Leary) Faron, Rose Faron, Nellie (Faron) Norton, Blanche (Roberts) Faron and matriarch Celia Faron. Bottom (left to right): Lawrence M. Faron, John Faron, Nancy Faron, Rosemary Norton, Lawrence J. Faron, John Norton and (standing) Walter F. Faron. ♦

Editor’s note:  Do you have a family photo and story to share? Please email pharty@irishamerica.com if you do.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Highlights

News
Articles and stories from Irish America.....
MORE

Hibernia
News from Ireland and happenings in Irish America.....
MORE

Those We Lost
Remembering some of the great Irish Americans who have passed.....
MORE

Slainte!
Discover Irish ancestry, predilections, and recipes.....
MORE

Photo Album
Irish America readers share the stories of their ancestors....
MORE

More Articles

  • Chicken Today, Feathers Tomorrow

    Chicken Today, Feathers Tomorrow

    Chicken today, feathers tomorrow. That’s how my mother described life with my father, James McQuilan...
  • Dorothea Lange's Ireland

    Dorothea Lange's Ireland

    When photographer Dorothea Lange, best known for her haunting series of images from the Depression e...
  • Roots: The O'Briens

    Roots: The O'Briens

    The O'Briens are one of the great Gaelic families of Ireland, and were the rulers of the ancient kin...
  • President Trump Proclaims Irish Heritage Month

    President Trump Proclaims Irish Heritage Month

    The President calls on Irish Americans to celebrate their "contributions to our Nation," adding,"Iri...

Footer

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe

  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Newsletter

Additional

  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · IrishAmerica Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in