Family photographs from Irish America readers. In the family room of my childhood home there was a large wall covered with photographs – vintage tintypes and black-and-whites were set among school portraits of the kids and snapshots from family vacations. My grandma Agnes and I would sit in that room for hours, playing a little game: I pointed to an old picture and she … [Read more...] about Photo Album: She Liked Nice Things
Photo Album
Photo Album: The Dreary Sisters
Submitted by: Dr. Daniel Harrop
April / May 2008
April / May 2008
John Deary was the son of Patrick and Beatrice Deary, who emigrated from near Kerry in the 1850’s, eventually settling in Rhode Island. Likewise, Katherine Close was the daughter of James and Katherine Close, from County Down, whose family also settled in Rhode Island. John and Katherine were married at St. Michael Church, Providence, where all their five children were … [Read more...] about Photo Album: The Dreary Sisters
Photo Album: One Family & Their Dog
This snapshot of my grandparents, my uncle, and the family mutt was taken in 1950 on my mother’s first and only return to County Mayo for a family event. She left in 1915 as a 16-year-old girl and went to Philadelphia, where she worked as a housemaid and nanny for a wealthy family. My grandparents’ names were Nora and John Murray of Lunginashee (Ballina) and my uncle’s name was … [Read more...] about Photo Album: One Family & Their Dog
Photo Album: The Legacy of Grandma Bell
In this photograph taken in 1925, my mother Kathleen (far left) and her ten siblings pose with their parents, Sam and Ellen Bell, as they leave their home in Crossgar, County Down, Northern Ireland. The family immigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago where, after only four years, my grandfather died, leaving Grandma Bell to raise a family of eleven children. In … [Read more...] about Photo Album: The Legacy of Grandma Bell
Photo Album: Freedom Fıghters
These photographs of my grandfather, Sgt. Earl K. Giffin, and his sister, Lt. Gladys Giffin, were taken in Paris after the city was liberated during World War II. Both Earl and Gladys had been serving in Europe since June of 1944, and were eventually reunited in Paris. Raised in Plattsburgh, NY, they were two of Mr. and Mrs. G.H. Giffin’s thirteen children. The Giffin family … [Read more...] about Photo Album: Freedom Fıghters