All of my direct ancestors are of Irish decent. The immigrants traveled from Ireland to the United States between the years 1850 and 1904. As I learn more about these individuals, I plan to write a short history of their lives.
  • Colfour/Colfer, Anastasia Born c1821 in County Wexford, Anastasia Colfour/Colfer married James Connor 1842 in Ireland. Per the 1860 US Census, Anastasia immigrated to the US in 1854 at the age of 33 with the first of her children. She lived in Evanston, Illinois where four more were born. She died in 1884 from typhoid pneumonia and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois.
  • Connor, James James Connor (c1818-1897) came to the United States from County Wexford, Civil Parish of Taghmon, and most likely the townland of Tottenhamgreen. Having married Anastasia Colfour/Colfer 1842 in County Wexford, he immigrated between 1852 and 1854. It appears he came directly to Evanston, Illlinois. He spent the remainder of his life in Evanston, dying at the age of 79 in 1897. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Evanston.
  • Fitzgerald, Margaret Margaret Fitzgerald (c1806-1886) is believed to have been born in County Limerick, possibly Limerick City. Margaret married Patrick Madigan in Limerick City on October 22, 1833. All of their children were born in Ireland. The family immigrated c1873, settling in Chicago, Illinois. Margaret Fitzgerald Madigan died in 1886, at the age of 80 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois.
  • Madigan, Patrick Born most likely in Coonagh now part of the City of Limerick, Patrick Madigan (1809-1884) married Margaret Fitzgerald at St. Munchin's Church in Limerick City in 1833. In 1873, he, his wife and several of his children immigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago, Illinois where he lived for the next 11 years until his death in 1884.
  • McIntyre, Thomas J. Thomas J. McIntyre (1878-1939), oldest son of Lawrence McIntyre and Mary Ginty, left Ireland to work in the coal mines of England in the late 1890s. In 1904, still single, he immigrated to the United States. His journey brought him directly to the home of his cousin, Patrick Madden, in Chicago, Illinois. Thomas married Ellen Walsh in 1910, raised five children in Chicago and died there in 1939. He is buried with his wife, Ellen Walsh in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois.
  • Reidy, Bridget Bridget was born c1831 in County Limerick. She married John Thomas c1851, also in County Limerick. They had several children in Limerick. While she was pregnant in 1865, her husband left for the United States. She followed him in 1866, crossing the ocean with her children on the SS Virginia and landing in New York City on September 8, 1866. She joined John in Chicago where they had two more children. Bridget Reidy Thomas died of a stroke in 1900. She is buried with her husband in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Chicago, in an unmarked grave.
  • Sullivan, Philip J. Born c1840 in Dennbane, County Cavan, Philip J. Sullivan came to America c1860, following several of his siblings to Chicago. He married Ellen Connor on November 2, 1865 at Old St. John’s Church in Chicago and raised nine children in the City. His first home was located at 90 Sholto Street where he owned a grocery store for many years, eventually moving to Evanston where he died on May 25, 1915. (For a more complete biography of Philip J. Sullivan see the Ancestor/Relative Biographies section.)
  • Thomas (Thompson), John Born c1836 in County Limerick, John Thomas married Bridget Reidy there c1851. They had several children before John immigrated c1865 to the United States. He came alone with his wife and family following him in 1866. Two more children were born in Chicago. He died of pneumonia, at the age of 72, in Chicago in 1904. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Chicago.
  • Walsh, Ellen Ellen Walsh (1881-1941) was born in Knockahoney, County Sligo and immigrated while still single to the United States sometime between 1901 and 1910. She married Thomas J. McIntyre in Chicago in 1910, raised five children there and died in the City in 1941 at the age of 60. She is buried with her husband, Thomas J. McIntyre in Mt. Carmel cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.