Post card (front) sent by Irish John Smith while in Scotland

"He never was quite sure how old he was - so one day he got the idea to go to Ireland and find out.  As he was sight-seeing in different places he went to Scotland as he had relatives there.  He visited Edinburgh Castle and whom did he meet there but Judge Brown from Chamberlain.  They hugged, danced  and kissed each other - as it was so nice to meet someone from home."

After Irish John Smith left Scotland, some of the Smiths made their way to Wisconsin and South Dakota.  They include Louise Jane Smith, Bridget Smith, Patrick Smith, James Smith, and Thomas Smith.  Click on any of these hyperlinks to learn more about Scottish cousins. 

Frank Smith recalls the story of his father's trip to Ireland

Frank Smith told a story about how his father had, on a whim, headed off to Scotland.  At the time he mentioned this to us,  he thought his father may have attended the Worlds Fair, but we now know that it was  a technology fair held in Edinburgh.   This newspaper article supports his story that Irish John departed without telling anyone.

What happened next is "the real story".

Susan was not happy with this sudden exodus from the United States, so she decided to add a new addition to the family home.  When her husband returned from his trip to Ireland and Scotland, he saw the new addition, and immediately knew that he was in trouble.  His father made a few comments about the new addition, but as Frank said, "it was never discussed again."

Post Card (Back) sent by Irish John Smith while in Scotland

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Patrick Smyth from Bear Creek, Wisconsin

"heard from a lady whose great great grandmother married a Patrick Smyth from County Monaghan.  She didn't know much about the Smith(Smyth) family but knew Patrick was from County Monaghan.  Patrick lived by the Rooneys in Bear Creek.  Apparently, Patrick's first wife died and he remarried.  His second marriage didn't quite work out so well but he never got a divorce.  They just didn't live together ."

How we know that Irish John's great grandfather was named "John".

"Owen died in Scotland and the Scottish government required this record keeping.  The death register was signed by his son, John.  The dates agree with information I had before.  You may recall a Scottish cousin, Patrick, lived with 'Irish' John and his family in the early part of the twentieth century.  Patrick's grandfather was Owen.  Patrick's father was named 'Patrick' too.  Based on the Irish naming convention it is possible that Irish John's great grandfather was named 'John' too.  There were two 'John Smith' adult males living in Aghabog about 1790 or so.  Whoever drew up the Smith family tree previously thought 'Patrick' might be Owen's father's name."

Why its possible that Irish John Smith's grandfather was also named "John" and his grandmother's name was "Susan"

"missed something while I was going through all this stuff earlier.  I told you that Owen Smith's father was 'John Smith', but forgot to mention his mother's name.  It was Susan Coyle.  There were several Coyle families living in Aghabog, Patrick Coyle had leased land in Rossnaglogh too.  Previously, I have been trying to figure out how all these families in this little area tie together.

The Greenan Connection (Irish John Smith's mother was a Greenan)

Now, I did find Owen Smith's wife's death registry.  Her name was Bridget (Greenan) Smith.  The information I previously had indicated her birth surname might have been Grennan, but it was Greenan.  Her father's name was "Patrick Greenan" and her mother was "Margaret McCarvel".

Now you might recall a couple of things here.  There was a McCarvel (McCarville) living in Wisconsin that intersected our Smith line in a number of places.  This McCarville I figured was a relative but did not know how he was related.  Now here are a couple of odd tidbits.

There was a Patrick Greenan living in Aghabog too... Peter Smith lived next door to a Patrick Greenan in Liscumaskey Townland (Aghabog).   Peter Smith leased land together with a McCarvel (McCarville) and a McCabe.  Interestingly, in 1850 Brooklyn, Irish John lived with his mother, siblings, Uncle Terence Greenan and a McCabe family. 

...so Owen's grandchildren made their way to the United States.   My guess is that Irish John told his Scottish family how wonderful America was, and several got the "itch" to leave for the promised land.  Here are some highlights...

Bridget came over in 1916 and Thomas in 1911.  Thomas's passage was paid for by John Smith, his uncle, and Thomas gave the address of Lone Rock, Wisconsin.   The information was found on the Ellis Island website, which gives the full passenger manifest with a picture of the ship.

Bridget Smith 

Thomas Smith

See attached.  The only record I could not find was Patrick Smith Jr.  For some reason he is not indexed in the Ellis Island records.  Neither was James, but fortunately we was traveling with his father Patrick Sr.  James's documents I found embedded with Patrick Sr.; otherwise, it does not come up on the index.  The 1920 census says Patrick Jr. immigrated in 1905, which would have made him 13 or 14.  It indicated he got naturalized in 1911.   Later in the 1930 census it showed he immigrated in 1911.  All eventually lived in Sandusky.

Patrick and James Smith

Louise Jane Smith

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I thought it would be something interesting for our family to read.