Thomas McKean (March 19, 1734 – June 24, 1817) was the son of William McKean from County Antrim who came to Pennsylvania via the city of…

James Smith was born in Ireland's province of Ulster in 1719 and went to the American colonies as a boy. A member of the Continental Congress 1776-1778,  he  served in the war of independence as a Colonel of the Pennsylvania Militia from 1775-1776. Smith died on 11 July 1806. He was also a…

If you live in the southern part of the United States, you know they are still not over the war. Which war? The one where the south lost!  So thought I would stir the pot a little.

A large part of the 34th Mississippi Infantry was captured on the 24th of November, 1863 at…

The Irish were present at the creation of Georgia as a British colony in 1733. The second Royal Governor (1757-1760) of the colony was the Monaghan-born naval explorer Henry Ellis.  By treaty signed in 1763 with the Creek Indians, a tract of land was transferred which was roughly…

Before Columbus, Europe had never tasted potatoes, tomatoes, red peppers, chocolate, pumpkins, coconuts, pineapples, strawberries, and much more.  All these food items are native to the Americas.  Although explorers brought potatoes back from the New World in the early 1500s,…

Thomas Fitzsimons was born at Ballikilty, County Wexford, Ireland in October of 1741 to Anthony Fitzsymons in the mid-1750s.  We know his mother's name was Jane, but we do not have a record of her maiden surname.  Fitzsimons immigrated to Philadelphia where his father…

William Paterson (December 24, 1745 – September 9, 1806) was born in County Antrim to William Paterson and Unknown named mother. (How about it, Ireland – who is she?) He immigrated to the U.S. at the age of two, and entered the College of New Jersey (now Princeton…

What is the difference between a cemetery and a graveyard? Graveyards are in the "yards" of churches.  The use of tombstones may go back to the belief that ghosts could be weighed down. 

The difference between Union and…

James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) was born into a Scots-Irish family in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland in 1753.   Sent at age 17 to North America McHenry lived with a family friend in Philadelphia before deciding to finish his preparatory…

George Michael Cohan was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer. Assumed by many to be Jewish because of his last name, which was really Keohane! Known in the decade before World…

Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly was born 11 November, 1873 in Glen Cove, New York to  Daniel John Daly and Ellen Donovan -- presumably both were born somewhere in Ireland?

Daly was twice awarded the Congressional Medal of…

I teach genealogy at a senior center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.. This city is a virtual melting pot of many nationalities of the world and people of many colors. We sometimes get into discussions that really are "food for thought." It is…

One of the biggest projects in U.S. history, the building of the transcontinental railroad is played out in “Hell on Wheels”.  Four of the lead actors are Irish: Phil Burke, Irish Canadian; Colm Meany, Dublin; Robin McLeavy, Australia – ancestry  Ireland; Dominique…

At exactly noon on November 18, 1883, American and Canadian railroads begin using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times. The bold move was emblematic of the power shared by the railroad companies.

The need for continental…

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (1888 – 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. Born in a Broadway hotel room in Longacre Square (now Times Square), in the Barrett Hotel. He was the son of Irish immigrant actor James O'Neill, Rosbercon, County…

His great grandparents were Dennis Harrigan, (born 1781 in Cork) and Catherine Driscoll (Cork).

His grandparents were Dennis Harrigan Jr, (born 1832 in New Brunswick, Canada) and Catherine Ahearn (born in Canada, father from Cork).

His mother was Catherine Helen Harrigan (born 1873 in Stillwater, Washington, Minnesota).

He was Harry…

Professor James J. Ryan II was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1903.  In a most literal sense, Professor James Ryan earned his nickname. A professor in the University of Minnesota’s mechanical engineering department from…

General John Alexander McClernand, born May 30, 1812, Kentucky, self- educated lawyer at age 20 and private in Blackhawk War with Abraham Lincoln as his Captain. Son of Dr. John, immigrant from Antrim, Ireland and Fatima Cummins (her ancestors were part of the Jamestown…

Deadlines were common forms of crowd control in military prisons of the Civil War era, especially open stockade type prisons. What constituted the deadline varied widely from prison to prison. At many prisons, such as Andersonville, Camp Lawton, Camp Douglas, and Florence, the…

Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II, receiving every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian…