Welch Family History: Recent Episodes
joe
This is an exploration into my family history, and will likely only interest them. I will begin in Ireland in the early to mid 1800s, simply because 12 of my 16 second great grandparents fled Ireland during that tumultuous time. This period is sometimes referred to as the Great Famine, but more accurately it is called An Gorta Mor, or The Great Hunger. I will start each episode with a question, as all good adventures do. However, the following questions will guide me through the entire series:How did we get here (i.e. our branch of the Welch family, wherever you may reside)? Who were our ancestors? What were their experiences? How did those experiences shape them? Can understanding that help me understand my own parents? Can understanding them help me better understand myself?
Irish Jokes and Other Slander: The Irish have been the butt of jokes for centuries. Sometimes the subjects are drunk and stupid, sometimes they're drunk and clever but the humor always works off of a stereotype that is rarely kind or accurate, even if it is funny. Terms like "Paddy", "Mick", "Shanty Irish", "Lace Curtain Irish" bubbled up out of the Melting Pot that is and was America, often in these pejorative jokes.
Addendum: The Letter: This is a reading, along with some remarks, of the letter from Bridget Doyle McGrath to hear sister Molly Doyle. It was written in September of 1882 by Bridget who was living in Wexford, to Molly Doyle who was living in Illinois. Molly had written to her sister to ask her to travel to Modern to ask the priest to check the baptismal records to find out when she was born. Imagine being fifty years old and not knowing when your birthday was. nThe sad truth is, when you live through the kind of suffering they lived through, you are in sheer survival mode, and details like your own birthday are too frivolous to. They simply did not have the luxury to care about it.
Our Twelve That Fled An Gorta Mór, that is our twelve second great grandparents that fled Ireland between 1820 and 1855, from counties Wexford, Tipperary, and Meath. Who were they, and why should you care*?
*Disclaimer: While this is uploaded to a public platform, it is intended for our family specifically. Anyone is welcome to listen, but know that it may not seem relevant to all.