Chicago Bound: Recent Episodes
Theresa Murphy
In the 1830s, Morris and Ellen Conley arrive in New York from Ireland. In 1846, they migrate to Chicago. Thus begins my family history in America, a succession of ancestors that are Chicago bound and bound to Chicago. This podcast allows for an exploration of these family stories within the greater context of history.
This week, we're introduced to my paternal side of the family for the first time. We explore the James family, who hail from England, and the McNellis family, from Ireland. The James and McNellis families ultimately find themselves in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, making pit stops in Canada, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Both families have numerous members who participate in one of the largest industries in the 19th century, mining.
In our first episode to feature a last name that is still held by people I know personally, we're on to the Kanes. Thomas and Bridget Kane move into the Chicago southside neighborhood Bridgeport in the 1860s. Bridgeport in the 1860s is benefiting from the completion of the canal and the building of the stockyards. In the process of researching for the podcast, we discover an interesting family story and a number of new Kane relatives.
While Morris and Ellen Conley and their children grow accostomed to life in Lemont, just south of Chicago, two new families arrive in the neighborhood in the 1840s and 1850s. The Drakes and the Molonys are now part of the growing Irish community of farmers near the shores of the I&M. The incident at James Malony's well, just a year or two before his marriage to Ellen Conley, leaves a reminder of just how fragile life is.
We set the scene for our journey into my geneology with the arrival of my first Irish ancestors to Chicago, Morris and Ellen Conley.