Digital Archive
Patrick Foley, Waterford, Ireland, to James Sheehan, [?], 20 April 1866
Cite this document IIIF Viewer
Collection Sheehan and Foley Letters
Title Patrick Foley, Waterford, Ireland, to James Sheehan, [?], 20 April 1866
Description This letter is from a "chum and Brother", one Patrick Foley. The content of the letter lends itself to speculation that they may have been involved in the Fenian movement. [Archivist note: The following information was provided by the letter donor and gives additional context for the letters in this series (p155/30/16).] James Sheehan, son of Philip and Mary Sheehan, was born on February 15, 1837, at Deer Park, Mullinavat, County Kilkenny, Ireland. He was apprenticed into the coopers' trade at an early age, and at the age of twenty-one, left a blighted land to seek his fortune. The letters reproduced on the following pages were received by him between the day he emigrated to the New World, landing in Newfoundland ca. 1858, and April 16, 1892, the day he reached his final resting place in Corpus Christi Cemetery in Fort Dodge, Iowa. It is possible to construct a rough chronology of his travels in the New World. He lived in Newfoundland approximately four years, first at St. John's, and later at Harbour Breton. He migrated to Boston in 1862, where he had relatives at Ipswich. Next he went to Albany, New York, and later to nearby West Hebron. In 1868 he arrived in Dubuque, Iowa, at the invitation of another cousin. Finally, in 1871, he arrived at Fort Dodge, where he was united in marriage to Catherine Loftus, of County Mayo, on November 25, 1873, To this union five sons were born. The original letters are faded and stained, and sometimes in a hand that is nearly illegible. Many words are only guessed at, especially surnames and place names. They seemed to be rather casual about the spelling of names. The surname appears as Sheehan, Sheehy, or Sheahan. Philip is sometimes Phillip, Bridget is often Briget.
Date 20/04/1866
Date Issued 27/03/2023
Resource Type Text
Archival Record Id p155/30/16
Publisher University of Galway
Extent 3pp
Topic Sheehan and Foley Letters
Geographic Waterford (city),Waterford (county),Ireland,United States
Temporal Nineteenth century,Eighteen sixties
Genre Transcript
Note Transcript and title by Professor Kerby Miller. Descriptive information from letter donor.
Creator / Author Name Patrick Foley