I have recently become interested in researching my family's roots so that I can compile two large, detailed books to offer as gifts to my father and aging grandparents. I don't want to stop with Ellis Island though. I want to go back as far as the birth of the McNicholas clan in county Mayo, Ireland in the early 1100's! I have never done this before, and because I want it to be a total surprise, I am reluctant to ask my family for any information at all about the family. I have almost nothing to go on, so any advice at all would be great, and if any of you know anything about the McNicholas family, I would certainly love to hear from you!
Like I said, they are from county Mayo, Ireland, and those who remain there today live in a town called Kiltimagh, which is a short way east of Westport. My grandfather's name is James Joseph McNicholas, and it was his great grandfather who emigrated from Ireland via Cork many years ago. The most I know is that he entered the United States at Ellis Island and made New York his new home for awhile until the steel industry in Pennsylvania really began to boom. I think it was in Allentown that he lived, and eventually he moved on to Youngstown, Ohio, which is where most of our family still lives today. My grandfather also noted at one time that our family did not actually originate from Mayo, but rather from Armagh in the north, and for some reason they left Armagh to settle in Mayo. No one has ever found any evidence to support this, but I think it's pretty interesting, so I am definitely going to check it out.
As you can see, I have a huge task ahead of me, but since I don't hope to have it all done until Christmas 1999, I am praying that a year will be enough time to finish. Again, please contact me if you have any info - it would be greatly appreciated!
|