So the last two weeks have been a bit hectic for me. Lots of assignments at school (yes, I do go to class now and then) plus a trip to Paris last weekend are my excuses for my lack of blogging. But fear not, more blogging here on the American Rover will commence.
To start, I’ll show you some pictures of my trip to County Roscommon two weeks ago to find my Irish family. The story is here, published in the November issue of the Torch. Check it out and then the pictures after the jump:
The name I was hunting was Naughton, the Irish part of my mother’s family. I only had two other pieces of relevant information: a village called Grange near Ballinlough, and the mental image of the old Naughton house, forever lodged in my brain after studying family photos taken 16 years ago.
My simple mission was to snap a few new photos of the house (if I could find it) and find out if there were any Naughtons still living in Grange Ballinlough. I figured we would roll into town, pop into the nearest pub to ask the barman for directions, and take a nice stroll down a country road. We’d be back in town in no time for a few drinks at the pub before hopping on the bus home in the afternoon.
Church at Knock where the Virgin Mary appeared:
The big church in Knock. Biggest church I’ve ever been inside:
The town of Ballinlough in County Roscommon. My ancestor, great-great grandfather John Thomas Naughton, was born not far from here:
Patrick Naughton (Jr.), my cousin three times removed:
James Naughton, my great-great-great grandfather and Patrick Naughton (Sr.), my great-great-great uncle. James’ son John immigrated to America in 1904 and was my great-great grandfather. This Patrick was the last Patrick’s father and John’s brother:
This is Grange Ballinlough, the village where the Naughtons originated:
This is the old house, where James was born. It’s used for storage now:
This is the “new house” built by John’s brother Michael, who also went to America, and inhabited by Patrick and Patrick. Mike and Tommy, Patrick Jr.’s sons, live here now, and I got to meet them:
Here’s me after meeting Mike and Tommy:
This old ruin of a church is nearby. St. Patrick supposedly spent many days of meditation here:
