Immigration

In 1855, Patrick Broderick and Catherine Conner, along with her family, traveled from Kerry, Ireland to Maine, USA. There was a potato famine that was causing hardship among the Irish. At the time of the move, Patrick and Catherine were not married but were soon after. They had their first child there in Maine a year later. For an unknown reason, they moved to Wisconsin in 1859. There they had two children. Where as Patrick had a job with the rail road, the family followed the rail road to Ohio. It was here that they had the rest of their seven children, which includes my great, great, great grandfather. And then here I am, five generations later.
There are several Irish traditions that were maintained within my family over the years. One is that we practice the Catholic faith. We go to church every Sunday and it is just a norm in my family. We put candles in the windows every Christmas and we keep Christmas decorations up all Christmas season, not just a few days. On St. Patrick’s Day my family eats corn beef and cabbage. I like the corn beef but I always pass on the cabbage. The Irish traditions have been and , I think, always will be, important in my family. I think there will always be an effort to practice and maintain the different traditions
This is a picture of my great, great, great, great grandfather, Patrick Broderick.