In 1861, Bridget Ansbro, my great grandmother was born to Nellie (Kennedy) Ansbro and James Ansbro in the little thatched cottage in Fargureens, Manulla outside of Balla in County Mayo, Ireland. Bridget lived with her parents and her older brother Thomas in the little white thatched cottage that belonged to her mother’s family, the Kennedy’s. Not much is known about her early life. She probably assisted her mother in the house and helped around the farm with the chores. Life was simple but extremely difficult back in those days. Ireland and its people were still feeling the effects of the Great Potato Famine of 1845. Bridget’s brother, Thomas Ansbro, was married first and moved into a small neighboring cottage in Fargureens. In the mid 1880’s, Bridget married James Kilgallon, a nearby neighbor. He moved into the little cottage and together they worked the farm with Bridget’s parents. In the course of the next few years, Bridget gave birth to five children namely Mary, Ellen (my grandmother, who was called Baby), Patrick, Delia, and Anna, the youngest. Bridget and James Kilgallon were hard workers and supported her parents in their older years.

Bridget must have been an exceedingly strong person because around 1893 she witnessed the loss of five family members. During that dark year, her mother Nellie (Kennedy) passed away of natural causes. Her father, James Ansbro soon followed his wife and died shortly after her death. Bridget was still mourning the loss of her parents when a horrendous misfortune happened to her husband. James Kilgallon was returning home after a long day of cutting turf in the bog over in Shraheens, Mayo when he met with an unfortunate accident. He was crossing Clisham’s Bridge with his mule and cart filled with dried turf when the weary mule came to a halt on the bridge. James had been walking alongside of the cart so as to ease the heavy load for the tired mule. He walked up on the narrow passageway alongside the mule to urge the animal to go forward. In the course of the encounter, the mule became spooked by something and bolted forward abruptly. The reins were wrapped around James’ hand. The mule dashed forward and to the side and pulled James with him. As a result, James was smashed between the wheel of the cart and the wall of the rugged stone bridge. Nearby neighbors heard his cries for help and carried him in to their house. Word was sent quickly to Bridget to inform her of her husband’s terrible accident. James remained in that house until he died of his injuries two days later. Bridget was stunned and heart broken. James was waked at home in Fargureens as the custom and later buried in the old cemetery in the town of Balla.

Later that year, Bridget had to experience another devastating loss. A measle epidemic struck the Kilgallon household and other neighboring homes. Patrick and Delia, at the age of three and two respectively, caught the disease. At that time, medical attention was almost non-existent. Vaccinations for this dreaded disease had not been invented. When disease epidemics occurred, entire families were sometimes wiped out. It was reported that the two young children developed pneumonia while suffering from the measles and died from complications. The family was heartbroken. How Bridget was able to go on is a testament to her deep faith in God and the character of her heart.

Bridget mourned her losses and kept going. She had to work extremely hard to provide for her three remaining children. She relied on the generosity of her brother and neighbors to survive. She kept the fire burning at Fargureens and taught her daughters how to cook, churn butter, bake bread, sew, spin wool, knit, as well as cut turf and farm the land. They were well rounded in life skills.

However, as the Kilgallon girls grew up, they knew they would have to leave Ireland and emigrate to America or to England to find employment. Jobs in Ireland were extremely scarce. In 1909, Mary Kilgallon, the oldest daughter left for the United States. She immigrated to New York where she met Patrick Dennison, a native of Ballindine, County Mayo whom she later married. In the meantime, Ellen Kilgallon left Ireland to join her sister in New York in 1911. It was on this voyage that Ellen viewed electric lights for the first time. In 1912 Mary and her husband Patrick returned to Ireland to live on the farm at Fargureens and to be with her mother Bridget. Around the year 1914, Anna Kilgallon, the youngest daughter left her home in Fargureens and immigrated to America at the age of seventeen. She rejoined her sister Ellen in New York and found employment as a domestic housekeeper. This was a typical employment position for young Irish girls at the time. It included room and board and a meager salary. Anna was very unhappy in New York and complained bitterly of her homesickness to her sister Ellen. By now, Ellen had become a real New Yorker. She felt quite comfortable in New York. She too worked as a housekeeper but still had time to meet with the Irish community and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Two years after Anna’s arrival in the States, the living arrangements back in Fargureens changed dramatically. Mary and Patrick Dennison inherited the Dennison family’s homestead in Ballindine, County Mayo and as a result would be leaving the cozy little cottage in Fargureens. The Kilgallon daughters did not want their mother, Bridget to be left alone. Anna, the newest immigrant, had overcome her homesickness but decided not to return home to her mother. As a result, Ellen, who had been in New York for at least five years, quickly packed her bags and boarded a ship home to Ireland in 1916. She would return home to keep her dear mother company in Fargureens. Ellen brought back wonderful memories and a few cherished dishes from America which she proudly displayed on the top shelf of the kitchen dresser in Fargureens. Soon after returning to Mayo, Ellen was reintroduced to Thomas Kearns, a neighboring farmer from the village of Tavanagh. Their courtship was short and sweet. (No patty-fingers, if you please!) They were married within the year. Their marriage was extremely fruitful! Ellen and Thomas were the proud parents of thirteen children namely James, Bridie, Lena, Kathleen, Annie& Margaret, Teresa, Josephine & John, Walter, Veronica & Virginia and Tommie. And that is the earlier years of our family history in a nutshell.

(More stories are to come as words are shared over a hot cup of tea or a cold frosty ale!!!)

Story told by: Bridie (Kearns) Doherty

Historical Assistants: Lena Kearns Egan, Veronica Kearns Maguire, Tommie Kearns and Paddy Sweeney

Retold and Written by: Josephine (Doherty) McTague April 15, 2008