It’s not easy to draw what isn’t there anymore. That’s what tracing your immigrant ancestors can lead to. In this case, the house where Irish-born Michael Lynch and his family lived in 1909 is gone. What’s left is a parking lot for the Grant Mill Condominium across the street. Grant Mill used to be enormous—partContinue reading “What’s Not There”
Tag Archives: mill house
Tenant to Tenement
This was the first home of my Lynch ancestors in America. In 1884, John Lynch and his wife, Mary Sullivan, along with their six surviving children abandoned Cahersiveen in Kerry, Ireland, and joined relatives and neighbors who had settled in Southeastern Connecticut. They switched from tenant farming to tenement living, leaving behind a tiny windsweptContinue reading “Tenant to Tenement”
Looking for Patrick
In the top left apartment of this house in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, in 1885, lived the recently-arrived John Patrick Lynch and Mary Sullivan along with their six children. They were recent immigrants, but Lynches and Sullivans had been in the area for years—some for decades. John and Mary had nine children, but two died at youngContinue reading “Looking for Patrick”
Uncertainties
Was this where Timothy J. Lynch and his young family lived in Stonington Borough, Connecticut in 1910? I used to think so, but now I’m not so sure. It was either here or the house next door. More research is needed. Census records can be tough to read and they can be filled with mistakes.Continue reading “Uncertainties”
Times Have Changed
It took me two tries to draw this house, where lived the family of Timothy Lynch, an immigrant ancestor of mine. The house sits on a short dead-end street in the town of Stonington, Connecticut. Actually it’s in the charming section of that town called the “Borough.” Residents of the town make the distinction clearContinue reading “Times Have Changed”
What is Lost
A project I’m currently working on is researching my immigrant ancestors and drawing at the places where they lived. It combines two hot topics of contemporary American times: immigration and genealogy. Often the records I find resemble the immigrant ancestor’s house that stood before me in this picture—far from complete. To piece together a familyContinue reading “What is Lost”
The Weaver
John J. Lynch, my great-great uncle, lived here in 1900 with his wife Delia. Their home was the left one of the four in this multi-family building. It’s within walking distance of the big factories of downtown Norwalk, Connecticut. Both John and Delia were from Ireland. John worked as a “cotton weaver” according to censusContinue reading “The Weaver”
Visiting the Relatives 