Series 1 - Callaghan/O'Callaghan letters

3 sub-series

Copies of the Callaghan/O'Callaghan letters were first donated to Kerby A. Miller by Eugene O'Callaghan and Mary Flynn, of Fallagh, Kilmacthomas, County Waterford, in 1978. In 1990-91, the latter, now Mrs. Mary Flynn Howard of Killarney, County Kerry, donated genealogical and biographical data.

The Callaghan/O'Callaghan Letters are based on 23 letters and related documents, mostly written by Irish Catholic immigrants Patrick Callaghan and his younger brother, Owen Callaghan (or O'Callaghan), to their father and siblings in County Waterford between 1882- 1885. Patrick Callaghan and Owen O'Callaghan (they wrote their surnames differently) were the eldest of the 12 children of Owen O'Callaghan Snr, who farmed 200+ acres at Fallagh, Kilmacthomas, County Waterford. Patrick sailed to the United States circa 1877; Owen came to Philadelphia with their sister Bridget in 1883. Both became laborers in the United States; their sisters Bridget and Maggie became domestic servants in Philadelphia. In July 1879 Patrick enlisted for five years as a private in the United States Army, and later wrote several letters from Fort Warren, Boston, and Fort Snelling, near Minneapolis. He did not like the Army, but apparently re-enlisted in late 1884, was stationed on Alcatraz Island, near San Francisco, and died, apparently by suicide, in February 1885. Patrick's papers include his 1884 military discharge, and four official letters, dated 1885, concerning his death and his small financial legacy. Owen worked in Philadelphia as a street-paver, a blacksmith's assistant, and a general laborer in a locomotive factory. Both were strong Irish nationalists. Also present is a letter from their cousin, Patrick Stanislaus O'Callaghan, a fellow emigrant to Philadelphia.
Per Professor Kerby A. Miller: 'Both Owen's and Patrick's letters contain information and observations concerning Irish immigration, generally; the processes of emigration, including issues of parental consent and purchasing passage tickets; housing and working conditions in the US, especially in Philadelphia, including wages, labor unions, and strikes; Irish-American social institutions and activities, such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the local county societies, and St. Patrick's Day parades; the effects of US elections on employment; and Irish-American nationalism. Overall, both Owen and Patrick compare the American climate and quality of life in the US unfavorably to what they view as Ireland's greater sociability. Their letters also comment on economic and political conditions in Co. Waterford and in Ireland, generally, including high rents, evictions, and, especially, the operations of the Land League during the last year of the Land War and the subsequent Plan of Campaign.'

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21/11/2024
21/11/2024