Series 2 - Gaffney-McNally letters

42pp

Photocopies of both letters, as well as permission to publish along with related materials including the Gaffney family genealogy, were provided to Kerby A. Miller by donors Mary Entwistle and Glen Farris.

The Gaffney-McNally letters consist of donor correspondence, a copy of the Gaffney family genealogy, typed letter transcripts and photocopied originals of two unrelated letters sent from Ireland, which represent two different immigrant families whose descendants married in the US. Molly Gaffney's letter was written in 1844 from Randalstown, Donaghpatrick, Co. Meath to her daughter, Margaret Gaffney in Potsdam, St. Lawrence Co. New York. It reflects Catholic apprehension for Ireland's future on the eve of the Great Famine, as well as discussing the imprisonment of Daniel O'Connell and the collapse of the Repeal movement. Ann McNally's undated letter was written from Mullanarry, Magheross, near Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan to her sister in upstate New York. Information gathered by Kerby A. Miller from the family places the McNally letter around 1910 and he notes that, although much later than the Gaffney letter, 'the contrast between the two women's literacy levels was profound.' He also notes that McNally's letter illustrates 'the difficulty and infrequency of transatlantic communication, even in the early 20th century, when one or both correspondents were semi-literate.'