Series 1 - J.F. Costello letter

212pp

Conor Costello, brother of J.F. Costello, gave this letter to James J. O'Kelly of Croagh, County Limerick sometime in the first half of the 20th century. O'Kelly donated the letter to Dr. Arnold Schrier in early 1955. Schrier later provided a copy to his collaborator, Kerby A. Miller.

Materials pertaining to John F. Costello, the author of an 1883 letter sent from King County, Washington to his family in Croagh, County Limerick. Dr. Arnold Schrier collected this letter circa 1955. Costello worked in King County on his uncle’s ranch and hop farm at the time of the letter. He would later go on to be head of the local Dairy Association and serve on the O’Brien, Washington school board. Joseph J. Cahill, a son of the 'J Cahill' mentioned in the letter as going to Australia, served as Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to 1959.
The series contains:
-Kerby A. Miller’s transcript of the letter; 1955 correspondence to Schrier from letter donor James J. O’Kelly;
-brief biographical notes on Costello;
-a 2003 transcript of the letter as published on the Irish Emigrant Club of Seattle website (Costello was the grandfather of two club members);
-Irish census data pertaining to the Costello family;
-Arnold Schrier’s reproduction of the letter;
-Miller’s email correspondence with Costello and Hayes family relatives researching their ancestors;
-photocopies of histories of King County mentioning Irish emigration, including a 1929 history featuring a biography of John F. Costello;
-correspondence with researchers on the history of the former village of O’Brien, King County, and photocopied excerpts of historical publications on O’Brien;
-probate and memorial records for John Francis Costello, Bridget Costello, William Costello, Patrick C. Hayes, and Margaret J. Hayes;
-newspaper clippings provided by the South King County Genealogical Society;
-census data on Patrick C. Hayes provided by the Washington State Library.