Series 1 - Jerry O'Connor letters

224pp

Jerry & Dorothy Walsh (grandson and granddaughter-in-law of the author), donated the reproduction of the Jerry O'Connor letters to Kerby A. Miller on 29 April 1990 for publication. Doncha Ó Conchúr, cousin of the Walshes, had previously provided a copy to Miller in 1978.
Ó Conchúr donated a transcript and reproduction of the Daniel O'Shea letter to Miller on 20 April 1990 on behalf of the letter donor, Máire O'Shea. Miller later created his own transcript of the letter.

Materials pertaining to a 1932 autobiographical letter sent by Jeremiah ’Jerry’ O'Connor (né Diarmuid Ó Conchúr) in Long Beach, California to his nephew Michael in Ballyferriter, County Kerry, including:
-the reproduction of the letter itself and associated transcripts;
-biographical notes on O'Connor;
-a 1932 letter from Liam Ó Lúghaing in Ballyferriter to O’Connor in Irish (with English translation) attempting to reconnect;
O’Connor emigrated from Kerry in 1875 to Iowa. Most of his time in the United States was spent in South Dakota (1876-1923), during which time he mainly farmed. Over time, he lost use of the Irish language. Father of 13 children, O’Connor retired to Long Beach in 1924
-Kerby A. Miller’s correspondence with members of the O’Connor/Ó Conchur/Walsh families and information provided by family members including a family tree;
-an 1851 letter from Daniel O’Shea to his son in Massachusetts shared by Doncha Ó Conchur;
-Miller’s correspondence with heritage institutions in South Dakota and California while researching Jerry O’Connor;
-photocopies of historical publications and newspaper clippings pertaining to Clay County, South Dakota where the O’Connor family farmed, including maps of Prairie Center township showing their farm and the O’Connor School.