I would like to tell you a story of my ancestors and their families. They came from Ireland (Carlestown - Westmeath). ~~Mulligan Road, Sherburne, N.Y.~~
Up at the end of this road was a Hops Farm owned by my great grandfather and Mary Shelly his wife. They lived there with their children. Later on it became my grandfathers farm. He lived there with his wife Mary Cunningham, my father Harold, brother Francis and his sister Mary Ella who died shortly after birth.
~~1849-1851~~
The Mulligan's in Ireland were a large family starting with my great great great grandfather John Mulligan and his wife Margaret Newman who died while giving birth to their only child Michael.
Michael Mulligan and his wife Mary Cooney and their 10 children all came over from Ireland from 1849-1851 and settled in Sherburne, New York.
As they had children of their own they kept using the same names over and over which causes some confusion.
The Irish in Sherburne were discriminated against like all the Irish that immigrated to America. They stayed together as a group, fell into love and married each other. Once I asked my father which Irish I was related to in Sherburne. He told me all of them in one way or the another. How right he was -- so let us begin.
~~TIMES PAST~~For over 500 years the English army had invaded Ireland. Finally, in 1790 William of Orange won over the Catholics. Their lands were taken away from them, they were forced to practice their religion underground in secret.
They could not vote or hold office. The English government gave all the lands to the Protestants. Catholic's could not hunt, pick mushrooms or even pick up sticks for fire wood on land they rented from the protestants. They even had to support a religion they did not belong to.
~~HUNGER~~In the mid 19th Century most of all the Irish Catholic's lived in small settlements. Potatoes were about the only crops the Irish peasant had to eat. In the Autumn of 1845 a blight hit the potato crops. This devastated Ireland. There was really no shortage of food. The English Landlords shipped other crops back to England. Between 1846-1851 -- One Million Irish peasants died of starvation and disease


Michael Mulligan and his wife Mary Cooney decided to leave Ireland and left for America with their children: Elizabeth, John, James, Michael, Thomas, Mary, Patrick, Bridget and Margaret.
In 1849 John who was my great grandfather and the oldest son was the first to leave.
The Mulligan's were lucky to escape by immigrating from the horrors of the famine compounded by the horrors of the Atlantic crossing. The ships were called "Coffin Ships". The poorly trained crew and officers cared little of the welfare of the passengers. Thousands drowned at sea. Fortunately, John Mulligan made it to America without any mishaps. A NEW LIFE
The Irish Catholics in America were considered low life. They took whatever work they could find as laborers, building canals, railroads, servants and as farm hands.
Because they were so heavily discriminated against they stayed together in a group and married each other.
95% of Michael Mulligan's and Mary Cooney's descendance remained Catholic and 5% became protestant. SHERBURNE, NEW YORK
Why John Mulligan choose Sherburne, New York I'll never know. His first job was at the Bently Farm as a farm hand. Soon after the rest of the Mulligan's arrived to American in 1851. Eventually the Mulligan's had a farm of their own -- a Hops farm, other farms and businesses.