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Searching for my O'Malley, Connors and Duffy's Realitives
January 11, 2003 Hello to everyone in County, Mayo! I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, [removed] My grandfather, Austin A. O'Malley came from County Mayo. He was born in 1878. He left Ireland for America,around 1889, at the age eleven. He settled in Clinton, Massachusetts, as did most of the Irish emigrees from Louisburgh, Ireland. As a young man, he worked as a baker there, before joining Company K, 9th Massachusetts Infantry, United States Volunteers, Spanish American War, and being sent to Cuba. Later, he obtained a job as an mail-carrier, with the U.S. Postal Service, He married Mary Connors, also from Ireland. She was very beautiful, but sadly, she died at an very young age, when my mother was only five or seven years old. That would have been either 1920, or 1922. I can't remember which one. They did however, have four children, two boys and two girls. Their names were, Francis A. O'Malley; Charles O'Malley; Grace O' Malley and my mother, Anne Marie O'Malley. Charles died in 1959, from an auto accident, and my mother, Anne, died in 2000. My aunt Grace and uncle Frank are still alive. Grace lives in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and Frank lives in Falls Church, Virginia. I am now 55 years old. All through my life, we never knew any of our realitives in Ireland. I visited your fine country, back in 1970, when I was only 23 years old. I drove up to Westport, Mayo, hoping to find some information about my realitives, all to no avail. Back in the mid-eighties, my mother met her second cousin, Edward O'Malley, by shear fate. It happened in O'Brien's Bakery,which is in Wollaston section of Quincy, Massachusetts. It was by surely a very strange meeting. Edward had called the bakery with his order ahead of time. When the girl behind the counter said, Order for O'malley is ready, my mother looked at him, and said to herself, Yes, he's an O'Malley. My mother then said to this man, Was your father Tall Austin? He looked at my mother with an shocked expression, and said, Yes, how did you know? My mother told him that her father was Short Austin, at which time this man said, Oh yes, Short Austin, or Austin the Mailman. As it turned out, my mother had just met her second cousin, whom she had not seen since they were both children. He and his family, lived very close to us, in the same city of Quincy, Massachusetts. I called Edward then, and he told me that he had been to Ireland several times, and that he had met some of his realitives. Amoung them were Mary Duffy (O'Malley), from Louisburgh, who had seven children, one of whom was Seamus of Westport, who dealt in textiles. Paddy Duffy, who had a shop, is also one of my realitives. I wish Edward would have given me some telephone numbers and address'es,which I'am sure he must have, but he didn't, nor did he ever meet with me to show me some photo's of my Irish realitives. What is even worst, I called him in 1999, asking if he could give me some names, etc. of my realitives in Ireland, as my sister was going there on a trip, with her family. He hesitated for what seemed to be about twenty minutes, beforefinally telling me that all of my realitives in Ireland, had died! I knew he was lieing to me, which hurt me very much! I told him that my sister and her family were not going to barge into anyone's home and sponge off of them, but that didn't work. I guess he wants to keep all of his Irish relations to himself, which is in my humble opinion, very selfish indeed! I would give anything to be able to make contact with my Irish realives. If anyone can help me in this quest, I shall be most grateful! Sincerely, James F. Harrington My address: James F. Harrington 286 Main Street Hopkinton, NH 03229-2626 [removed] Telephone: (603) 746-4852 Email: [removed]
Posted by Harrington, James F. on Saturday 11 January 2003