A great day for the Irish

For all the noise I make about it, I am only 50% Bohemian. My mother’s ancestors come mostly from the British Isles, and I proudly boast of being at least one-eighth Irish, courtesy of my great-great-grandparents, William Conley and Anna McAllister, both born in Ireland, he in 1818 and she around 1842.

Yes – he was 24 years older than she, probably a widower when she agreed to marry him, which she did in 1864 in St. Louis. They settled on a farm in Illinois, where Anna bore him eight children between 1866 and 1883.

The births of William and Anna’s children are recorded in huge books in the Montgomery County Courthouse in Hillsboro, Illinois. In addition to the child’s and parents’ names, the date of birth, and the place of residence, there is also an entry for “Nationality of Mother.” Anna’s is listed as “Irish” in all but one case.  On the record of birth for her last child, her nationality is given as “American.” It took twenty years and eight children, but she had finally arrived.

I suspect Anna had quite a brogue that would have betrayed her Irish origins to anyone who heard her speak.

I’ll be wearing green today in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, my Irish ancestors, and the MSU men’s basketball team – they play UCLA tonight in the NCAA tournament (tip-off at 9:40).

Go Green.