EIF-B_Where We Come From

WHERE WE COME FROM
Over the decades, his family raised corn,
soybeans and hay for their cows.
Reading from a Scott County plat
book, he ticked off the Irish surnames
representing many descendants of Irish
immigrants still tied to land in the area,
such as Moore, Quinn, Farren, Looney,
Caine, Shannon, Costello, and Murphy, to
name a few.
“Our farm was started by Patrick Feeney.
Feeney had a daughter who married
my great-grandfather,” he said.
“They took over the operation in 1896.
From there on, they had numerous sons.
My grandfather (Ed) was one of them,”
he said.
Family history compiled by O’Connor’s
sister-in-law, Karen O’Connor,
shows the Feeneys came from County
Sligo in the northwestern part of Ireland.
Included in the pages of records she has
curated are wedding photos, marriage
certificates and newspaper clippings of
obituaries, among other things.
One story passed down recounts how
it is believed that on an ocean voyage to
James Patrick
O’Connor, who was
born on St. Patrick’s
Day, has been known
to celebrate the
holiday in creative
ways to honor his
Irish heritage.
the United States,
Patrick Feeney and
his wife, Catherine
Gillen Feeney, lost
a child, and that
Catherine had to
throw the child
overboard herself
so the youngster
could be buried at
sea.
Other hardships
were endured by
early family members
who worked
hard to build a new
life as farmers in
Scott County. A
newspaper account
from 1909 tells of
the death of Alice
B. O’Connor after
she was burned in an explosion while
trying to light a lantern. The light was
customarily used each night by her husband
while milking the cows and doing
other work in the barn.
O’Connor’s ancestors came to the United
States at a time when families were
arriving together, a trend that started in
the 1840s, according to research compiled
by the State Historical Society of Iowa.
Prior to that, single men accounted for
most of the Irish immigrants.
That pattern shifted as people sent
word back to relatives in their native
country about the opportunities in the
United States, which was known as
“chain migration.”
From 8.2 million in 1841, the population
dropped to 6.6 million in only 10
years and to 4.7 million in 1891. From
1841 to World War II, some estimates
conclude that 4.5 million Irish came to
the United States,” noted the Historical
Society in an article titled “Irish Immigration:
Beyond the Potato Famine.”
“So harsh were conditions in Ireland
that the nation’s population decrease
substantially through the 19th century,”
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