as told to Lelia Byron
| I’m Lelia. My Great-Grandfather is no longer with us and so my father represents him in the following interview. It is reconstructed from memory as told to him by his grandfather (my great grandfather). |
Click on my photo for the video interview.
(It's a large .MOV file, so please be patient)
| I am from the country of Ireland, the city of Dublin. And I immigrated to America at the start of this century, around 1901. I came from a very poor family who lived in an urban setting in the city of Dublin, which was the major city in Ireland at that time. We had very little to eat. We were very crowded in a cold drafty apartment that was at the bottom of the hill. Whenever it would rain, our house was flooded with water. I chose to leave to find a better life and something to eat. |
| My family was very sad to see me go, but they were happy that I was going to a better situation. I came to the United States on my own. All I had was my clothes on my back, the pipe in my mouth, and my walking stick. Unfortunately, I did leave loved ones behind. I came from a very large family. |
| How did I come here? Well, in those days, it would have been lovely and charming if we could have gotten on a plane and landed in America in a few hours or even a day. We had to take a very, very slow ship. We didn’t get to go up on the top deck where the wealthy were. We were stuck below deck in the crowded, smelly, hot area for a long time. It probably only took three weeks, but it seemed like it took three years. I was 20 years old when I came, and I settled in New York City. |
| Was it hard for you to earn a living here?
As for earning a living, it was very difficult because there was still a lot of prejudice against Irish immigrants. There were signs in many businesses and establishments that said, “No Irish Need Apply,” or NINA for abbreviation. What were some of the things I had to learn to adjust to in this country? I already spoke English, so fortunately, I did not have to learn a new language. Many of my countrymen had already immigrated here, and they gave me a fairly warm welcome. I did have to learn how to drive a truck, which became my occupation. I started out driving a truck for a number of people throughout the city. Finally, after a number of years, I landed a job with REA Express, one of the greatest trucking operations in the entire world. And I was lucky enough to work for them for 46 years. |
| English was spoken in the country I grew up in.
They also spoke Gaelic which I, too, spoke. But I was able to speak
two languages from my early days on the Earth.
Did you meet with other groups or organizations with cultural ties to Ireland?As for joining groups or organizations that had ties to Ireland, there were few groups I belonged to because I was very busy trying to save money so I could start a family. As for religion, I came from a section of Ireland that fortunately did not have a restriction on practicing our religion. I missed Ireland very much, and I hoped to go back to it one day. Unfortunately, that will never happen. |
| I do keep in touch with relatives, and write them frequently.
I don't know if I would want to go back to live in Ireland, but I'd certainly
like to go back to visit.
I am glad I came to New York City to raise my children. We also were lucky enough to adopt my sister’s two boys. Unfortunately, my sister and her husband passed away, and rather than see her boys go to an orphanage, I took those boys to live in my house. And I am happy and lucky to say I raised five good American boys. The reason I wanted to come to America was that America gave me the opportunity to own my own home, make a living, have freedom of speech, and many, many more wonderful things that only exist in America. Here, I met my wife, Mary Hardy who I married. We had five wonderful children. Lelia: Thank you for listening to my interview with Thomas. |
| Thomas (an Afterword): I would like to say for an ending that I am very happy to have a wonderful Great Granddaughter, and she has grown into a lovely, articulate, pretty American colleen. |
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