Sections:

1. The Beginning! (All Immigrants)

2. Annie Bradley’s Letters (Hugh McTeague)

3. Rose Trolan’s Two Letters

4. James McTeague’s Letter  

5. Peter McLaughlin’s Letter (Immigrant John’s Family)

6. Alice Lamb Davie’s Letter (Immigrant Joseph’s Family)

7. Professional Genealogist’s Letter

8. Michael Collin’s Letter

9. Gerard Montague’s Letter

10. Scotland Montague’s RootsWeb Posts and Email Communications

 This chapter illustrates the many correspondences over the course of fifty years.  Some letters came right from relatives in Ireland while some came from relatives in the USA. Some electronic messages came from Scotland.  Each and every letter and email contain family history that has been invaluable in the continued search for Montagues!

Section 1. The Beginning!

In 1968 we wrote a letter addressed to the Catholic Diocese in Ireland looking for Hugh Montague (1840) and the letter circulated from diocese to parish and eventually to Paul Crilly who took the time to write to us and confirm that he knew Hugh and we did indeed have relatives in Ireland.  Amazingly, he was in contact with the Bradley's in Beacon, New York and Annie Bradley in Ireland who knew quite a bit about how we were related.  Annie was kind enough to provide information as well.   It is a small world!  Mr. Paul Crilly was instrumental at the start of our journey in genealogy.  This original family tree, which Paul Crilly sent to us in 1968, has grown into this book.  The family tree is shown below. I bet Paul would be amazed if he could see this book.  It all began with him.

During college, Jack was in the library doing research and had a chance conversation with a librarian who was an avid genealogist. She persuaded him to write a few letters and send them off. Some letters went to France and some went to Ireland. Below is one of those letters:

And don't you know Jack received this response from Paul Crilly on May 3, 1968, and the rest is history!

Continue reading the many letters and correspondences here.