Carmody Family

I have heard many stories about the other inhabitants of New Ireland, but none as inspiring as the tale about John Carmody. His story was the dream of many immigrants.

John Carmody emigrated from Quin, County Clare, Ireland to England, where he married his wife, Mary O'Day, a native of Ireland who was born in 1803. From England, he moved again to New York City. It was at this time in American History that the railroad was first being developed. This would provide massive employment for the new immigrant population. In 1853, John was hired by the Erie and New York Central railroads where he stayed for five years. During this period there was only one rail line that ran from New York to Albany to Buffalo through Limestone on its way to Pittsburgh. In 1866, he made the decision to move to Limestone where he took a position in the tannery. After saving his money he purchased a 50 acre wooded lot in New Ireland. As luck would have it, 6 oil wells were discovered on his property. This strip of land was named, Nichol's Run.

During the latter part of the 19th century, there was a famous American writer named Horatio Alger. He wrote many books about survival of the purest. He philosophised that those who are honest and hardworking are rewarded with wealth, honor, and success. His writings attempted to establish a sense of morality in those who read them. This is where the often quoted cliche, "rags to riches" is derived from. Today the commonly heard phrase synonymous to this quote is, "only in America". Though we believe the Carmody family initially emigrated due to socio-economic conditions that existed in Ireland at that time, the possibility of attaining this chance at a better life made the move much easier. Immigrants, like John Carmody, were influenced to move to America because of the numerous success stories. It wasn't too long before the United States was known as, "the land of opportunity".

Carmody, like many others who lived in New Ireland, were farmers. They grew apples, and also raised sheep, geese, and turkeys. It was said that the people of this settlement moved there because it reminded them of their homeland. Among the other residents in Little Ireland, John Carmody was considered as the wealthiest of them all. John and Mary had a total of seven children which included, Michael, Anna, Ellen, Daniel, Mary, Joseph, and Kathryn. Kathryn would marry John H. McMahon on September 25, 1897.  She had worked as a rural school teacher and as the local priest's housekeeper.

We have been in contact with Mr. Robert Scanlan of Salamanca, who is a descendant of the Carmody family.  His descedancy can be traced through John's daughter Mary who at 17 years of age married Michael Scanlan a widower with 5 children. Michael and Mary went on to have 9 children of their own(Frank, Nell, Joseph, Leo, Madelyn, Harry, Evelyn, Karl and Margaret). Leo was Robert's father, making John Carmody of New Ireland his great grandfather. He has provided us with some personal family recollections regarding New Ireland and it's residents.