In February
1997
I visited with Jim Keough,
age 93, former resident of Little
Ireland.
His parents were James
Keough and Kaims; Jim
was their only child. Jim's grandfather, Patrick Keough fled Ireland
during
the Great
Famine and settled in Little
Ireland. Today Jim lives in Ferndale, Washington in northwest
Washington.
The following is loosely transcribed from our conversation which
focused
on Pat Townsell and other residents of Little Ireland. "My
grandfather,
Patrick Keough, came to this country in 1869. The only thing I
remember
him saying about coming over here was that if he'd had enough to eat
he'd
have never left Ireland. He lived in County Clare and immigrated
by himself. His first wife and child died in Ireland when she had
the baby. When he came into this country, probably when he was
going
through Castle Garden, he met a girl and married her. She died in
1898.
My dad was in West Virginia oil drilling when she died. I don't
know
how Little Ireland got settled or how all the families came
together.
The others at Little Ireland got there before us because my
grandparents
lived for awhile at Ervin's Mills between Olean and Limestone. There
used
to be a bridge across the river there; it's still there, but it's
condemned.
I don't know how long they stayed there, but not very long. They
bought the place in Little Ireland. They got the house, barn and
everything for $.50 an acre; Grandfather was one of the ones that
wanted
to be a farmer in Little Ireland. Some of them didn't. My grandfather
worked
at the mill to pay for it. When my dad came back from West
Virginia
he married my mother, Mary Fall, in
1900.
Her folks were Tom Fall and Bridget Spellacy;
they died long before my time. Since my grandmother, Bridget
Spellacy's,
mother was Bridget (Townsend) Spellacy, my mom would have been Pat's
niece
and my great-uncle, but I never knew Pat and my family were related
until
now. We had 50 acres of woodland down toward Waters on the right
hand side, and also 50 acres we could plant. When my father
didn't
have anything to do in the winter he'd go over to the woodland and cut
trees. Then he'd take the wood to Salamanca where they'd use it
to
make furniture. What was my mom like? Well, she was real nice to
me! Of the Fall family there were Tom and Jack who were brothers in the
oil business in West Virginia. They used to come once and awhile
when we were in Olean. Sue Fall died in Texas; she died sometime
since I got married. She was always single. I never knew
any
McFall's. There was a Fall who died in WWI. There are
people
there in Salamanca that were related to us. I would go with my
mother
to see this lady. Her face was all wrinkled . . . real old.
Monahan's claim to be related. One is a judge. They lived
across
from the Catholic Church in Limestone. There was a Olive and
Edna.
My mother's sister, Bridget Fall, lived in Olean. I used to go
with
her. She was very nice. I almost burned her house down one
Fourth of July with those fireworks that spin around like a
pinwheel.
She got the fire out right away, but it was some day. Bridget's
Aunt
B raised my mom and the other kids. My mom's mother died walking
to Salamanca. She was making the trip back and forth and it was
too
much for her. All my people, the Keough's, are buried in
Allegany.
The ones in Limestone aren't related to me. The Keough window in
St. Patrick's is from the other family. John Keough married into my
family
to Mame Keough . . . she didn't have to change her name. I was
only
14 years old when we moved from Little Ireland to Olean in 1918.
Since you don't really know anything your first seven years I only had
the last seven years to know things about Little Ireland. Pat Murphy
from
Olean bought our property. He was another drunkard. He
worked
in Olean and had a little money. He'd get drunk, lay in his wagon
and let the horses go home. He was sort of retired. He came
out and talked to my father. My father sold the whole thing for
$2500.
My father died in 1944; I came out here in 1954. They'd shut the
refinery down back home in Olean so I came out here to work. I
was
a shift supervisor. I would have never come out here if either of
them were alive. I was their only child and took care of
them.
I have a daughter in Michigan; everyone else lives around here.
Pat
Townsell was as old as my dad. I don't know what year he came to
America; I wish I did. He never came close to getting
married.
I was too small to really listen in on their conversations. I
never
heard anything about him being educated in England as you thought, and
he never mentioned any brothers or sisters
|
Pat had quite an affinity for "the drink". He came to the house one night after tipping more than one or two alcoholic beverages. He asked my mom if he could borrow an umbrella. It was raining. So she gave him one. He was gone for about two hours. He came back and all he had was the handle. My mom asked him what happened to the umbrella. He said that heíd had to beat the fairies over there in the woods. I still remember that! |
He never went back to Ireland as far as I know, especially not in the 1920s. About that time he'd just started walking the lines. He never had any money and what he did have he drank. His mother died after he came to America. She died because she didn't have enough to eat. Don't know about the father. He never mentioned his father to me, but he did talk about his mother. Pat made a mistake because he didn't send her money, and he did have money. My father paid him everytime he worked for us, but everything he got he drank. He was nice enough when he wasn't drunk. I don't know if he ever stopped drinking all the way. After he started walking the line, why, he changed quite a bit. I don't remember him getting as plastered like he did when he was younger. He worked for my dad before Dad got married. Dad went off to West Virginia working in oil and Pat was up in Ireland staying at the house taking care of the cattle and sheep. My grandfather had a boy from Father Becker's to help take care of the cattle and sheep, but that was long before my time. I guess Jerry O'Connel's were somehow related to Pat Townsell, but I never knew them very good. Later Pat worked Margaret Spellacy's farm. Everyone had grown up and left her; the boys, her brothers, went to work for the oil company. Her sister, Mary, married my uncle Tom Fall (Jim did not know that Margaret Spellacy was Pat's niece). I don't think Margaret Spellacy stayed up there very long. Margaret never married. I think she took off to Olean, but I don't know exactly when; she left before we did in 1918. While Pat was taking care of the O'Laughlin's farm, Margaret left the place, but I think she still owned it. I never saw her after she moved to Olean. Margaret was a pretty nice woman. We were down there stealing cherries, you know, another fellow and me - Joe McCarty. Joe McCarty was a great friend of mine from Fr. Baker's place; as far as I know he was related to any of the other McCarty's. We stole them two or three times, so she hid in the hen house. We got to the trees and she came out, and boy we took off. I ran over a skunk on my way out. He gave me the whole thing and shot me!! Pat stayed at the O'Laughlin house all winter and took care of the cattle and everything after Anne moved her mother into Limestone; the old lady lived to be over 100 years old and Anne, her daughter, took her to live in Limestone so that if she got sick they could get her into Bradford to the doctor's. I don't know who the old mother's husband was; I think I only saw her once. Anne was a nurse. We used to go up there to O'Laughlin's place and play cards Pat would pass around the pipe to smoke. I'd home home weaving back and forth from all that tobacco. I remember once that I'd taken my parents driving between Erwin's Mills and Limestone. We came up on the pastor of a church in Limestone and his wife who was going into labor; their car was broken down. They asked if I could take them into Olean to Westside Hospital. So my parents got out and went and stood under some trees. Annie O'Laughlin was with us and I drove them to the hospital. Mike O'Laughlin lived where the rocks are filled in and on the other side of the water Tom Cunningham lived. I don't know what happened or anything but they started shooting at each other. They never hurt anybody but you could go in Anne O'Laughlin's house and see where the shots were. Her sister Agnes lived there too. Some guys came over and beat O'Laughlin, but it wasn't Mike. O'Laughlin came down the road the next day. Dad and I were out. My dad asked him what happened and he told him the whole story and said Iím never coming back and he never did. He went to West Virginia. He was Anne and Agnes' brother, but he wasn't Mike O'Laughlin. Until you said so I didn't think the three O'Laughlin families were related. Agnes was in Buffalo. She was a great gal for clothes - making them and fixing them. I didn't know Mike OíLaughlin who married Kate Townsell and never heard of them. There were some O'Laughlinís that lived right next door to us, but they died before my time. The McCarthy's were gone from Ireland before my time - at least before I remember. There was a Dan McCarthy that was high up in Limestone. It's kind of a funny thing when I look back at it at church - at mass. Dan McCarthy would go in with his basket, with the Father behind him. So, when they'd put the money in the basket then he'd tell the Father and Father would write it down. It'd take about one hour to go through the whole place. I never saw anything like it. Of course in those days I thought everyone did that. When we'd go to church in Limestone we'd take a team of horses and put them at Casey's. There was a big - real big - steam engine housed there. We'd take a short cut past the engine to walk to the church and it'd go off. It was really loud and scared me! It finally got moved out of there. After Pat worked for the farmers up in Ireland he got a job walking the gas line. I don't know exactly when. I think we were gone to Olean at the time because I used to take Mother and Father to visit Pat on Sundays to shoot the breeze. They were great friends, Pat and my dad. They'd talk about this and that and every other thing. I don't know when Pat died. Anne O'Laughlin stayed with him across the street from the Catholic Church in Limestone. He finally got a pension and I imagine they both lived off whatever he got. She lived in the house with him, but they werenít a couple or anything. I didn't know any other Townsell's. I didnít know Pat as Townsend; I knew him as Townsell. My dad could have told you everything about Pat, but when they were talking I was just too young to care about that stuff. I don't know whether or not he went to school in England. He was smarter than most of them that came from Ireland. He could take any song and put it in Irish and sing it. He and my dad would talk Irish back and forth sometimes. I remember the name Brushingham. Yes, I remember the Nenno's. I knew some Nenno's someplace out of Limestone. There was quite a bit of oil on the Nenno place. My father worked for them doing oil drilling. I never knew an Ella Nenno. Of the other residents in Little Ireland, I remember the Carmody's a little. Don't remember the Cory's. Yes, I slightly remember the Caton's. They lived over on the Red House side. You'd go through Ireland and on down and be in Red House. When Mrs. Caton died I was about five and we went over to their place. There was Hundy Reyder (?). The Heimdahl's youngest boy had eye trouble. His mother had something to put in his eye, but it was some kind of acid. His eye turned all white. They washed it out right away but he lost his eyesight. He was a friend of mine but I lost track of him after we moved to Olean. O'Neill's lived in Limestone. Rollin O'Neill was one of the boys. I knew him just a little. We really didn't get even to Limestone all that often. David Waters lived opposite where you went up Rice Brook. Joe McCarty and I went up there quite a lot. They had sort of a deal like Little Ireland, but they also had stores. By the time we went up there everybody had moved out. Joe and I used to go through all the buildings. Con Hogan married one of the Keough's. There was Con and Mike Hogan. There was Mary Hogan and Annie Hogan that taught at the school. After Annie left to get married Silfie finished off the school year. I could get along good with my cousins! They were pretty good teachers. They got married and left the area. Annie died in Texas. Right after they left I had to go to Limestone. Con Hogan was their dad. Neeley didn't last long up in Ireland. He was there for awhile. He didn't have horses. Dad loaned him ours 3-4 times, but we needed them worse than he did. He left before we did. I knew the Walkers. There was Louie, the oldest, John, George and Elmer. Eva was married to one of them; I think sheís still living. Six years ago I went back there to visit. My two daughters took the car and went to Bradford. I stayed all afternoon with George in Limestone. George was closer to my age. I t had been 70 years between the time I left and went back for a visit. Oh, yes they had dances in Little Ireland!! When I was young we went down to Kane's house in Little Ireland for a dance. The little kids were in sleeping on the bed. Some of us changed the clothes around on the kids . . . they never did wake up. I don't know if they ever did get those kids figured out and to the right parents!! Little Ireland had poor families and the first generation was illiterate. My grandfather could read and write. I have the original deed with his signature on it. My father/grandfather after a winter would get the road opened for $40 or $60. Bridget (last name?) got killed in Allegany by the trolley car. There were lots of accidents with that trolley car. I came from Olean once and about Erwin's Mills I saw a family in a car get hit and dragged about 1/2 mile. My wife's sister got killed that way. We used to call the driver Deadman Reilly." Towards the end of Jim's and my visit his daughter and granddaughter stopped by and joined in the conversation. The following are remembrances of Jim Keough's daughter. "When we were little and living in Olean we used to drive to Little Ireland in our Model T. There were hardly any houses over there. We always went to see Pat and Annie, and it was always a treat. She always had something for us to eat. She was a nurse. They took care of each other. Pat used to sit out in the old rocker on the porch. I never saw him anywhere else or up walking around. He always wore a hat and smoked a pipe. I always related black to him. I think all he owned were black pants. He was a little man. I was kind of afraid of him, but very fascinated by him. I never saw him drinking, but I would see him pie-eyed. I don't know that he drank at home, but would go to a place to drink. Annie wasn't very pretty. (Jim inserted that her sister, Agnes, was better looking). She was scary and bony but fun to be around. She and Pat lived in a really little cream-colored house. I remember thinking that they were somehow related to us. We went back about five years ago and got as far as the bridge in the car. The Monahan's took a jeep and got into Little Ireland by coming in from the rocks. The rocks look like they are at Rock City/Bradford. Dad still has property where he has the mineral rights. About 40 years ago a lawyer called to do some drilling. They were looking for gas in 1959. George Day drilled but they lost it. It was really the pride of the Irish around Limestone to have come from Little Ireland. I always knew it was a special place."
Name pronunciations: Jim pronounced the names O'Lochlin and O'Laughlin, McCarty and McCarthy, and Townsell.
This
article appeared in the Bradford Era sometime in the 1950's.