Peter, Rose (Barrett) McAndrew Family, Glencastle to Erin Prairie, Wisconsin. SS Prussian
by ionaddeirbhile
Bill and Jerrilyn McAndrew at Elly Bay, an inlet of Blacksod Bay, County Mayo.
Peter and Rose McAndrew with their family Anthony, Anne, John, Henry (Harry), Helen, Cath, Twins Rose and Bridget, and Mary, (another Rose McAndrew was also travelling with the family) ranging in age from twenty to ten months, boarded SS Prussian on Friday 11th May 1883 at Blacksod Bay. The older children were born in Ederglen, near Glencastle. By 1883 the family were living in Glencastle (Belmullet-Erris Region).
The McAndrews arrived at the Port of Boston twelve days later, Wednesday 23rd May. An onward destination for the family was stated as Baldwin, Wisconsin. On the 1900 U.S. Census, Peter, Rose and family were farming, in Erin Prairie. Three of the girls were teachers. As with many families, who left these shores, given the chance and opportunities, they prospered. On the same sailing as the McAndrews, a Willis/Wills family, from the Mullet Peninsula, also with a destination to Baldwin, settled and farmed in Erin Prairie. Other ships of the “Allan Line” leaving from Blacksod, brought families by the name of Kennedy, Lavelle, O’Rourke, O’Boyle, McGuinty and Donnelly to Fond du Lac, Elroy, Tiffany and Erin Prairie in Wisconsin.
Bill and Jerrilyn McAndrew, from Colorado, U.S.A. recently visited Ionad Deirbhile Heritage Centre in Eachléim. Bill is a Grandson of John McAndrew, aged 16 on leaving Blacksod Bay.
The Belmullet-Erris region has a strong connection with Erin Prairie. Many of the families, who emigrated during the 1840s, including Barretts, McNallys and Stephens, also Geraghtys in the 1900s, settled in St Croix County and farmed in Erin Prairie. Many of our local families are now laid to rest in St Patrick’s Cemetery, Erin Prairie,
