St. Patrick's Day is a good time to reminisce about Irish roots if one can truly claim them because, as they say in Ireland, "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough.".
Well, the oldest Atkins boy has a valid claim to Ireland by way of his great grandmother, Judy Emmeline McLaughlin who married Carl Morris Hicks. Judy's father was John McLaughlin who told stories about falling into Lake Killarney at age five and being rescued by an older brother. This would have been sometime in 1811 - not quite 200 years ago. By 1850 he was married and living in Putnam County, WV, with a large family. We've never discovered exactly what route he took to get there.
A trip to Ireland in 1998 was perfect for finding Carl's McLaughlin roots – we thought. Much to our disappointment, we discovered that Irish records for that time are practically nonexistent, there are three lakes in Killarney, and old tombstones have no readable inscriptions. So much for finding Carl's McLaughlins but at least we saw the area from whence John McLaughlin came. The picture above is one of the Killarney lakes near an ancient castle.
After spending a couple of nights at a B&B in Killarney, we proceeded on our way and one day spotted a McLaughlin coat of arms in a little pub near the tiny town of Clifdon. As it turned out, the owner of the pub was a McLaughlin woman who thought it was pretty amusing that she was meeting a McLaughlin "cousin" from the U.S. We had a great time with them since we were the only Americans there and also their only customers. They were especially fascinated by the video taken by our co-traveler, Camilla Perrill, and Ms. McLaughlin consented to a photograph with her long-lost kin.
Take a look at the picture above. Do you not see a family resemblance? Once a McLaughlin always a McLaughlin. Cuimhnigh Ar Do Gheallamhnacha. Remember Your Promises. It's a good motto for today and every day even if you're not a McLaughlin.
Well, the oldest Atkins boy has a valid claim to Ireland by way of his great grandmother, Judy Emmeline McLaughlin who married Carl Morris Hicks. Judy's father was John McLaughlin who told stories about falling into Lake Killarney at age five and being rescued by an older brother. This would have been sometime in 1811 - not quite 200 years ago. By 1850 he was married and living in Putnam County, WV, with a large family. We've never discovered exactly what route he took to get there.
A trip to Ireland in 1998 was perfect for finding Carl's McLaughlin roots – we thought. Much to our disappointment, we discovered that Irish records for that time are practically nonexistent, there are three lakes in Killarney, and old tombstones have no readable inscriptions. So much for finding Carl's McLaughlins but at least we saw the area from whence John McLaughlin came. The picture above is one of the Killarney lakes near an ancient castle.
After spending a couple of nights at a B&B in Killarney, we proceeded on our way and one day spotted a McLaughlin coat of arms in a little pub near the tiny town of Clifdon. As it turned out, the owner of the pub was a McLaughlin woman who thought it was pretty amusing that she was meeting a McLaughlin "cousin" from the U.S. We had a great time with them since we were the only Americans there and also their only customers. They were especially fascinated by the video taken by our co-traveler, Camilla Perrill, and Ms. McLaughlin consented to a photograph with her long-lost kin.
Take a look at the picture above. Do you not see a family resemblance? Once a McLaughlin always a McLaughlin. Cuimhnigh Ar Do Gheallamhnacha. Remember Your Promises. It's a good motto for today and every day even if you're not a McLaughlin.
