Black Forty-Seven: The Brodericks Atlantic Crossing

I didn't want to get my hopes up when I learned new details about my 3rd great-grandfather Michael Broderick's (1801-1889) emigration from Ireland to Canada. 

After all, Michael Broderick's obituary said that the family sailed from Ireland to Quebec in 1847. Over 400 ships sailed to Quebec in that year referred to as "a black page in the annals of the sea"! 

Rev John A Gallagher  (who wrote "The Irish Emigration of 1847 and Its Canadian Consequences") said that "The Irish themselves have written this year (1847) down as "Black Forty-Seven" -- a year black with Famine, Disease, Death and Exile from the land of their birth." Gallagher added, "The manner of transporting the Irish emigrant of '47 fills a black page in the annals of the Sea. Anything that could float or hold a sail was used to carry the emigrant across the sea. ... Dr. Douglas, the medical Superintendent of Grosse Île, estimated that 8,000 died at sea in 1847.

What could I learn about Irish emigration to Canada in 1847? What kinds of records exist that could help me piece together the Broderick family's journey?

Another Mystery Solved: John Miller Moreland's Second Wife

My great-grandfather John Miller Moreland's (1882-1940) life story has always been filled with some surprises, some challenges and even more unknowns.

John Moreland was only six-years-old when his mother Agnes Bell Hind died and, because his father was at sea (worked on ships as a "fireman" and later remained in Melbourne Australia), John was sent with his sisters to a Scottish workhouse and later enlisted in the British Army. 
 

My great-grandfather John Miller Moreland (1882-1940)

On This Day: October 10: John Miller Moreland Died

I developed a daily practice that I call "On This Day" (or OTD for short) as a means to:

• honour the life events of my ancestors
• revisit my previous research, 
• check for new information online (i.e. on ancestry and Family Search)
• update any of my previous blog posts if new information was found
• share these #OTD memes on social media like my Facebook page (to share with family) and on twitter (to share with other genealogists)
• In some cases, I create new blog posts. (See: https://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.com/search?q=otd)

Today, October 10, my great grandfather John Miller Moreland died in 1940 in Kingston, Ontario.

My Great Grandfather John Miller Moreland 

(1882-1940)

My great grandfather John Miller Moreland (1882-1940)
with his daughter (my grandmother)
Dorothy (1909-2000)