Jacob++Sweeney

As one might be able to deduce from my appearance, I, Jacob Sweeney, have a significant amount of ancestry tracing back to Ireland. Seeing that America is a nation of immigrants and that those not native to the land //founded// the country, I was not surprised to find that I am over fifty percent Irish. Though both my parents are significantly Irish, I inherit most of my genes tracing back to Ireland from my father, James Steven Sweeney. He is one hundred percent Irish.
 * //__Jacob Sweeney's Irish Immigration History, Ancestry, and Heritage__ //** 

Because my father, James Steven Sweeney, is one hundred percent Irish, both of //his// parents, my grandparents, by the names of James Francis Sweeney and Margaret Sweeney (formally Donovan) were //also// one hundred percent Irish. Both of my father’s parents had parents who emigrated from Ireland to the United States of America directly. James Francis Sweeney’s (my grandfather) mother and father (my great grandparents) were Hannah (Annie) Murphy (his mother), and John Sweeney (his father). Hannah (Annie) Murphy (who changed her last name to Sweeney when married) was born in the city of Cork, in County Cork, Ireland. She also lived in Cork before immigrating to the United States. John Sweeney was //also// born in the city of Cork, in County Cork, Ireland. John Sweeney, however, moved to New Malden, in Surrey County, England, and resided there before he too immigrated to America.

Ma rgaret Sweeney (my father’s mother), on the other hand, had parents (my other pair of great grandparents) named Daniel Donovan (her father), and Bridget O’Brien (her mother). Bridget O’Brien (who changed her last name to Donovan when married) was born in the town of Rosscarbery in County Cork, Ireland. Daniel Donovan, however, was born in the town of Midleton, also in County Cork, Ireland. Unlike my father’s grandparents on //his// father’s side of the family, both Bridget O’Brien and Daniel Donovan remained living in the same towns of where they were born until they both immigrated to the United States of America.

All four of my great grandparents on my father’s side of my family, including  Hannah (Annie) Murphy, John Sweeney, Daniel Donovan, and Bridget O’Brien, all immigrated to the United States during roughly the same time period. They helped to make up a time period known in history as one with monumental amounts of immigration to America, mainly from European nations. This time period roughly spanned from the remaining twenty years of the nineteenth century (1880-1900) through the early twentieth century (through about 1910). Hannah (Annie) Murphy and John Sweeney, although having both been born in the same city in Ireland, did not meet until residing in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States. The two lived in different locations before their immigration to America, seeing that Hannah Murphy remained in the city of Cork, Ireland, and John Sweeney moved to New Malden, England. However, they both left by boat to the United States during roughly the same decade, the 1890’s.

Daniel Donovan and Bridget O’Brien, however, were never living in the same location as each other. They also met after their immigration to the United States in Boston, Massachusetts. Like Hannah Murphy and John Sweeney, Daniel Donovan and Bridget O’Brien also immigrated by boat to America during roughly the same short span of years. However, these two ventured to the United States at the turn of the century (the transition between the 1800’s and the 1900’s), rather than in the late 1800’s, like Hannah Murphy and John Sweeney. All four of my father’s grandparents (my great grandparents) all left Ireland for the same general reason: because of Ireland’s unfortunate, continuous economic problems. These problems actually began with the famous Potato Famine (between 1845 and 1852), but did not show any sign of an end the seemingly “never ending” economic problems until the late twentieth century (1900’s), when Ireland had an economic boom. There is no accessible information as to why Hannah (Annie) Murphy, John Sweeney, Daniel Donovan, and Bridget O’Brien all might have fled Ireland during the time period other than for economic reasons. However, it is quite possible that Daniel Donovan and Bridget O’Brien (having immigrated at the turn of the twentieth century) fled the country due to rising conflicts between Catholic, agrarian Irish nationalists, and Protestant, industrialized Irish unionists, as an additional factor to the economic troubles.

Having put much thought and efforts in research into possible reasons as to why my ancestors might have immigrated from Ireland at the time that they did, I have realized that they most likely did not //only// flee their beloved nation because of Ireland’s troubles. I am almost sure that they chose to immigrate to our nation //also// because of the bright futures and promises of a better life that the United States of America had, and continues to have, to offer. America is called “The land of opportunity,” for a reason. In fact, many say that during this time period, the United States lived up to its nickname more than it ever has in history as most of the children of this generation of immigrants were more successful than their parents. While researching for my report on my Irish ancestry and my family’s immigration to this nation, I felt that I had some questions about my family’s past. The answers to these questions would reveal more to me about the experience of a lifetime: when my great grandparents left their country to reside in the United States. Unfortunately, many of these questions cannot be answered, as Hannah (Annie) Murphy, John Sweeney, Daniel Donovan and Bridget O’Brien are all deceased, and they never told anyone, that I know of and that is currently living, the answers to some of my questions. If I could sit down with any one of my four great grandparents from which I get my Irish heritage on my father’s side of my family, I would ask them personal questions about the experience of leaving their homes forever in order to try to find a better life. After all, they would be the only ones that could tell me the true answers to my questions, having experienced their trip first hand.

Some questions that I might ask Hannah (Annie) Murphy, John Sweeney, Daniel Donovan or Bridget O’Brien are: “How did you feel when you were on the ship, looking back at the Irish coastline that you feared you would never see again? Were you afraid, were you overjoyed at the new opportunities and chances at life that this journey might be able to offer you in the long run? Also, how did you feel when you were approaching American soil after a seemingly endless trip across the Atlantic Ocean? Were you curious about how different life would be like in the United States than it was in Ireland? Were you worried that you might be discriminated by others? Were you anxious to see if this new land was all you had hoped for? //Was it// everything that you hoped for?” I can only imagine their responses and my fascination in the topic growing every time they would open their mouth. I believe that being Irish and having the heritage that I do defines me and sets me apart from everyone else, and for that I am proud. //


 * __Pictures of Origional Places of Birth and Residence of Ancestors (Click On the Links of the First Three Images To View Them)__ ** //

Bridget O'Brien:



Daniel Donovan:

(The spelling of "Midleton" is controversial. Some spell it "M-I-D-D-L-E-T-O-N," instead of "M-I-D-L-E-T-O-N."

Hannah (Annie) Murphy:



John Sweeney:



**//__Annotated Bibliography__//**

__**Key:**__

**//White =//** Actual Bibliorgraphy (I was not able to format this correctly because the program would not allow me to


 * // Red =//** My personal annotations and notes on each source used, including oppinions on what I though was helpful or what I thought was unhelpful, as well as reminders about what information I gathered from each source
 * // Purple =//** A link to a website source that I used to create my Wiki Page, mainly for the purposes of visual aids to the reader and other images. These websites can be viewed by simply clicking on their web address.

__Maps of UK and Ireland__. Traveluk.co.uk. Saturday, May 16, 2009. . -- Not interested in the site, but good image/map of England and Ireland in comparison together (see above image under "John Sweeney")

Members of the Central Intelligence Agency, __Ireland__. Thursday, May 14, 2009 CIA - The World Factbook. Saturday, May 16, 2009. . -- "The CIA World Factbook, reliable as always; I only used for its precise and simple map of Ireland used to draw on for above immages describing Bridget O'Brien, Daniel Donovan, and Hannah (Annie) Murphy

Sweeney, James. Personal interview. Saturday, April 25, 2009. -- The Bibliography for my personal interview with my father; he is the main source of my information in the above Wiki Page, seeing that, though I spent hours researching my ancestors who immigrated to America, I was not able to find any more information that I had not already known and recorded on my page