Westward From Eire- Title page, index & foreword

WESTWARD FROM EIRE

Joseph X. Martin

Chapter I- The beginning- Barcelona to Dover p.1
Chapter II- Dover to Cork- Shipwreck p.11
Chapter III- Adrift Ashore p.19
Chapter IV- Life in Cork-The Hunger p.32
Chapter V- Voyage Across The Sea p.42
Chapter VI- Nova Scotia to Quebec City p.55
Chapter VII- Quebec City to Kingston p.68
Chapter VIII- Kingston to Toronto p.81
Chapter IX- Toronto to Rochester p.91
Chapter X- Rochester to Buffalo p.98
Chapter XI - New Arrivals in Buffalo p.108
Chapter XII- Settling in the NewLand p.118
Chapter XIII- No Irish Need Apply p.131
Chapter XIV- Emmanuel’s Wake p.139
Chapter XV - The Senator’s Place p.142
Chapter XVI- The Family Swim p.154
Chapter XVII - The Migration South p.169
Chapter XVIII - My Father’s Boots p.184

Martin Family Tree
( By generation in America)
I. Emmanuel Martin (b 1809- d-1903)- Married Kathryn Green ( & Anne Leary) (Emmanuel’s siblings unknown)

II. William Martin- (b-1853- d-1922) Married Elizabeth Smith
(William’s Siblings- John, Emmanuel, Mary, Henry)

III. Emmanuel Martin b-1883 d-1958- Married Mary (Driscoll) Tevington
(Emmanuel’s siblings- William, Jennie, Daniel, James, Ralph)

IV. Francis H. Martin b-1914 d- 1976: Married Eileen May Carney
(Francis’s siblings- Marion (Ryan), Elizabeth (Graber), Daniel, Lenore (Gress), Edward, John)

V.) Joseph X. Martin b-1949- Mary Ellen Walsh –b-1951
(Joseph’s siblings- Nancy (Brinkel & Veign), Mary Eileen (Grisanti), Patrick, Edward (Nancy Smyth, Susan Donovan), James(Linda), Maureen, Daniel, Michael(Helen), John (Kathy), William (Kathleen), Marie

VI. Fifteen nieces and nephews in generation six
Brinkel, Grisanti, & Martin surnames

VII. Seven great nieces and nephews in generation seven
McGinness, Martin, Pasqua, Grisanti & Rearick surnames

VIII. The yawning maw of descendants to come after 2009

Foreword:

For many years, I had listened at family events to the idle conversations of the aunts and uncles of my father’s family, the Martin’s. They spoke of the colorful characters that had come before them, with their odd names, varied origins and rough and tumble life styles. My father, a story-teller in the ancient Irish mode, entertained all of his children with stories of the Martin clan throughout our childhood. Thanks dad. These “ancestral whispers” were ever with me as I contemplated setting down the life and times of the family, to preserve it for those who come after me.

And then one Autumn, at an Irish fest in suburban Hamburg, N.Y. my wife Mary & I watched a well written theatrical production, penned by Buffalo actresses Mary Kate O’Connell and Josephine Hogan. It was called ”The Beacher’s.” In song and verse the production detailed the colorful life of a small colony of Irish immigrants that had arrived in Buffalo during the early and mid 1800’s. Poor and landless, they settled in the lee of the Buffalo sea wall and where ever after referred to as “Beachers.” Three lines of my own family, the Martins, Tevingtons and Carneys all hailed from this gypsyesque encampment.

As I watched this entertaining production, the various stories I had heard from my father and his family coalesced in my mind. With the help of the very nice staff at the “Memories Museum” on Elk St. in Buffalo’s Valley section, I was able to do further research on the Martin family in Buffalo. We were in Florida that winter as I began to set down what I knew of my family’s history. A cousin, Edward Martin of Angola, N.Y generously shared his genealogical research of the Martin family with me. The first fruit of this effort was a short story called “The Senator’s Place.” It basically encompassed chapters XV & XVI of the larger work that was to become “Westward From Eire.”

From the short story, I worked back in time to where I knew the original progenitor of our clan had hailed from, northwestern Spain. And then I worked forward from the “Senator’s Place” to encompass the span of time from 1847 through 1976. It details what I know of this small branch of the Martin clan in America. The many cousins and related clans fill over ten pages of a family tree chart. Hopefully one of the cousins will flesh out more of the family’s details in an effort of their own. The actual conversations and fine detail of my ancestor’s lives are lost to us. Working people didn’t keep journals or diaries. Their conversations and daily lives herein set down will have to fall under the heading of “what might have been,” in a historical work of fiction. Still, the names dates and details of the family are accurate as best I can remember or could research them. The historical events mentioned are all true and captured from a lifetime of reading American and World History and searching the many web sites of all the people and places listed. All of the cities listed are familiar to me from our travels, with the exception of St. John’s, New Brunswick. I haven’t yet had the pleasure. The others, Mary & I have visited and enjoyed.

During this effort, my mainstay, grammatical editor and chief technical advisor was my wife Mary. A retired English Teacher, her help was invaluable. Thanks as always, Mary. My sister Mary Eileen Martin and Cousin Peter Quinn patiently reviewed the chapters as the first drafts arose and forwarded me their comments. Thanks Mary and Peter.

After a first draft had been completed, I circulated it among a few gracious friends and asked for their review and comment. A college friend, the Hon. Richard L. O’Rourke gave the text the fine document review of an experienced attorney. Thanks Rick. A Wisconsin friend from Florida and an avid sailor, Richard Goff, read the text for nautical credibility. Thanks Dick. The final story had started to emerge. The thoughtful review and helpful comments of a retired High School English Department chairman, Charles Rizzone of Amherst, N.Y got me through the last difficult transition to the final product. Thanks Charlie for your patience and thoughtful advice.

Like all things in life, this book was a collective effort. No one does anything on his own. I hope it is as entertaining for the reader as it was for me to set it down. And for all those who came before me, you live still in my imagination and will as long as I walk this earth.

Joseph Xavier Martin
October, 2009
Amherst, New York