He went to America when he was 20 years old and worked for his uncle Samuel in New Orleans. He was a joiner by trade and eventually ran his own business and owned property in New Orleans. [1]
He seems to have been an astute business man and sent home to his mother a good deal of money which, it is said, was invested in land. He moved around quite a bit in the U.S.A. and there are a number of envelopes addressed to him in Mexico. It is not certain whether he took part in the Civil War, but there is one reference in a letter of 1862 which indicates he may have done. His brother, Alexander (21), says, “his mother was uneasy about him as they had heard he was in the field of battle”. This letter cost one shilling, (25 cents) to send to New Orleans. Many of the letters sent from America to Ireland arrived stamped, “insufficient postage”. [1]
1830 - 1901 (71 years)