Killed in the Line of Duty

John didn’t set his sights on becoming a “bluecoat,” a common term for an officer of the law, but his father William was one for many years in Philadelphia. John’s…

Many people know someone named Kelly, since it is the second-most popular Irish surname in this country. (The top spot belongs to the Murphys.) An Irish teenager named James Kelly…

Both of Nathaniel’s parents came to Philadelphia as children: father Nathaniel from England and mother Eliza from Ireland. Nathaniel Jr. had two older brothers and one younger sister, but when…

Sanford was named after his uncle, but his middle name was the same as his father’s middle name. There was one sister, Blanche, who was three years older and a…

The young life of James Young could be a truly romantic story: born in County Tyrone, Ireland, he came to America in 1846, leaving his girlfriend behind. The heart wants…

The teeming masses of Irish immigrants in the mid-19th century suffered from prejudice and bigotry after they arrived. Then they began voting in large numbers, and local officials wanted to…

If Thompson had a nickname, it would not have been Tom since his older brother was named Thomas. They were sons of Irish natives James and Sarah Black, and the…

William and family came to Newark, Delaware from Ireland in 1856, after “the Great Hunger,” referring to the famine there from the mid-1840s to the early 1850s. Their family is…