Farley Immigration History

 Shared by Clea (Farley) Wilson on December 14, 2022

 

County Meath

Laurence Farley was born in County Meath, Ireland.  He married Mary Goff and they lived in County Meath, about 20 miles from Dublin, where the first four of their five children were born: Anna, Patrick, James, and Mary Ann.  Their youngest son, Lawrence, was born after they emigrated.

Known as the “Great Famine,” “Great Hunger,” and “Irish Potato Famine” –  a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1949

Historical accounts show that "The Great Famine" began as the indispensable potato crops of Ireland failed everywhere due to a blight. As typhus followed the famine, vast numbers died. It became worse and more generally spread in 1847, making emigration the only means of escape. Despite aid from other countries, numerous people continued to flee, causing the Irish population to drop by 1,950,000 between 1845 and 1851. According to an oral account passed down by Laurence's grandson, James P. Farley, Laurence's family slipped out of Ireland "in the middle of the night" because of this Irish potato famine.

Between 1820 and 1860, the Irish constituted over one third of all immigrants to the United States. In the 1840s, they comprised nearly half of all immigrants to this nation.  Irish immigrants in the 1840s and 1850s settled mainly in coastal states such as New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, but also in western states such as Illinois and Ohio.

On July 10, 1851, Mary and the children arrived in New York on the ship, Shannon. Records indicate that Laurence traveled separately through Canada. The family eventually reunited and made a home for themselves in Illinois.

Dakota Territory

The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to live on and “improve” their plot by cultivating the land.

Mary and Laurence’s son Lawrence “Larry" Farley arrived in the Beresford area in 1875. In 1880, his father, Laurence filed on land in Section 10 of Prairie Township.  In 1883, the younger Lawrence proved up on a homestead of his own in Prairie Township, three miles east of Beresford (now South Dakota).

Lawrence married Elizabeth O'Conner in 1887.  They had eleven children, out of which nine reached adulthood. Most, if not all, of the Farley descendants still living in Beresford, South Dakota, today are descended from Larry and Elizabeth Farley.

Lawrence Farley Jr, was 29 and his mother, Elizabeth B. O'Connor, was 25 had  Leonard Lawrence Farley (see picture above) on 20 February 1883, in Union, South Dakota, United States.

Leonard married Nora Gertrude Merrigan on 7 May 1913, in Spink Township, Union, South Dakota, United States. They were the parents of Delmar, Leonor, Phyllis, Earl and Gene. He lived in Prairie Township, Union, South Dakota, United States for about 45 years. He died on 4 November 1962, in Beresford, Union, South Dakota, United States, at the age of 79, and was buried in Emmet, Union, South Dakota, United States.