Hi,
How amazing! For as long as I can remember, we McCarney's--John and Susan nee
Smith--were the only McCarney's in the US. Obviously not.
John, at least, came from Scotshouse in Co. Fermanagh (?) around 1890. They must, at
least, have settled in Joliet since all their children were born there--Pearl, Rose,
Patrick and Francis (twins) etc.
The family story goes that John and Susan met on the boat and were married on arrival in
the US. BUT if he had family connections already in the US then he might have spent time
with them in PA and met her there. Rumors indicate that her name might not even have
really been Smith...hm... But since the locations we're talking about are small,
clearly our McCarney's may be cousins or related in some way.
I know that there are still McCarney's in and around Scotshouse because I talked to
someone--an odd chance--who is from there and still visits frequently.
What we really need is a map so we can see the locations of these places in relation to
one another, since those areas in, now, Northern Ireland seemed to remain in the hands of
Irish natives rather than being turned over to immigrants from Great Britain.
Are your McCarney's Catholic?
Send info.
Maureen McCarney