Emigration
When Margaret was five years old, her parents left Ireland — a land plagued by destitution, political turmoil, and oppression under British rule — and set sail for America. The year 1818 was one of high emigration due to a succession of wet summers followed by extreme winters; a time period Irish history calls “the year without a summer” and “the year of the malty flour.” William, his wife Margaret, and three of their six children — including Margaret (then five), older brother Kevin and baby sister Kathleen — emigrated Ireland for the United States. The three eldest children were to remain temporarily with their uncle Matthew O'Rourke in Ireland, until such time as they could be sent for. The final parting was so distressing that friends drew the children staying in Ireland aside, and before the divided family left Ireland they knelt to receive the curate's blessing.
Read more about this topic: Margaret Haughery