History, Natural History & the Arts
This series of immigrant family history stories is part of New York Almanack's reporting on the Trump regime’s impacts in New York State. We can’t do it without your help. Please support this work.
In 1908, sensing the winds of political change were howling in Russian occupied Poland, Franciczek Debicki wanted more for his children than what he could see in a future in Poland.
He and his wife Ewa Domugalska Debicka decided to arrange a marriage for their oldest daughter, Wladyslawa, to a young man who had emigrated to America with his family; this meant her passage was paid and she would have a place to live. [Read more…] about Immigrant Stories: Michael and Wladyslawa Murawski
In 1888, William Robert Keay immigrated from Dundee in Scotland to the city of New York, eventually settling on Staten Island where we worked for 12 years as a landscape gardener. In 1899 he, his wife, and seven children moved to Lowville, in Lewis County.
He took a job as head gardener for Charles R. Scott, an underwriter for Equitable Insurance who had purchased a historic home, and “spent about $70,000 re-modelling the house, adding immense verandahs, generally changing the Colonial appearance of the place, adding elaborate stables, greenhouses and gardens.” When Scott died in 1902, his estate was sold to Congressman Charles L Knapp and his head gardener, William Keay, moved on to open his own florist business in the village. [Read more…] about Immigrant Stories: A Rocky Path to Citizenship for a Scot
The records I have found for my family in Ireland, England, and Montreal paint a picture of the challenges that all immigrants face. Arthur Sherry (1799-1846), my great-great-grandfather, grew up on a flax farm in Northern Ireland, his father Cornelius (1769-1869) struggling to make ends meet as cotton replaced Irish linen.
Arthur moved to Ireland’s port city Dundalk to become a merchant. He married Elizabeth Callan in 1821, having five children in nine years. A Dublin news source puts Arthur in Debtors Court shortly before his decision to immigrate. [Read more…] about Immigrant Stories: The Sherrys Arrive from Ireland in 1834
It seems to have been forgotten, or ignored, but the vast majority of Americans have an immigrant family history story – often of struggle and sacrifice. New York Almanack wants to publish them.
In 300 words or less, tell us the story of your immigrant ancestor(s) and their earliest experiences in New York and we’ll share them with our readers.
Here’s how: [Read more…] about Send Us Your Immigrant Family History Story
Use your bank’s “bill pay” option (or just send a check)
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