James Charles Farrell

Trying to find James Charles Farrell's way back to Ireland...and have had little success. Would like to learn more about James' life in Ireland and discover more about his parents' and extended family.

 

What is UNKNOWN about James' life to Ireland:

• I do not know the exact location of James' birth: his obituary states he was born in Belfast, but this location may be incorrect.
• I do not know his birth/baptism date; he was supposedly born in 1842.
• I do not know his father's first name.
• James' father is assumed to have died in Ireland prior to his family's immigration to the US, so it must have been between 1842 (the year of James' birth) and 1849 (when the Farrell family immigrated to the US)

 

What is KNOWN about his life in Ireland:

• James and his family were Catholic.
• His mother's maiden name was Anna Ryan, 1812-1881 (immigrated to the US in 1849; died in Rochester, New York). Anna may have been born in Ballyboden, Rathfarnham, County Dublin.
• James had an uncle named William Ryan, 1818-1899, his mother's brother, who immigrated from Ireland to the US and settled near Anna's family in New York state. Per William's obit, he was born in Ballyboden, Rathfarnham, County Dublin, and died in Fairport, New York.
• James had at least 4 older siblings, all born in Ireland (exact birth/baptism dates/locations unknown): William Farrell, 1829-1894 (died in Jamestown, North Dakota); Henry Farrell, 1832-1860 (died in Palmyra, New York); Elizabeth Farrell, 1838-1900 (died in Duluth, Minnesota); Michael Bernard "M.B." Farrell, 1839-1912 (died in Saint Paul, Minnesota).
• James immigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1849 along with his mother, his siblings, and his uncle.

 

What is KNOWN about his life in the United States:

• Lived in Milo, New York, approximately 1850-1860; lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota, approximately 1860-1862; lived in Duluth, Minnesota, 1869-1895; lived in Jamestown, North Dakota, 1895-1897.
• Veteran of the United States Civil War (Fifth Minnesota, Company I).
• Operated a saloon, a restaurant, and a grocery store in Duluth, Minnesota.
• Married Bridget Meagher (1852-1932), a former resident of Houghton, Michigan, whose parents (William Meagher and Catherine Brayton) were Irish immigrants.
• James and Bridget had 12 children, all born in Duluth, Minnesota: Anna; William; Elizabeth; James Albert "Bert"; Catherine; Edward; Lela; Margaret; Issabelle; Alice; Charles; Francis "Frank". 8 of the 12 children have descendants currently living.
• James died in Jamestown, North Dakota, in 1897, and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Duluth, Minnesota.