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Date of Birth
I am James Coughlin. I was born today in a small town located in Ireland. My parents are both farmers and they grow large amounts of potatoes. I want to grow up and have my own land to grow potatoes on. -
Arrival at Ellis Island
In 1845 a major potato blight arrived in Ireland (more information at http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/irish_potato_famine.cfm). It swept across the country and cause potatoes to rot soon after they were dug up. Because I lived in a remote village the blight took a while to get to us, but we were not safe from it. Eventually, we had eaten most of the food that we had grown and stored. At this point I decided to travel to America. I packed up the few things I had and journeyed towar -
Getting a Job
More information about immigrant employmentNow that I am a U.S. citizen I need to look for a job so that I can support myself. I met two other men that had recently arrived from Ireland, like myself. One of them had a relative that worked in a mine in West Virginia who was on his way to pick them up. I was invited to join them on the trip. I quickly accepted the offer, because they told me that their were many mines that I could get a job at. The next day we started our journey to West Virginia directed by my new friend's relative. When -
Finding a Place to Live
For the first few days after I arrived in West Virginia I slept under a piece of canvas. I talked to some of the people I work with and they suggested I talk to my employer. When I did this I was given a small shack to live in and was told that the rent would be taken out of my pay. Their were many other small buildings around the one I was living in which were inhabited by other workers. Some of my friends helped me to fix up the shack. Hopefully sometime I will earn enough to but a better hous -
Western Movement
Recently a group of people that I have been working with left to move to California in search for more land and a better life. I have heard about all of the people that have been moving west, but I have not thought much about moving. I have decided to stay, because I have a good job. I helped the group build several wagons to carry their belongings, because they couldn't afford to buy any. I hope that they make the journey safely. -
The Civil War
The war over slavery has been going on for several months now. I have seen the amount that the armies are willing to pay you if you become a soldier. These things made me decide to join the Union Army. However, I decided not to fight, instead I will drive supply wagons, something that I know I will be good at since I worked with horses while I was a miner. For the short time that I have been doing this job I have enjoyed it. So far I have only transported food for the soldiers, and the have not
