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Birth
My name is Bedelia Armstrong. My family was big on potato farming in Ireland. When the potato famine came in 1845 we lost all our crops and profits for that year. We had no idea how long it would last, but after 4 years of the famine, we could no longer survive. My mother and father decided we would move to America. We packed and were ready to leave by spring 1851. America offered jobs and a better life for us. -
Going to America
We were finally ready to leave. We boarded the ship to America and looked back one more time as the land we left got smaller and smaller. One last look for we would probably never return. My father was hoping to get a job as a construction worker. The whole trip to America, my brother and I imagined what it would be like to live there. Slowly we counted down the number of days until finally one day we got closer and saw the Statue of Liberty. We were so excited to finally be in America. -
Ellis Island
We arrived at Ellis Island today. We waited in a long line for our physical exam. We passed the physical exam and went to the legal examination with my parents. There they presented all the information about them and their family. -
Out on Our Own
We left immigraton and my father immediately left to look for work. He had a hard time finding any work. For some reason no one wanted to hire him even though he seemed qualified. He searched everywhere in New York. We had little money and could only afford a small apartment that we shared with other families. It was not the best place to live, but I guess there has been worse. There was little plumbing and one bathroom shared by 10 families. It was time to leave because it was so bad. -
Moving West
It has been a few years of living rough in New York since we came here from Ireland. We learned about a railroad worker job out in the middle west. We heard that the land was cheap and plentiful. After saving enough money, we purchased a small lot of land for our family to move out to. My father was going to build railroads to add to the We moved and my dad got to work right away. It was a dangerous job. Some of his coworkers died on the job.The work was bad, but it was better than New York. -
A Better Life
Over just the one year we've been here, a really nice, small little town has built up. We have very nice Chinese neighbors. They have a girl about my age that comes over to play often. My mother was very sick. She contracted a disesase through contact with my father. He must've got the disesase while working, but didn't fall ill because of it. However, mother is doing better. We live a wonderful life out here. We are not poor, or hungry. My father has a job and we live in a wonderful community.
