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Born in Ireland
Sam Connoly was born in Ireland in 1829. He was born in the small townhome as an only child. He was born into a middle class family, in a good neighborhood. His Father was a builder for the town they lived in, and his Mother was a nurse. -
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Life of Sam Connoly
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Mother dies from Cholera
When Sam turned 2, he had a horrible birthday present. His mother had been ill with cholera for over 6 months now, and she had been struggling to hang on. She passed away that day, and Sam was devastated. This also created problems for the family, because his mother had been a primary source of income for the family. -
Brother adopted
A few months after the passing of Sam's mother, the family decided to adopt a boy. They decided that a boy Sam's age would be best, so that he could have some company. They decided to adopt a boy named John. He was 2 months younger than Sam. -
Family evicted from home
When Sam was 13, his family was evicted from their home. The Father was not able to make enough money to pay the rent, and they bacame homeless. Sam and his brother were forced to drop out of school and work. They were forced to move around Ireland looking for work and a place to stay. -
Boat trip to America
At the age of 19, Sam finally had enough of the poor life.The Irish Potato Famine had affected them greatly. He decided to go to America in search of land and jobs. He went with his brother John and their meager possesions. They took only a change of clothes each, and a small bag full of British Pounds, their only money. They had been saving up for a few years. -
Get's a job
Only days after arrival, Sam gets a job at a busy pub in the middle of town. He works as a bartender and makes a good amount of money. Sam is going to save money for the future. -
Arrived at Ellis Island
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Decides to move west
Sam moves to St. Louis. He decided to take all of his belongings to St. Louis to prepare for his trip West. Sam is going to have to buy supplies for the 5 month trip West. -
Meets Irish families
When in St. Louis, Sam meets a group of Irish families also heading West. Sam decides to join them. He helps them collect supplies for the wagon ride. They have enough food to last 8 months. On the trip, there will be 3 families, not including Sam. This makes a total of 8 adults, and 4 children. The group decides to take 3 wagons and 12 oxen. 2 oxen will pull at a time and they will have 2 backups per wagon. -
Headed West
The families hear talk of gold and land in California. They want to get there before the fertile land is taken. They also want to get there in time to get jobs as gold miners. They are going to take the Oregon Trail, and then take the California Trail branch. -
They arrive in the West
After a long, perilous journey, they arrive in San Francisco. They ventured through Native American lands where they were not welcome. They faced starvation, disease, loss of direction, attacks, and many more hardships. They have all finally achieved their goal.
