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Background on My Life
My name is Bridget O'malley. I was born in Dublin, Ireland. My family was a group of tenant farmers. I had 1 brother named Aidan and no sisters. When I was 22, my house caught on fire. It killed my parents and destroyed almost all of our possessions. Aidan and I couldn't stand to live where all those terrible memories were. We worked until we had enough money to go to America. -
Leaving Ireland
My house burned down in a fire, so I took all the money I had and used it for the boat ride. I left Ireland with my older brother, Aidan. I broght my one extra outfit that survived the fire, and old family tea set, my favorite book, and a little money. We were in steerage class. The boat ride was awful and cramped. I would never want to go through it again, but I'm glad I did. -
Ellis Island
I arrived at Ellis Island with Aidan. When we were going through the medical inspection, Aidan was held back for having a limp. We fought to try to stay togerther. I yellded at the peope, but ee were separated and I had to go ahead without him. -
Theives
I got off of the ferry boat and looked around. It was crowded and loud. I was upset that I had to leave my brother, but I knew someday we would be able to contact each other again. Dazed by the new world I wasn't paying attention to the people around me. All of a sudden a man came around and grabbed my bag. I tugged and fought for it. Then my bag ripped! He grabbed the teaset and rest of the money I had and took off. -
Looking for a Place to Live
Having slept on the street for a night, I went in search of some where to live and found a tenement I could rent. It was the only room left in the places I could afford, but it still cost a lot. The tenement was crowded and smelled of alcohol. -
Getting a Job
Having to pay my rent for the hotel room and not having any money, I needed to get a job. I finally found one in a sweatshop sewing clothes. The conditions were terrible, but it gets me barely enough money to pay for the hotel room and some food. -
My Journey to the West
I was sick of the working conditions and the brutal prices of my hotel room rent. I started my trek west to Oklahoma. I had heard of the Land Run. SInce I did not have a horse or carriage, I had to walk my way to the west. There got to a point where I didn't have any water left. It was summer, so it didn't rain and it was hot out. I almost died from being dehydrated, but then one morning I came a cross a watering hole. I ran towards it. After I got a drink I looked up and there was Oklahoma. -
Arriving in the West
I got to Oklahoma 17 days before the Land Run. I purchased a horse and registered for the race. When I was out washing my clothes, I spotted someone extremely familiar. I walked over to him and it was my brother! We talked for hours and caught up from when we saw each other last on Ellis Island. It turns out he stayed on Ellis Island for 2 weeks and tried to come for me, but had no luck. In the end we decided to claim land together considering we have missed each other for so long. -
The Land Run
I woke up early in the morning and packed up my stuff. I helped Aidan pack his stuff up too. We then hopped on our horses and trotted to the starting line. Once the cannon blew we were off. Carts by us toppled over as they went over bumps and other obstacles. Aidan and I maneuvered past all the fallen carts and continued on our journey. -
The Land Run (cont.)
After we made it past the chaos we finally found the perfect land. It had a nice pasture of grass, rich soil, and a stream of clean water. I jumped off my horse and ran to the post. Aidan followed behind me. He yanked the post out of the ground. I stabbed in the flag and we cheered in happiness as we finally gotten our land. -
The Homestead Act
The Homestead Act claimed all land west of the Mississippi River was free. This meant that Aidan and I wouldn't have to pay anything for our land, but we had to visibly make a change and improve the land. We got started as soon sa we could. First we built our house. Then, we got started on our crops. We traded and sold for the right tools. After a year we had visibly improved the land. We kept it that way and when they came to inspect the land we didn't have to pay anything.
