I am looking for information on James Burns and the Halligan family. James was born in the early 1800's in Ireland. I believe he came to Mobile around 1836. He married Mary (who was from England) around 1838. James and Mary had six children: John, Robert, Alice, Mary, Catherine Ann, and James, Jr. Alice Burns married my great grandfather, John Patrick Halligan (b. in Ireland in 1833) in 1865. They had five children (Edmund Byrne, Robert Lee, Maggie, Josephine, and Albert Sidney). Edmund died as an infant. John Patrick designed and built the torpedo boat, the "St. Patrick" during the Civil War. In the early 1880's, things got tough for the Halligan family, and John Patrick left his family to go to New Orleans to find work. He died there in 1881 at the age of 48. Two years later, his wife, Alice died, leaving their four children orphaned. I believe that Maggie and Josephine were sent back to Ireland, and Robert and Albert were taken in by the Burns family. Several years later, Robert died, leaving Albert Sidney the only Halligan (that I know of) left. I am looking for any related Burns descendant that might be able to fill in the missing pieces on the Halligan and Burns families. Thanks, Mary in Houston, TX