I too am a descendant of a blacksmith/farrier. My great-grandfather, Michael J Hogan was a farrier from County Tipperary, Ireland. He applied his trade first in St. Louis, MO working for Anheuser-Bush. He was the foreman in charge of the famous Budweiser Clydsdales in the 1890's. Unfortunately, Anheuser-Bush did not keep any employee records until about 1913, and by then, Michael had moved to Chicago where he was listed as a horseshoer in the city directory until his death in 1935. Dan Hogan