I'm on the trail of my greatgrandfather Michael Boyle and great-grandmother Ellen (Howe) Boyle. Both were born in County Clare, Ireland (he in 1820, she in 1833 or 1836). He emigrated to New York in 1847 (perhaps accompanied by Ellen and her mother), worked on the railroad, came to settle in Dubuque County, Iowa. They were married in 1857, moved to 160-acre farm in 1858 (this is the farm where I grew up). I believe I've tracked down all descendants of Michael and Ellen. I'm still trying to trace backwards from Michael and Ellen: I've just recently found that Ellen's brother and sister, Thomas (b.1816) and Nancy (Howe) Hagerty (b. 1818), settled in DeWitt, Clinton County, Iowa, and that there most likely were other Howe relatives from Miltown, County Clare, who also settled in the area. Records now indicate that Ellen's father was named John Howe and probably was born around 1795. Ellen's grandmother may have been also named Ellen, born in 1770, died in 1875 and is buried in DeWitt. There was a James Howe (1810-1873) and a Charles Howe (1827-1882) also buried in DeWitt; one of Charles' sons was named John Howe and moved to Chicago, had some children. Charles' daughters were Elizabeth Howe and Mary Howe, who married James Gillooly and had several children in DeWitt. There were quite a few Boyles living in the area around Miltown Malbay - I've been cataloging the Boyles listed in Kilmurry Ibrickan parish records, and you can find quite a few of them on my Web site, http://family.boyle.net ... I'm collecting information about the parish, which includes Quilty, Seafield, Tromra. Here are the only other Boyle connections I have: There was a John Boyle listed as a witness for Michael's wedding at Sinsinawa Mound, Grant County, Wisconsin. Also, there happened to be a family that arrived in Dubuque in 1855, including a Mary Corry (widowed), Michael and John Boyle in their 20s, a widow referred to as M. Boyle, with infant children Mary and John Boyle. Any information that might connect with these Boyles would be greatly appreciated, as well as any contacts with Boyles with roots in County Clare, particularly in the stretch of West Clare from, say, Quilty to Doolin. Thanks to Pat for keeping this list going strong ... Good luck to all of us in our searches! Best regards, Alan ============================================================ Alan and Tonia Boyle -- [email protected] 12412 SE 26th Place, Bellevue, Wash. 98005 tel: 425-957-0219