Dear Mary Kay: Thanks for the response about Rock Co, WI. I have not been there. I am trying to figure out how/why so many Irish migrated to WI ? Do you know any background history of immigration into WI before Civil War. Lots of people have contacted me about my recent posting about 'my' James Carroll/Jane Dunnigan and have ancestors who also migrated into WI. It's been wonderful. Many people have 'hints' that perhaps their Irish ancestors were in Canada prior to moving into WI which makes good sense from a geographic point of view -- and as you have said, the area looks/feels similar to Ireland. In early 1800s, was the area of southwestern Wisconsin a farming area? As to why James Carroll/Jane Dunnigan moved to Howard Co, IA -- I don't know the real answer, but I suspect that farm lands opened up about that time. I have other ancestors who migrated into Howard Co, IA from western PA in the early 1860s also -- so something was going on to attract settlers from a wider area than even nearby WI and I just suspect that it has to have been something to do with reasonable land prices. I haven't done enough good, solid research into Iowa history as yet, so this is just my best guess at this point. I would be interested in anything YOU know about why there were so many Irish families in Wisconsin in an era when we think that the typical Irish immigrant entered America on the East Coast and stayed in large urban cities. That's an over simplification on my part, I know, but I can't fathom how James Carroll wound up there probably as early as 1852. Also, thank you for the referral to DUNNAGANS OF ANY SPELLING. I just did an internet search and didn't find a web site although I found a reference to a newsletter of this name on a specific DUNNAGAN family web site. Would you be able to refer me to an address or some other means of connecting with DUNNAGANS OF ANY SPELLING. I have made no headway on my dear little Jane Dunnigan great grandmother. Any direction you could provide would be much appreciate. Look forward to hearing back. Carol