Thank-you. I am trying to narrow down when they left Ireland so I can get to the why, but all I have to go on right now is that they were born around 1805 in Ireland and their first child was born in the U.S. in 1835. The death records from Boston don't tell, and I'm waiting for the obituaries from the Boston Public Library, hopefully to be found. (They died there in 1882). I have possibly found a John Ha?land on the Brig Cambridge entering Boston in 1826 or 27 (it's late, so I forget), looking in the ISTG website, but that's all right now. I do know they were Irish Catholic and that John's parents were also John and Ann Havlin, his WIFE Ann's parents Roger Havlin and Cecilia...this generation born in Ireland around 1780. Altogether I have been doing this search since the 1970s, my Aunt even longer, so at this point it's a matter of not overlooking anything that might provide clues...Linda Haviland