Ron, I think they would marry before coming out for sure especially if she was pregnant. I had a family, named Buckley who came out from Ireland. There were four children and only one could read and write, one of the girls. I don't understand either how one would be literate and the others not, except that maybe she took a liking to books and the others didn't. This family were also farmers. Kaye www.bananatv.com/familytreechecklist.htm

I also have ggrandparents who came over from Ireland, and were farmers to begin with. They married here in the US -neither could read or write when they arrived, but my ggrandfather learned, as was evident on the land deeds that were signed ( and there were many!) He signed his name, she "made her mark" -an "x". In all the censuses (1855-1910), she was listed as not being able to read or write. All of their children were educated, and probably helped her with business papers, etc. after my ggrandfather died in 1887. I think that she was able to read and write Gaelic, though - she was 21 when she came over. A lot of the Irish were unable to read and write in any language due to the Penal Laws that were in place from the 1500's to the 1800's. Mix that with the famine, and the struggle to just stay alive, and you have to wonder how any of them got anywhere. Ann