Another expression for immigrant Irish around Boston was "two-boater". If you had the cash for a ticket to NY or Boston, you were pretty well off: you were a one-boater.. If you were poor as dirt, or your landlord was trying to get rid of you, you got a ticket as far as St. John's, Newfoundland, then worked on the fishing boats till you had money for the fare to Boston or NYC: you were a two-boater. It was a badge of honor to have had the gumption to be a two-boater. Jack
John, Never heard that expression, but love it. When the Ellis Island records came out, we were stunned to see that our grandparents left Ireland with only $5.00 in cash. Joan Griffin Rusk
I've never heard about folks going to Newfoundland and then to Boston. I have been trying to trace my Salem, Mass. ancestor's arrival in the US and they did not come through NYC, or any other U.S. port whose information is on-line. Is there a site that lists arrivals in Newfoundland?? All the best, Mary Ellen Researching the Wheltons from Clonakilty, the Horrigans from Killorglin and the McCarthys from Killarney --- "John E. Mansfield" <JMANSFIE@DNFSB.GOV> wrote: > Another expression for immigrant Irish around Boston > was "two-boater". > If you had the cash for a ticket to NY or Boston, > you were pretty well > off: you were a one-boater.. If you were poor as > dirt, or your landlord > was trying to get rid of you, you got a ticket as > far as St. John's, > Newfoundland, then worked on the fishing boats till > you had money for > the fare to Boston or NYC: you were a two-boater. > It was a badge of > honor to have had the gumption to be a two-boater. > > Jack > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email > to IRL-KERRY-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and > the body of the message > ____________________________________________________________________________________Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=graduation+gifts&cs=bz