"Present" My great grandfather, Thomas (O)ROURKE, came from Ireland (Co. Kerry) about 1851(?) -- 2 or 3 years before his wife came over. She was Ellen (perhpas Mary Ellen?) MAHONEY (maybe from Co. Cork). They ended up here in Iowa in 1857. Tom and Ellen were married in Ireland and had two sons there who didn't survive -- one dying from fever at age 2, the other from accidental burns from a hot water spill. They had two children in N.Y. State -- a daughter, Ellen Agness, born in 1855 and a son, Patrick James ("Peter"), born at Castleton on Hudson in Mar. 1856 -- records vary on his birth year, but he had a sister born in Iowa in Jan. 1858. I am wondering where Tom and Ellen landed in America. I haven't found any clues of their arriving at Castle Garden, so I wonder if they might have landed in Canada. Would someone on this list know of a path that would have brought them to Castleton? Some other clues: When they came to Iowa, the O'ROURKEs travelled with 3 other families -- MAHONEYs, O'CONNORs & O'KEEFEs. They may have all lived in Rensselaer County. Before coming to Iowa, they dropped the O and became ROURKEs. Theses were all farm families -- except possibly the O'Keefes who seem not to have settled in the same place here (Johnson County, Iowa). I'd appreciate any help. Good luck with your research, everyone! Janet