> I have travelled over a good deal of the United States with my husband who is a > trucker and in fairness to Rear of Leeds and Lansdowne, I can honestly say that it contains > some of the most beautiful country in all of God's creation! With all of the hills, forests, crags, > and lakes too numerous to count, there is no where that I would rather live. > As I said in my original note, I lived on the other side of the St. Lawrence River (in Watertown, NY) for a few years which is how I was lucky enough to visit elderly distant cousins, see family farms, etc. The country is quite breath-taking on both sides of the river. We had to move for personal reasons, but it was a difficult decision. The Thousand Islands didn't become a major tourist attraction for no reason. I'd have to say the winters are kind of tough, but the geography is gorgeous. I hope some day to see Wexford and I hope that the sadness my ancestors must have felt about leaving friends, family, and possessions was somewhat alleviated by finding such a glorious new place to call home. I had no idea there were books written about this migration and am looking forward to tracking down at least one of them this summer. For all I know about the names of my ancestors going back to 1630, I am clearly quite ignorant about the political stuff which controlled their lives. I knew Wexford (or think I know Wexford) is called the (or a) seat of Rebellion. But, I never knew specifics about the Rebellion of 1798 until I subbed to this list. I thus far have not seen the name of an ancestor involved in it, but everyone who lived there must have been involved in some way. Thanks to all who have published so much interesting information about something that's puzzled me for some time. Although I spent many enjoyable hours visiting with elderly cousins in family farms in G/L, not one of them ever gave me a reason for why our mutual ancestors had left their homeland. They did give me boxes of old photos and letters, though, and other priceles s stories. Ellen