This native land of mine – a journey

This post is about an amazing photograph that captures William Cronin Sr. (left) embarking on a three-month journey back to his homeland, Ireland, with his son and fellow farmers from Minden, Nebraska. Based on the newspaper article below, I believe the photograph was taken, as their friends wished them “bon voyage” at the Minden train station upon their departure.

In previous posts, I have chronicled the journey of my daughter’s maternal 3^rd great grandparents, William Sr. and Kate (Crowley) Cronin, as they made their way from Ireland to Massachusetts and eventually to Nebraska (Drought, prairie fires, blizzards and hailstorms). I next wrote a story that explored the lives of Kate and William’s children, the next generation of Cronin’s (7N 15W 25/36).

In 1908, William Cronin traveled to Ireland and England with his son William Jr., Charlie McCarthy, Robert J. Cranwell, and Thomas Cavanaugh. The manifest for the steamer Lusitania notes that they sailed home from Queenstown, Ireland on September 6^th and arrived in New York City on September 11th. The only Englishman in the troupe, Robert Cranwell, visited family in England and later arrived in New York City aboard the Lusitania on October 30^th.

Who is who in the photograph (L to R)? My revised guess is: William Sr. (63), William Jr.(24), McCarthy (54), Cavanaugh (48), and Cranwell (58). Your guess is as good as mine – what do you think?

(Article Right – Minden News 7 August 1908)

Prior to returning to Nebraska, William and his son visited his sister and sister’s nephew Tim Crowley. Crowley was married to Catherine (Burke) and lived in Lynn, Massachusetts. It was there that William Jr. met his bride to be, Susie Burke. They married in 1910 and resided for a short period in Lynn before moving to the Cronin family farm in Minden.

Photo: Lusitania, New York City, September 1907. The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-*boat* on 7 May 1915

Comments, corrections and suggestions appreciated.