The Grandmothers::Brigid Padden Farrell

Attached is the photo of my grandmother Brigid Padden Farrell. Let me tell you her story. She was one of 9 children who grew up in Leitrim, Ireland. She came first to the US in 1901 and worked as a domestic in New York City. From 1901-1910 she wrote letters to her fiance James Farrell. In this picture she would have been Brigid Padden. James always called her Bee. She traveled back and forth several times, spending some years in Dublin but mostly at different places in New York. James was always in England working, so the never saw each other in all that time. Even when he traveled back to Ireland it was never when she was there. They still married, immigrated to the Detroit area of Michigan, and had a family together. 5 children, 3 who died young from tuberculosis. I have over 200 of their letters. As you can imagine they are quite a treasure to have. They stopped writing when they married which is a shame. I would have loved to know their thoughts throughout their lives. This is the only picture I have of her. She did have red hair and I think blue eyes. I will check to make sure the eye color is correct and get back to you. She died when I was 5 so I have little memory of her but on the other hand feel very connected to her as well. Five years ago I went on a pilgrimage to Ireland and went to the places they wrote from. I also connected with long lost relatives and saw the family farm. It was a great experience. 

~ Kate Robertson
​