Turlough McConnell

7 State Street, Lower Manhattan

The Irish Mission at Watson House, located next to Seton Shrine at 7 State Street, has a set of five books that list the names of 60,000 young women and girls from post-Famine Ireland, beginning in the 1880s. These young women were sheltered at this building upon arrival in New York. The books list their names, ages, dates of arrival, names of the ships that carried them, addresses in Ireland where they came from and addresses in the United States where they were going.

Many hundreds of thousands of American families can trace their roots to these women. These books are little known now but in time will be a treasure trove of genealogical history for future generations of Americans.

Photos of the books are available.