Trying to re learn all the things my memory has lost due to meds given in hospital, etc. See body of this msg.elow

Hi all, and thanks for all the work you've done for me.  Landed in the hospital just before the Covid scare started over here (US) and was released by the time the scare took place; however, whatever they did via meds while I was in their (hospital) grip left me physically okay - except for the brain!  Now that I have that halfway working, I'm trying to learn/relearn how to do a greatdeal of the things I handled with ease before the hospital stay - and it is really, really slow going!

I left off with an email from you folks that pretty well pointed to Patrick Higgins and his life up to the time he had married, had several children, owned? or at least ran a pub in Boyle, Roscommon,  It was sold off when he left for the United States.  You've been able to find confirmation of all that for me and I really, really thank you for your great work.  To continue with the story - 

Patrick left from Ireland by himself as his wife, Ellen McDermottroe Higgins was pregnant and caring for their several other children.  It appears that she and the kids left Ireland for the United States VERY shortly after she gave birth and appears she and the "kids" landed in New York.  It also appears that Patrick had been working on the Waterfront, whether it was in New York or Brooklyn is not proven.  Whether they had decided to head West to the United States immediately is NOT proven (AND REMEMBER - the United States was at war at this time!)  Certainly would not seem like a good time to pick up and move halfway across the United States with kids, furniture and the likes - but then, life in New York/Brooklyn wouldn't have been all that great either!

There is a "story" in our family history that in the US they rented a boxcar on a railroad and headed West with all their goods, the kids and the two of them.  If that's the case, I'd guess that they would be heading West towards the Mississippi River, heading slightly West and more directly towards the Mississippi River to skirt any/most of the fighting in the New York/Pennsylvania area.  And that would take them almost directly to the place they chose as a home - Hamilton, Illinois.

They are next found LIVING in the town of Hamilton, Illinois.  While it was a fairly decent size town then, today it is a tiny place located on the East side of the Mississippi River. (If you can find a map of that part of the US, find Iowa, go as far South in Iowa as possible and then run your finger as far to the right of the map of Iowa until you run out of Iowa at its lowest South Eastern "corner".  You should find Keokuk or Nauvoo or maybe Fort Madison in that lower SE corner.  Now look closely for Hamilton (right there with Keokuk)! 

Patrick had gotten a job repairing parts of the trains that had repair/overhaul facilities located in Keokuk and he used the trains going back and forth across the Mississippi River from Keokuk on one side of the Mississippi River to Hamilton on the other side to get to and from work.  

Thought I had them "settled" but couldn't figure out how they knew where and how to get there until I discovered another party that was to become part of the family (by a marriage) that lived and worked in that same general area.