Edward McIlheron : Short Biography

Edward McIlheron was a cousin of my great grandmother Ellen McAteer also from Armagh. Her mother, my great great grandmother was Elizabeth McIlheron McAteer. Edward left Ireland and came to Lewiston Maine USA when he was 16 years old from Bessbrook County, Armagh.  He arrived Nov 11 1882 in Boston. He was born in Armagh in 1866 and died in 1927 in Lewiston area at the age of 59 and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetary.  I have a copy of his obituary and it says he came from  Bessbrook County, Armagh. He eventually owned a cigar factory that included a general tobacco store, pool rooms and bowling alleys that he had for more than 25 years. He was also a state representative for Lewiston and a police officer and firefighter. He visited Ireland several times and it says he still kept his house key that he had in his childhood in Ireland. The key he highly treasured and showed it only to a few of his more intimate friends when he talked about his early home in Ireland. His leading brand of cigars the "Blarney" was named after the Blarney Stone. His brother James McIlheron from Armagh died in 1892 in Lewiston Maine.