Today is March 17, 1856. The sun is shining through my bedroom window as I am sitting here on the corner of my bed thinking about my homeland Kerry, Ireland. I miss my family that I had to leave behind in the spring of 1850 when my husband Leo O’Connor and I left Ireland to come here to America. In the year of 1849 Leo and I were struggling to find ways to make ends meet to pay the landlord our dues. The English had taken over the farmers’ crops only allowing us to plant so much for our families, which was barely enough to survive. In 1846 a serious blight began among the potato crops all across our land which many of us depended on since it was our main source of food (Spartacus, 2008). Our families and friends were getting sick. Typhus broke out all throughout Ireland. It was devastating and we were struggling to survive. In 1847 our neighbors the O’Donnell’s packed up and left for America after not being able to pay the landlord the money due to him. Theysent word once they arrived in New York. They wrote about being able to actually own a piece of land instead of having to rent land. They told us that we could earn more money for our families in America. Everything seemed to be going so well for them and their new life in America. Meanwhile, we watched our neighbors getting so ill, dying from typhus and struggling to survive. January 12, of 1848 Leo and I were sick and had come to the conclusion that we had to find away to get to America. We saved money for our tickets to America all year long, and even though at times we went without food we dared not to touch our savings for fear that we would then be stuck in Ireland without a way out. Leo and I were so anxious to get off the ship since the living conditions were so terrible. We were just so grateful we were still alive. We took our first step on American soil at Castel Gardens at the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City (Powell, 2008). We were so relieved and eager to purchase our own piece of...