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Daniel and Jennie Jones Sullivan [1873-1922] [Photo ca 1918]	“It’s a Long Way from Clare to Here” An Irish Family Emigrates to Niles, Ohio 1875- 1888 Irish immigration to Niles began in the 1850’s and continued for decades prompting the founding, in 1864, of St. Stephen’s Parish. By 1880, the Irish were the most numerous foreign-born residents of Niles. Among them were seven members of the John P. and Ellen Casey Sullivan family from County Clare, in the west of Ireland, They came one by one, across the Atlantic over a 13- year period at the end of the 19th century. This is my ancestral family. I will try to tell the story of why they left Ireland and why they came to Niles. For 45 years I have been researching my families’ stories. Records are very limited, consisting of baptism records from Ireland, U.S. census records, obituaries and little else. Regrettably, poor families rarely left much of a record. I have notes from recollections of my grandfather, father and aunts. Years ago, I talked with several of my father’s cousins, all whom were grandchildren of the Sullivan immigrants. Most of them said that they had not asked their grandparents about their lives in Ireland. Nor had their grandparents or parents talked much about Ireland. I once asked my grandmother, Anna Ryan Sullivan, why she did not want to visit Ireland, as her younger sisters had. She said, “Ireland must have been a terrible place, because whenever her father talked about Ireland, he cried.” For many immigrants, there may have been few good memories of Ireland to speak of.

Map location of Miltown Malbay	Our Sullivan family was from west County Clare in the area near the small town of Miltown Malbay. Judging from the baptismal records, the family moved frequently among rural locations in the area. For many decades Catholics were forbidden to inherit, purchase or even lease land in Ireland. The vast majority of the Irish, especially in the West, were landless peasants, who would subsist on small plots of land with no actual claim to the land. There were many families evicted from the scant plots of land they occupied. It appears that John P. Sullivan died in the 1880s in Ireland and did not emigrate. When his children became old enough, they would emigrate. They knew they had no choice but to leave Ireland. The forlorn term “exile” was often used by the Irish instead of “immigrant”. They’d leave for America, beginning with 20 year old Johanna. Steamships were the way to cross the Atlantic by the 1870’s, they were faster, safer, and less expensive than the sailing ships of the famine era. Those earlier sailing ships are remembered as “coffin ships’ for the high rate of deaths that occurred during the voyages

	Johanna Sullivan Kane [1855-1895] was the first to emigrate and arrived in Niles in 1875. It was common for young Irish women to find work as domestics in America, usually in the larger cities. However, she married Michael Kane in 1877. The Kane family were earlier immigrants to Niles and also came from County Clare. Michael Kane had a sister and two brothers, who settled in Niles: Margaret Kane Mahoney, John Kane and Patrick Kane. All of these Kane siblings were born in County Clare in the 1840’s and immigrated in the 1860’s. Articles in the Niles Times noting both Michael’s and Margaret’s deaths in 1916, referred to the Kanes as a “pioneering” family in Niles. Michael worked as a laborer and had several business ventures. One was a tavern near the Erie Railroad depot, which seems to have been an initial stop for Irish coming from the west of Ireland. Many of the newly arriving immigrants referred to the Niles railroad stop as “Mickey Kane’s Crossing” Years before, the Irish came to Ohio to work digging canals and laying railroads. By the 1870’s most of the Irish immigrants were drawn to Niles and the Mahoning Valley by the iron and steel industry. The Irish were early practitioners of the “chain immigration” pattern, common among immigrants seeking passage to America. Relatives who had come earlier would often send funds to help their families back in Ireland, as well as help pay the passage or emigration. I have noticed frequent County Clare connections for many of the Irish coming to Niles. Three very common names in County Clare are McMahon, McNamara and O’Brien, all names very well represented names in the Niles area. Johanna Sullivan Kane died a young mother in 1895. Michael erected a beautiful monument for her in St. Stephen’s Cemetery.

Fostoria Glass Works was constructed in 1910 General Electric acquired the plant in 1911.	Michael and Johanna Kane had six children. • Marie Kane Howard................................1878-1969 • Ellen/Nell Kane.......................................1879-1969 • Margaret/Maggie Kane...........................1881-1970 • Thomas Leo Kane....................................1886-1916 • Johanna/Josie Kane [Walsh?].................1892-1951 • Sara/Sadie Lucella Kane.........................1895-1930 Anthony Sullivan [1859-1939] was the second oldest and he immigrated in the early 1880’s. Among other jobs, he worked at the glass works [later General Electric] in Niles. He married Johanna Fitzpatrick in 1888 and they had at least six children. •John A......................................................1890-1961 • Thomas J..................................................1890-1963 • Frank Anthony.........................................1892-1966 • Daniel Anthony........................................1894-1946 • Sadie........................................................1895-1902 • Anthony....................................................1897-1952 After Johanna died in 1899. Anthony placed his children in an orphanage. The children returned after he married Mary Gallagher Malloy [also from County Clare] . Son, John, later moved to Youngstown and raised a family there. The others remained in Niles.

Daniel Sullivan, on cornerstone[1862-1939] at laying of cornerstone for Niles High School [1914].	Daniel Sullivan [1862- 1939], my great-grandfather, immigrated to Niles at age 16, but returned to Ireland. He immigrated again in 1886 and worked at a variety of laboring jobs in the area. Notably as a cement mason in the building of the old Niles McKinley High [later Edison Jr High]. Reportedly he danced an Irish jig at the dedication of the high school. Later, he worked as the sexton at St. Stephen’s Cemetery. Daniel married Jane Elizabeth “Jenny” Jones in 1891. Jenny was born in Niles of Irish immigrant parents, Patrick W. Jones and Margaret Shannon. Patrick’s family was from County Clare and they were earlier Irish immigrants to the Niles/Warren area. Daniel and Jenny Sullivan’s children: • John Patrick [my grandfather]................1892-1974 • Martin ......................................................1896-1933 • Margaret Sullivan Richards.....................1897-1984 • Helen .......................................................1899-1932 • William.....................................................1901-1977 • Raymond J ...............................................1907-1995

Story of when the Niles Streets were named after WWI soldiers	Ellen Sullivan Houlihan [1867-1953] immigrated in 1885. After marrying Patrick Houlihan, they lived and raised a large family in Youngstown. Margaret Sullivan [1870-1943] immigrated in 1888, along with her mother, Ellen Casey, and brother, Martin. They were the last of the family to immigrate to Niles. Margaret married Thomas Sullivan [not related, however of County Clare], in 1893. Margaret and Thomas Sullivan raised their family in Niles. • John.........................................................1893-1919 • Nellie [Ryan]...........................................1895-1918 • •James.....................................................1897-1918 • Michael Leo.................................................. 1898-? • Mary A Sullivan......................................1900-1935 • Martin......................................................1896-1933 Nellie died during the great influenza epidemic of 1918- 20, a young wife and a new mother. John and James died in the service during WW I. Sullivan Street in Niles was named for them. Martin Sullivan [1872-1947] immigrated in 1888, along with his mother, and sister. Martin worked in the steel mills; and as a “merchant policeman”; later a Trumbull County deputy sheriff. Martin married Delia Sullivan [Thomas’s sister] in 1904. Our family matriarch, Ellen Casey Sullivan [1835-1920], lived with Martin and Delia in Niles and Girard. Martin and Delia had three children: •John Joseph ................................................... 1905-1981 •Anthony Patrick.............................................1913-2000? •James.............................................................. 1920-1944 James died in the service in WWII Notes: Several of the Sullivan families that stayed in Niles, generally lived within a few blocks of each other, on the eastside of Niles and north of Robbins Ave. [Cedar Street, Cherry Street, Lafayette Street addresses] All of the families that remained in Niles were members of St. Stephen’s Catholic parish and educated at the parish school. A number of the Ohio-born Sullivans served in WWI. Cousins John P. Sullivan, Frank A. Sullivan and Patrick Houlihan served in the National Army with the Ohio 332nd Infantry. The 332nd was the only American outfit sent to Italy and took part in the decisive Battle at Vittorio- Veneto in 1918. My father related that when WWI broke out, there was a very strong anti-English mood among the Irish here. They would never fight to “save the English”. However, these young men did answer the call, “to make the world safe for Democracy” in 1917. They were now Irish-Americans. Unanswered Questions: After many years of Ancestry searches, conversations, census records and a brief visit to Miltown Malbay, I do not have any actual knowledge as to why our Sullivans left Ireland. They left Ireland years after the devastating potato famine [1845-52]. Rural Ireland was still a very grim place for the Irish, particularly the poor. Land ownership was highly concentrated in the hands of English landlords. The Irish poor continued to emigrate. By the late 1800’s many people had already left for overseas, especially the young, and as the young left the area, its people saw a diminished future there. It must have been painful to leave, but more difficult to stay. America’s opportunities beckoned. Why they came to Niles is a mystery. I have noted many County Clare connection? I’ve wondered why so little of the Irish language was passed on. Most of the immigrant Sullivans listed “Irish” as their native tongue on early census reports. The ability to easily speak English was a great advantage for Irish immigrants in America. Immigrant parents may have been concerned that their children would be discriminated against if they spoke Irish.

Anthony Sullivan 1859-1939	Legacy: The immigrant Sullivans made the long passage to a new unfamiliar land, leaving hardships, but also the only life they understood. They worked hard to better their lives, yet they had many struggles and heart-breaking losses; They continued to have large families; They helped build and attended St. Stephen’s Catholic Church and parish school. They overcame the anti-Irish nativism of their times; They ensured that their children had a roof over their heads, food on the table, and received an education and had a more promising future. Among the traditions passed on in our family: • Our extended families gathered often and easily. • There was love and loyalty • A fondness for sport and games. • There was much talk, often loud talk, and laughter. • A stubbornness that sometimes caused more trouble than it should have. • And pride in our Irish heritage. Ken Sullivan July 2026 Ken currently lives in Eau Claire, WI and would welcome discussion, correction or information on Irish immigration to Niles. Email: Ken Sullivan A source for much of the information about the conditions in Ireland was: Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Exodus to North America, Oxford Press 1985