Miles Sweeney and Mary McGlynn came to the USA separately. Details of Miles journey are not recorded but Mary's was a tragic story. She came with her parents and three brothers. Their trip from Liverpool to Quebec City on the ship Naomi took almost 2 months. Death from illness took many of the passengers including two of Mary's brother's Peter and Michael who were buried at sea. After the ship arrived on 10 August 1847 over 118 other deaths occurred, including Mary's mother, Kate (Boyle) McGlynn. Owen McGlynn and his two remaining children traveled on to the area of Hazelton in Pennsylvania. where Mary married Miles Sweeney about 1849. Their first child Miles Jr. was born in Luzerne County. PA. Later they moved on to Edgerton, WI where they spent most of their lives. They had at least 10 children, including my grandfather, James Francis Sweeney
Miles’ or Mary’s place of birth have not been firmly established. Several notations exist referring to Donegal for Miles Sweeney’s birth but no confirmation has been found. The information for Mary McGlynn is not much more precise but provides more information regarding the period just before sailing to America. One distant McGlynn descendant has indications they came from Lough Lettre, Knockleitragh, Fintown in County Donegal. Extensive research has not yet proven that location. Mary's obituary reference to her trip from Ireland provides some leads on her origin. The published reports on the summer of 1847 at the Quebec port of Grosse Ile provided a list of passengers who died at sea. The ship Naomi listed the two McGlynn brothers as dying at sea. A notation stated that
the passage was provided by the Major Denis Mahon estate. A published book by Peter Duffy, ISBN:978-0-06-084050-1 (HarperCollins) titled “The Killing of Major Denis Mahon” recounts the period leading up to the sailing of the Naomi. The McGlynn family had either lived on the Denis Mahon estate in County Roscommon before sailing or had traveled to the estate from County Donegal