Carol,

If I remember correctly, the Museum has a comprehensive display about how people were driven from the land in the 19th century because it was so very hard to make a decent living (the photograph of Harry Boyde at the entrance is rumoured to be a relative). The story in my family is that in 1870-1880 the brothers moved from farming into fishing but were constantly sea-sick so moved on again. One is rumoured to have gone to California for the latter part of the gold-rush, but although he is missing from the Manx censuses, I have not yet found him in the Californian censuses. One of the others apparently ended up helping to build Douglas railway station and then went to work for the Goldie-Taubmans and then the brewery - but I do not have any proof yet.

The question I would like to ask is why there was a further large-scale emigration around 1910, especially to Canada? I really must spend some time in the Newspaper Library in Colindale!

And, yes, the name is Irish - County Donegal - and yes, the family left Ireland during the potato famine. And one of them ended up in California. Even the journey could not have been easy then!

James