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. Our paternal grandfather, Thomas Culligan, son of Michael and Mary Culligan, was born in Ireland. His date of birth was December 21, 1811 (not verified). Me have been told that he was born in Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. Our grandmother was Anna Honore Syses, and in so far as we know, she was also born in Ireland, but we have no knowledge as to where or what year. We think she was about five years younger than grandfather and was probably born in 1815 or 1816. Me have been told she spent some time in England, but we do not where or for how long. Neither do we know when our grandparents were married nor anything about their education. We have been told that they came to America in 1849 and settled either Virginia or Maryland. Grandfather worked on the railroad and grandmother kept boarders until they saved enough money move to move to the small community of Littleport, Iowa, about sixty miles northwest of Dubuque, Iowa. We have no knowledge as to when they moved there. Our first authentic statement was a letter from the Recorder's Office of Elkador, Iowa which said in part, "Thomas Culligan received a patent from the United States, on April 15, 1857, for 156.19 acres of land in Clayton County". He held it until March 1, 1880 when he sold it to his brother, Martin Culligan, who later moved to Masonville, Iowa. In about 1870, Thomas Culligan and some of his neighbors decided to move West. Grandfather and Patrick Linnan, father of John, drove a covered wagon to Maurice, Sioux County, Iowa, about 25 miles Northwest of. Sioux City, Iowa, to pick a definite place to settle. They found what they wanted and filed a claim with the Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad. They returned home and the move was made in 1871 or 1872. Several families, including the Linnans, Kehoes, and McCarthys moved with them. The majority packed their belongings in covered wagons and drove their stock ahead of them. A few shipped their stock and belongings to Lemars, Iowa, about 13 miles from Maurice, their destination. The years that followed were filled with work, hope, and disappointment. They were pretty well settled in 1874 when the grasshopper scourge swept into the West. These pests came "like a driving snow, filling the air, covering the earth, the buildings, the shocks of grain, everything"! After the grasshoppers disappeared, there were good years. The land, which had been purchased reasonably, increased in value. Those who had migrated from famine ridden Ireland found security and a home in the corn and wheat producing acres of Iowa and laid a foundation for the future independence of themselves and their families. We do not know when our grandparents retired from farming, but we do know they moved into the town of Maurice, renting their farm. In 1892 they moved with their son, his wife and one Daughter to Yankton, South Dakota, where they lived until 1898 when they moved with their son's family to Sioux City, Iowa. My grandfather passed away in 1906 and my grandmother in 1908. They are buried in our family lot at Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City, Iowa. |