The Story of a Girl…

She was just fifteen years old when she left Ireland to travel to America. The year was 1923 and her name was Margaret Ann McCaffrey. She was alone, traveling by ship. The journey would take 2 weeks.

Margaret arrived in Canada first, where she would work for a family. In time, she adjusted, made friends, and met the man she would marry. At the age of twenty, she became Margaret Ann Fitzpatrick. She and Patrick moved to NYC and had five daughters.

Patrick died suddenly in 1936. Margaret was alone, in a big city, with five young girls. She did what she could to make ends meet and refused to take anything she had not earned or paid for. She cleaned homes while her daughters sat and waited. She did laundry, pressed shirts, and watched people’s pets. She worked hard and provided for her girls.

Three years later, Margaret met John (Jack) Ward. They married and had a daughter, they now had six girls. Those girls grew up to have families of their own. One of those girls was my grandmother.

This is the story of a girl named Margaret Ann McCaffrey Fitzpatrick Ward. My great grandmother. She worked hard and took care of all of us. She lived to be 108 years old. Up until the day she left us, she was as sharp as a tack. Her body had begun to fail, her eyesight and hearing were not working well anymore. Margaret lived out her days in her dream, one bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She long outlived Jack and sadly lost 2 of her daughters. Today, two of her daughters are still alive.

Margaret’s voyage to America became more than she ever knew it would. She created a big, loving family. Five generations. My son Cole was her first great, great grandchild. She loved him and all of the babies that followed immensely.

She instilled important values in all of us. Work hard and don’t waste anything. Raise your children to be good people. Give to those in need. Drink tea. Eat cake. Most importantly, always look for the four leaf clovers.

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