I'm leaving on a jet plane!

I'm completely packed up and ready to head to the airport tomorrow around 1pm for my 6pm flight. We'll be landing in Frankfurt, Germany for an 8 hour layover before continuing to Dublin, Ireland. Finally, we'll be in Waterford, Ireland at WIT (Waterford Institute of Technology) where we'll be staying. I'm not sure when I'll be near a computer again these next couple of days. But, I have a small notebook to be used as a travel journal so I can be sure to remember everything! Before I sign off for the last time in America, I wanted to share a little bit of family history.

My mother's maiden name is Sharon Callihan. My great-great-great grandfather Drury Sidney Callihan Sr. came to North Carolina in the late 1700's/early 1800's from Ireland with his two brothers. Drury went on to Fanning County, Georgia and started my family line! It goes something like this: Drury Sr. (great x3) --> Drury Jr.(great x2) --> Sam (great) --> Joe (grandfather) --> Sharon (mother) --> ME. So, I'm the sixth generation. Our part of the family spells Callihan with an 'i'. It is more commonly seen spelled Callahan, but both spellings refer to the same family. The only reason I know any of this information is because my mother's cousin Dave Callihan spent many, many, many years collecting information about our family's history and eventually made it into a HUGE book that everyone could own. I just can't imagine how much effort went into this project, but I am so so grateful he was passionate about it. The book has all sorts of cool stuff like copies of the census, taxes, bills, receipts, etc. Tons of small clues linking everyone together. There's even a receipt that shows payment made in SYRUP. Love it! There's also the story of Drury and my great-grandfather Sam Callihan and what hard workers they were. Reading about their lives makes it easy to see where the Callihan dedication and stubbornness stems from. My family was the poorest of the poor, but make no mistake about it: every penny to the Callihan name was a penny earned twice over. My grandpa Joe worked two jobs (with the U. S. Post Office in the day, and stocking a grocery store for the night shift) to support the family of 8 living in a single-wide trailer with no air conditioning that my mother grew up in. In fact, the house I live in right now in standing on the same exact plot of land that the trailer was on.

There's so much more I could write about them thanks to the extensive research Dave put into the project, but I think you guys get the gist. I would LOVE to find a Callihan/Callahan while I'm in Ireland. I'm also going to be on the hunt for a Callihan fmily crest.

The next time I post will be from the Emeral Isle! :D
Beir bua!