This is the last photo I have of the older generations, so I thought I’d let this be the last post before this weekend’s reunion. This is Bridget Hilly, my 3rd great-grandmother, mother of Catherine Lundy Hopkins.

Bridget was born in the 1820s in Sligo, Ireland. She and Daniel were married on February 19th, 1846, in the town of Cabragh. They arrived in Scranton in 1850-1851. She gave birth to 8 kids over the course of her life. I’ve found evidence of five (Mary, Catherine, Bridget, Anna, Patrick), so the other three may not have made it to adulthood. All I know is that by 1900 only three were still living.

Daniel worked at the rail mill and was then drafted into the Union Army and fought in the Civil War with the 88th Regiment. He died in 1875.

They lived on Moosic Street at the corner of Crown until Daniel’s death, and Bridget moved in with daughter Catherine and the Hopkins family at 1216 Cedar in the 1880s, where she remained until her death in 1903.

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There’s much more to explore and share about these times, why so many of the Irish from Sligo moved to Scranton, what Scranton was like in those early days; and there are many more ancestors whose stories must be shared (we haven’t even touched the Crane side!). I hope to continue these posts after the reunion, but for now I will leave it here. I look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion this weekend, and hope you will all dig deep and share as many stories as possible with the rest of the family!