Jean (nee Lavelle) is my aunt and she was married to John Allen (deceased) , my father's brother. She came from Fernaghandrum, near Newtownsaville and for most of their married life, they lived at Cranny Terrace, in Omagh. Married male nurses mostly attached to the Tyrone and Fermanagh Mental Hospital, lived there http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2148556



On the 2nd of January, 2012, I received an email via the http://www.geograph.org.uk/ website from Robin Rush from Texas as follows:

Are you the Nephew of John Allen who was married to Jean Allen (Jean's grandfather was originally of the the Millar family)? John and Jean visited our family in 1969 in Texas. We are part of the Millar family who immigrated to the US in 1895. My mother is going to visit Ireland next summer for the first time in her life and is travelling with my niece who is 15 yrs. They are researching the family history and roots since the last time one of our branch went to visit Tyrone was over 20 years ago. Please let me know if you have time to talk or converse. My mother (Nancee Elizabeth Kirk Rush) does not use e-mail and would like to send your family and you a letter. Please send me your address.

Having got various inquiries in the past from people who were looking to establish a contact with family members and knowing that I didn't have any other  relatives that I knew of, I called with my cousin Roy Allen, who is Jean's son and showed him this email and he confirmed that Robin was related to him. I rang Jean and told her about the communication which I had received and I replied to Robin by email and gave him Jean's postal address.

In his next email, he told me that he spoke with his mother, she was excited and would send Jean a letter too. They (Mother and Niece) want to spend a few days in the area and your website is Incredible! with information and facts.

My wife (Nancy) and I will also be going over next summer for a week or two to the west coast of Ireland (my first trip), since I will be attending the 2012 Olympics in London as well.

He added, I am the Great Grandson of Elizabeth Millar who left on the Anchoria line out of Moville in 1895 and immigrated at Ellis Island.  She and her sister were 15 and 17 years old respectfully.  Her parents sent 2 teenagers every 4 years to the USA to immigrate between the years of 1890 and 1906. There were 13 in the family (children) and 10 went over to America during that time I believe.

The ANCHORIA was built in 1875 by the Barrow Shipbuilding Co, Barrow for their own company. Launched on 27/10/1874, she left Glasgow on her maiden voyage to Moville and New York on 2/10/1875. On 22/9/1904 she commenced her last Glasgow - Moville - New York (arr 4/10/1904) - Glasgow voyage and on 18/4/1906 was sold to London owners.She was broken up in either 1925(Anchor Line) or 1932 (Bonsor) in Germany.

I was asking Robin how he managed to get in touch with me and he said, What happened was that my Mother was ready to mail a letter to Jean and John last week.  After speaking with her, I decided to verify the old address by searching the Web since that address was over30 years old since our side had written.  I found that the entire cluster of small cottages had been torn down in the 80's.....I believe they were originally used as Staff cottages 50 years ago for the institution/hospital.

After further search I ran across a "hit" on the search term "John Allen" in one of your writings, this sentence and article explained to me that he was your Uncle, so I surmised she was your Aunt.  After searching further I located your site and blog and contacted you to locate them.....thanks for responding..-:)

My Great Grandmother always said that she departed out of London Derry , but since locating all her ship records and passenger manifests from ellisisland.org , it says that she departed from Moville.  She was from County Tyrone....that is correct!  So she had always told the correct story, we could not find that the ship ever picked up there.  It shows Glascow, Moville, then New Yourk City.....thanks so much for the help.  I have copies of the original manifests as well as pictures and History on the Ship.  Where in Londonderry would they have embarked? 

Will write more soon.  My mother is coming to dinner ad will be thrilled to learn all.  Since she is not an Internet or Email person, this will be the first time I get to show her pictures of Jean and John, since she met them in 1969!

Where in Londonderry would they have embarked?

The former railway station in Derry was located beside the present Craigavon Bridge which started construction in the late 1920s and that was where they would have left the train. At that time there was different metal constructed bridge across the Foyle called Carlisle Bridge, dating from 1863. The larger ships wouldn't have come into the port at Derry.. Your great grandmother was correct to a certain extent to say that they sailed from Derry / Londonderry. When the railway passengers left the train, they would have walked along the quay on the City side to Atlantic Quay, near where the Emigrants sculptures are now located near Sainsburys Supermarket and would have boarded steam barges, 300 to 400 at at time. Then they went up the Foyle Esturary to join the Anchoria which had sailed from Glasgow and was moored in deeper water off Moville. Some other vessels came from Liverpool to make the journey to America and the journey took 6 weeks or more, and not everyone made it.

Robin replies: Wow....My mother and I spent 5 hours several days ago on her trip and plans.  She will be thrilled with all the wealth of information you have provided.  I am copying also my Niece, Cami, 15yrs old who will be with her on the trip.  Cami, this is your Cousin Kenneth....:-)
Mom is scheduling to be in your area for at least 3-4 days and I am sure will be thrilled if you are around.  For right now, she is planning to be in Ireland from the 28th of May through the 15 or 16th of June.  The last 4 days will be in your area.

I was able to give Robin Elmer's email address; he sent him an email on behalf of his family and he returned the following text,
“My Mother does not use email, and has written your Mom, Jean a letter.  She may want to write you as well.  Could you verify your address for me.
Kenny has been very helpful and through his Website I have seen pictures of everyone from many years ago as well as some of the current reunions of the Allen family.I live in McQueeney, Texas.  Was born in 1959 and raised in Houston, Texas, which was where my Great-Grandmother lived the last 30 years of her life.  I spent several years in Alaska commercial fishing as well as going to school in Hawaii and living there for about 12 years.  I have been back in Central Texas since 1990 and have "retired" twice, and am about to do so again for the third time...:-)
I hope to meet you when my wife and I visit Ireland in the late summer.  We are travelling to the London Olympics in August and will be visiting Ireland for the first time as well in July. Besides my Mother, Nancee, direct Millar descendants of her generation who remain are as follows:
James (Jimmy Gene) Boothby - Hollywood Screen Writer , art collector extrordinaire - lives;Hollywood, California
Charles (Chuck) Boothby - Retired International Businessman, Married-Jean, lives; Greenville, South Carolina
I have 2 brothers William Maurice (Rusty) Rush, Michael Randall Rush and sister, Alice Colleen Davis - all of us live within 30 miles of each other currently, located between San Antonio, Texas and Austin, Texas.

Uncle John Allen born in Errigal, Ballygawley (deceased) and Aunt Jean (nee Lavelle) and born at Fernaghandrum, near Seskinore, had four boys:
Paul (deceased) married to Julia, three children, Jonathan, Shirley and Heather - the two girls were recently married.
Nigel (deceased) married to Eyvone had two girls Hayley and Kimberly (I had to ask Maureen some of these as I had forgotten)
Roy married to Hazel, two children Stephaine and Stephen
Elmer married to Sandra, two children Courtney and Matthew
Aunt Jean tells me that the Millars came from the townland of Fernaghandrum and would have been transported by horse and cart to the railway station at Beragh to get the train to Derry / Londonderry. Another family called Beck went out to America at the same time along with other neighbours and the youngsters would have gone along with them. They all went to school here http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1311833

On 15/01/2012 00:00, Cami Davis wrote:
Hey Elmer and Kenny, I'm Cami Davis the niece of Robin Rush and grandaughter of Nancee Rush. I'm 15 years old and my grandmother and I will be visiting Ireland > this summer for the first time ever and will be visiting Omagh and would love to meet you all. My uncle had told me he had been in contact with you and to email you and keep in contact until we head that way.

Thanks for contacting me Cami - I've been rather busy this weekend  looking after a grandson occasionally escaping down to the room with the 
computer. As regards places to visit, you will probably want to see where your people came from and the old school,  Although I am not actually
related to yourself like Roy or Elmer , I'm still around to assist and wouldn't like to take away from the family in the family reunion. The Allen family 
as a whole did have a similar get together two years ago when our cousin Tony Allan (spelt differently) from South  Africa established contact
having lost contact with the folk back home for a good number of years.The usual places like the Giant's Causeway are high on the tourist list, 
but the other place to go is the Ulster American Folk park and I guess you would be wanting to go to Beragh to see the railway station (their last 
glimpse of County Tyrone), Derry / Londonderry and  Moville to see where the ship departed, possibly the Museum at Greencastle. 
Have a look at my profile in http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/2282 and you can see what I have  covered on the map
and have a look, if you haven't already done so at my own website, a bit amateurish, but I have lots on the Allen family and there is a link to 
Jean Allen's American relatives on the left hand column which I have just started