Genealogy Chat

Hi Keith. I believe the shop 'did fairly well', but you've raised a good point - was the stock on credit. A family member described the shop and from what I remember about the description, they sold just about everything. Thank you for bringing up the concept of credit. I wouldn't have thought of that idea.

He was not scraping a living while in the States, he was a teacher with some form of stable salary and presumably was able to save a little. The scale of his store in Canada is not clear. If it was a small one room store with stock on credit, ??. All things are possible. Good luck. Keith

Hi Joan. Thank you for sharing your story. I always find it interesting to read about other families. Perhaps they were able to earn a good living; I just didn't picture that, as the Irish were not usually well received in the States and it sometimes was difficult to earn a living. I have an obituary from 1927: 'John's' (the man described above) wife was 105 when she passed away and the obituary included a brief description of her life. The shop was still in the family, nearly 75 years after she and John founded it. Thank you for your comments, it's appreciated. :)

My ancestor was born in Ireland c1811. He lived in America c1842-c1854. He was a teacher in 1850. By 1856 (possibly before), he owned a fancy goods establishment in Toronto, Canada. Don't believe any members of his family arrived in Canada before him (or after). Don't believe he or his wife's family had money. Wondering how one might be able to own a shop under the prior circumstances.