Getting to Know "Small-leaved Shamrock"

It has been more than a year since I began sharing my family history on my three blogs: my Irish side of the family at Small-leaved Shamrock (with an emphasis on my Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania roots) and A light that shines again (with an emphasis on my Boston and Quincy, Massachusetts immigrant ancestors) and my Hungarian/Croatian side of the family at 100 Years in America.

Read Getting to Know “100 Years in America” for a little more background on me and my interest in family history.

Inspired by my abundant and endlessly fascinating Cowhey family ancestors of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, I began Small-leaved Shamrock to tell their stories and the tales of the region that gave birth to many of them, to anthracite coal and to several well-known railroads. This area of Pennsylvania helped shape America into what it is today through the blood, sweat and tears of many immigrants (including numerous Irish). We owe a debt of gratitude for their hard work as laborers and their service to the nation during the Civil War.

My focus here is also to rejoice in the love of Ireland. I hope to continue to learn and share more about my family's origins in Ireland (in County Cork, Limerick and Tipperary) and the Irish culture in general. The inspiration for the name Small-leaved Shamrock came from this poem by an anonymous poet named only S.M.E. published in March 1921 in The Catholic World:

The Gift of Shamrocks

He took the small-leaved shamrock from his breast
As though it were a diamond-mounted crest
And gave with eyes grown deep with love and pride
And as I took the gift of mystic green I knew
He saw, not me, but fields brushed by the dew
That lay, so green, his mother's home beside.

And still each year I take from that kind hand
The dainty leaves sent from far Ireland
Though sorrowing time has come and stood between.
Still see the tear-dimmed eyes, the glance so true;
Through them behold the hills I never knew:
The Irish hills where grow the shamrocks green.

Small-leaved Shamrock is the home of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture, a compendium of “all things Irish” published every so often on many a topic. See a compilation of the first eight editions of the carnival and your invitation to attend the next one here.

To get a further introduction to Small-leaved Shamrock, you might enjoy reading the following. Inspired by Terry Thornton's "Getting to Know You" challenge, I've listed what I've chosen as the "brightest", "breeziest" and "most beautiful" articles here at Small-leaved Shamrock.

Brightest (my best work): A look back at Schuylkill County: 1908

Breeziest (best light-hearted article): The provenance of a hairbrush: thievery and the family historian

Most beautiful: To be born Irish

I choose not to write too much about myself on my various family history blogs. The preservation of the stories of my family's deeper history are usually my focus. However, you can learn a little more about me at The view from my corner of the world. Thanks for reading. I appreciate your comments, so please write!