Luck of the Irish – Tracing the Lineage, Wolfe Island, Ontario, Canada

Irish Canadian American – First born generation in United States
Photo above: Living room, November 1948 Murdock, Minnesota: The late Martin J. Walsh Sr.,(1887-1988) about age 61, at home in Murdock, reading newspapers. He was photographed by his son Martin J. Walsh Jr.,(1924-2008). Martin Sr. is first generation born in the United States. His father, Michael J. Walsh Jr.,( 1858-1929) was born on Wolfe Island, Ontario, Canada, 1858, son of Michael J. Walsh Sr. and Catherine Summers, both of Ireland.  The Walsh family originates from County Kilkenny, Ireland, arriving in Canada, 1842, before migrating to De Graff, Minn., 1877.  The is a copy of original black and white photograph, originally created on black and white negative film. View image at Flickr.

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Jannet L. Walsh
March 18, 2023
Murdock, Minnesota

I’m excited to announce a story written by Brian P. Johnson, retired Captain of the Wolfe Islander III, of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, published today, March 18, 2023, at the West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minnesota. It’s another story about my adventures to Kingston and Wolfe Island, Ontario. This is the first publication of the story in the United States, with earlier versions published in Canada.

Read the story – The story TRACING THE LINEAGE, Murdock’s own’Irish Bard’ finds family roots on Wolfe Island, Ontario by Brian P. Johnson is about searching for my Irish Canadian roots, mid December 2022 to early January 2023. View the story directly at the West Central Tribune, or in document viewer below.

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Brian P. Johnson is a past president of the Wolfe Island Historical Society, and an author and storyteller. His family goes back five generations, mid 1840s, on Wolfe Island. Researching his family history is a labor of love as historian and storyteller. He recently retired after 35 years as a captain of the Wolfe Islander III Ferry, and after 40 years with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Eastern Region Ferries. Brian has spent more than 50 years as a mariner, and is a certified Master 500 Near Coastal certificate of competency. You should be prepared if you ask him about ferries and Wolfe Island as he has a countless stories to tell.

“When Jannet told me, ‘the whole house was shaking, even my bed,’ it planted a seed. Then trudging through deep snowdrifts to attend Christmas Eve Mass by candlelight, that was the beginning. She also told me about a lady calling out from a porch, ‘Don’t get lost in the forest!’
Here’s a story all right!”

Brian P. Johnson, Facebook page

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Panoramic view of the village of Marysville on Wolfe Island, Ontario, Canada
by Aerosnapper Kingston.

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About Wolfe Island – Wolfe Island is in St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, almost four miles from the port of Kingston, accessible by ferry, the largest island in the archipelago of the Thousand Islands. 

This 48-square-mile island has been home to several European ethnic groups, cheese factories, and dairy farms, along with a history of fur trading. Wolfe Island is the native homeland of the Tyendinaga Mohawk, kawehnóhkwes tsi kawè:note, meaning Long Island Standing. Wolfe Islanders are completely dependent on access to mainland Canada by the Wolfe Island Ferry III to Kingston, soon to be replaced by a zero-emission ferry, Wolfe Island Ferry IV. Locals reference the journey the ferry takes in the St. Lawrence River as a water road, or Highway H₂0.

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This activity is made possible by a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council with funds from The McKnight Foundation. Learn more about this project writing project, and more details about this grant.

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Jannet L. Walsh of Murdock, Minnesota is a photographer, writer, and educator. She is the author of the forthcoming creative nonfiction quest narrative “Higgledy-Piggledy Stones: Family Stories from Ireland and Minnesota,” scheduled for publication in 2023 by Shanti Arts Publishing. Walsh is recipient of a Southwest Minnesota Arts Council Growth Grant funded by the McKnight Foundation, 2022-2024. You can follow Walsh on Facebook and Twitter, and on her other social media channels, with the hashtag #IrishFamilyHistoryDetective.