Honoring Irish Ancestors

My Irish born ancestors were part of the "famine immigrants", and I'm just beginning to delve into their histories. So far I've identified James Langan, (born abt 1805), whose daughter Catherine married my ggGrandfather Frederick Berge and Lawrence McNally (born abt 1828) and Bridget Heron (born abt 1830), whose daughter Mary Teresa married my great grandfather Charles D. Sanders.

Catherine Langan is listed on the 1850 federal census as a 6 year old, born in Pennsylvania and living with her father James, a coal miner, 14 year sister Mary, born in Ireland, 11 year old Thomas, 10 year old Bridget, 7 year old James and 5 year old Ann, all listed as born in Pennsylvania. I have not yet identified James' wife and the mother of the children.

If the census records are accurate, then Mary was born in Ireland in 1836, and Thomas born in Pennsylvania in 1838, that narrows the year of arrival. If all children had the same mother, she was alive in 1845 when Ann was born, but not listed on the 1850 census. Did she die in that five year period, if not, where might she have been?

The Langan family was living in Luzerne County, PA in 1850-1860, so my next search will be for the baptismal records for the children, in an attempt to determine the name of the mother of this family. Hopefully this additional information will assist me in determining the exact date of immigration and ultimately the area of origin in Ireland.

My other Irish immigrant also lived in Luzerne County, PA and spent his life working there as a coal miner. I have a bit more clues about Lawrence McNally to help me in my search for more details about he and his family. I believe Bridget Heron was the mother not only of my ancestor Mary, but also, Sarah, Ann, Thomas, Patrick, William, John and Charles. Bridget, born in Ireland shows up as a widow, living with her middle-aged children Ann and William in the 1900 and 1910 census records. Lots of clues here to keep me busy researching for the foreseeable future.

I hope to make a trip to Ireland some day and knowing the specific areas that these ancestors walked will make the trip especially meaningful.