Brooklyn

Last week I was checking on my DNA connections on ancestry.com and I saw a new cousin connection.  I recognized the surname as soon as I saw it.  I came across this name about a year and a half ago while researching my great grandfather, Edward McConville.  I accidentally found his brother, John living and eventually dying in Brooklyn in 1936.  I contacted my new found 3rd cousin through ancestry and got a reply a couple of days ago.  So this got me thinking about Edward McConville and his soon to be wife, my great grandmother Hannah Sullivan.  They both lived in Brooklyn when they arrived in the US.  Edward arrived in 1868 from Manchester, England, and Hannah arrived between 1871 and 1880 from London.  This also explains the 18% of my DNA coming from Great Britain.

I started wondering what Brooklyn must have been like when they got off the boat in New York.  I know that Edward arrived in 1868.  This was just in time for the Orange Riots.  I never heard of them either, but apparently back in the old country in about 1690 there was a battle between the forces of deposed King James II of England and the forces of Dutch Prince William of Orange, who had risen to the throne of England and Scotland, along with his wife.  The battle took place near the River Boyne and the army of William was victorious, which helped with the rise of Protestants in Ireland.
The Orange Riots pitted the Irish Catholics against Irish Protestants (called "Orangemen" because of William of Orange) in New York City.  On July 12 1870, the "Orangemen" had a parade to celebrate their victory 200 plus years before.  The parade route came upon a group of Catholic laborers, who were upset by the chants of the Protestants.  Stones were thrown at the marchers, and a riot broke out, gunfire was exchanged with three people killed and several more injured.  The following year, the parade had been banned, but the Governor overturned the ban and the parade was on.  This time, the State Militia was in attendance.  The "Orangemen" marched to about the same area and encountered Catholic laborers, a shot was fired, and the riot was on.  This time sixty civilians were killed and 150 wounded.  After this, the parade was banned for good.  No wonder you shouldn't wear orange on St. Patrick's Day.

Hannah and Edward were married in Brooklyn (Red Hook, according to Aunt Florence) in June 1888, and at some point before 1900, they moved to Jersey City, NJ.  The Brooklyn Bridge, which was under construction when Hannah arrived, was finally completed in May 1883.  Maybe Roebling's erection led them into Manhattan and on to New Jersey.  Can you imagine what it must have been like to watch the building of the Brooklyn Bridge for over 13 years, and to see it completed.  When the only traffic would have been on foot or horse and wagon.  They probably could not imagine the masses walking across the bridge on September 11, 2001 to escape the collapse of the Twin Towers.  By the way, according to Wikipedia, more that 120,000 vehicles, 4,000 pedestrians, and 3,100 bicyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge every day.  The bridge is owned and operated by DOT and there are no tolls on the bridge.