im looking for anybody that is now living in america or canada whos family orginally come from downpatrick in co down ireland or nearby area who had the surname mc cracken.
They moved from ireland in the early to mid 1900

hi

This info is not my family line. It is in Allegheny County Pa.- Pittsburgh is the largest & most recognized name nearby.
In "Where Wild Plum Trees Grew. Bicentennial Edition of Plum Borough History 1788-1988
c 1988 Allegheny Foothills Historical Society
pg. 89 "The McCracken Family
Mr. W.J. McCracken was born & raised in County Down, Ireland. He was born Sept. 1830 & died June 17, 1922. He attended school until he was 12 or 14 years old, & then went to work. William had a keen mind & an excellent memory & made use of them. He realized that Ireland did not offer much in the way of progress & advancement. Having read of the U.S.A. & its growth, he decided to save enough money for passage & go there to seek his fortune.
At age 18, William reached his goal with enough money for steerage fare to America. It was a long, stormy trip with many disasters on board & much sickness in the crowded areas where they were confined on the ship. He arrived in N.Y. & then came to Pittsburgh. William arrived here with less than $1.00. He set out to look up cousins in East Liberty. By making inquires & walking miles, he finally located them, & spent some time there. William wanted to come to Logans Ferry because an uncle lived there. He borrowed $5.00 from Mr. Dazell who had befriended him, & arrived in Logans Ferry to find an uncle who lived in the area where the "Ramparts" are now. He found work & his new life began. William married Margaret McCready. They had three children: William, Mary & David. Their childhood was spent at the old McCracken farm located in the vincity of Logans Ferry Heights & Brown Town, which had formerly been called the Strickler farm.
The children attended Van Buren School...All water was carried from a pump....
The family grew up & married. William to Lizzie Little. Mary to William C. Morrison, & David to Nancy Skillen. The boys after trying other kinds of work, became farmers. their father gave each son a farm & the daughter, a house & lot in Parnassus, so I guess he did well by coming to America.... (by) Mary McCracken."

This sounds like my William McCracken family from Ireland. Is there anyway I may kindly get a copy of this from you. I would love it. Does this also sound familiar to anyone else? Thanks, Denise

"Where Wild Plum Trees Grew
Bicentennial Edition of Plum Borough History 1788-1988
c1988Allegheny Foothills Historical Society. Printed by Buhl Brothers Printing
pg. 89 The McCracken Family...
The children attended Van Buren School, located at the bottom of Logans Ferry Rd. They met many new people there who became lifetime friends. Mrs. Millie (Kerr) Alter was one of their teachers. As they grew up, they helped woth the farmwork & also housework. All water was carried from a pump. This included water ofr washing, cooking, & personal use.
Heating & cooking were managed by using wood or coal. Cooking was done on a huge iron stove, & heating by use of open fireplaces or grates as they were called. When it grew dark, both oil lamps & candles were used. Many candles were made at home.
My grandfather was a stern man & believed in keeping the Sabbath holy & attended church regularly. No work or play was permitted. Most of the cooking was done on Saturday. The only work done on Sunday was caring for the horses, cows, pigs & chickens. It was a dull day for the kids & they were always glad when it was time to do their evening chores.
As the children grew up, the boys took over the farmwork & grandpa worked at quarrying up at Slate Lick. He rode a horse & stayed up there, coming home only for the weekend. Stones he helped to quarry were used in building the Kittanning Court House, which is still in use.
The family grew up & married. William to Lizzie Little, Mary to Willaim C. Morrison, & David to Nancy Skillen. The boys after trying other kinds of work, became farmers. Their father gave each son a farm & the daughter, a house & lot in Parnassus. so I guess he did well by coming to America.
The William McCracken second generation consisted of two children, Margaret & William M. An older son, David Paul, born October 9, 1892 died Jan. 10, 1893.
Aunt Mary Morrison had one son, Hugh John. He worked for Alcoa. He was born in Oct. 1897 & died in April 1985.
The David McCracken family consisted of six children: John, Ruth, Mabel, Edith, David & Mary, who was a teacher in Plum Township from 1912 to 1921, & celebrated her 94th birthday in Dec. 1987.
The two oldest children were born in Parnassus & the others in Logans Ferry, Plum Township.
(by) Mary McCracken."
maybe try WPGS (www.wpgs.org/)or Western Pa. Genealogical Society.

My 2nd great grandparent came from Letterkenny, Londonderry, Ireland and born 1796 or 1791. His father was William born 1760. Am interested in any info. Thanks

Samuel [b c1802]& Rachel (Close) McCracken came to USA from County Down thru NY City in 1850 or 1851. Lived briefly in Pittsburgh before settling in Farmington, PA (near Uniontown). They had at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. Sons-Robert, William W, ?John, and ?Hugh; Daughters Sarah & ?. Any connection?

My gr-gr grandfather came from Down, Ireland with probaly 3 children; lived in Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada; moved through Wisconsin to Lowell, Middlesex, Massachusetts and then one child moved to Arkansas.

1 William McCracken m Agnes Ann "Nancy" Trusdell
2 Ann McCracken m James Daley
2 David McCracken
2 Jane A McCracken m William Letson
2 Margaret McCracken m George W Harriman, John Keefe
2 Isaac McCracken m Delia Marial Allen
3 Infant
3 Frederick Henry McCracken m Annie Hatfield; Narcisa Skaggs
4a Frank Herbert McCracken
4a Blanche V McCracken
4a Charles H McCracken
4a Infant McCracken
4b Merl McCracken
4b William Orson McCracken
4b Arch A McCracken m Jeffcoat
4b Hugh B McCracken
3 Albert Allen McCracken m Mary E Skaggs
4 Margery McCracken m Grove Russell
5 Virgil Russell
5 Lee Russell
5 Mary Lou Russell m Leonard Brown
4 Hermon Elbert McCracken
3 Grace Emma McCracken m Bert Taverner
4 Howard Taverner
5 Violet
4 Robert Taverner
3 Jennie Alice McCracken m Benjamin Moris Gramling
4 Joy G Gramling
4 Moris Conrad Gramling
3 Marial Agnes McCracken m Jack E Stanley; Williams
4a Irene Stanley
3 Carrie Eleanor McCracken m Quinton Stokes; Abraham J Ford
4 Mildred Delia Stokes
4 Julia Alma Stokes
4 Eleanor May Stokes
4 Quinton Donald Stokes
4 Lois Carolyn Stokes
4 Winston Isaac Stokes
4 D J Stokes (my mother)
4 Marian Hazel Stokes
4 Baby Stokes
3 Ruth Irene McCracken (twin) m Joseph C Blythe
4 Martha B Blythe
3 Raymond McCracken (twin - died as an infant)
2 Susan V McCracken m Charles L Glidden
2 Agnes McCracken (died under 10 yrs old)

Please feel free to reply to me directly at jonesfamily1952@yahoo.com

Mary