My greatgrandfather, James McGurk, on his naturalization papers indicated he sailed from Liverpool in 1849 and arrived in NY. He was born in Co. Tyrone, Ireland. After arrival in US, he worked for awhile in New York, then eventually purchased land in Louisiana and married Julia Caplis, who had come from Co. Tipperary, Ireland.

I don't know if he came to US alone or with other members of his family. If he ever mentioned other family, here or in Ireland, the information wasn't passed on in the family. I've assumed they may have died in the famine.
He died in 1898.
It's my understanding that many of the Irish worked on farms in England to get enough money to pay their way on the ships to the US.

Does anyone know of other McGurk groups researching this name? I went to Ireland -- during one of the ceasefires and realized that unless I knew the townland where he lived or his nickname, it was hopeless trying to determine which of the many McGurk families he may have belonged to.

If you have any information that could help, please email me privately at jferns5493@aol.com. Thanks.

By the way, I learned that Carrickmore, in Co. Tyrone, was called Termonmcgurk, and that the McGurks were keepers of St. Columb's bell, now in Scotland. they were the keepers or managers of the churchlands many years ago.
I haven't done any work on all this for several years, and I almost hesitate to get interested again. It can get addictive, and I've had other things that had to be done.