Thanks for circling back for Generation Co.'s second story and post! This is a story quite close to my heart. My Dad was an only child when his father Jim passed away. Jim had also grown up as an only child in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, and was orphaned at 16. This paternal line of Loftus lineage wasn't able to preserve the Irish family history, without people to tell the stories.
My Dad was lucky enough to be raised by his mother, Patricia Shannon (my "Nana"), who kept what family ties she had, strong. Nana raised my Dad right alongside her siblings' children in the Philadelphia area, with a total of twelve rambunctious Shannon children that grew up as a unit. To this day, I call my Dad's cousins "Aunt" and "Uncle" - and you can best believe we have an epic group chat of over twenty people.
The Shannon family ties are strong; but the Loftus family has been a mystery for my Dad's whole life. All we had to go on were some family stories from Nana, and the internet. What did we know for sure? Well, my grandfather was born to Irish immigrants in Philadelphia; he grew up in extreme poverty; and he became a manager at the Philadelphia Bubble Gum factory.
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I was piecing together Jim's story in bits and pieces, figuring out that his parents were from Swinford in County Mayo, when I came across a book titled, "Bud Loftus: An Irish-American's Journey." On the back cover, a few words stuck out: "Philadelphia;" "County Mayo"... I flipped through some pages and there it was: "grew up in a small village near Swinford in County Mayo, Ireland." "It can't be. There's no way," I thought to myself.
I sent an email to the author, Bud Loftus, and another to his editor - Cecilia. Fifteen minutes later, sitting on my couch in NYC with a glass of wine, my phone rang. "Hello! Is this Elizabeth? This is Cecilia, Bud Loftus' daughter." Ten minutes later we pieced it together: Bud's father was Patrick Loftus. My Grandpa Jim's dad was John Loftus. Pat & John were brothers. And just like that, the story began to write itself.​
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The Loftus family probably never planned to leave. They survived the Great Hunger, outliving the one million Irish who starved to death; and out-lasting the one million Irish who were forced to emigrate. For the Irish who stayed behind, like the Loftus family in the 19th century, the decimated landscape of the Emerald Isle garnered a renewed sense of determination for Irish independence: for freedom from British rule, whether it meant fight or flee. This story begins as the Great Famine ends.
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So much support made this story a reality. Huge thank you and kudos to George Griffiths - a friend from London who drove all around County Mayo back in September to find the Loftus family lands. Thank you, George!
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I cannot put into words my gratitude for the family of Bud Loftus: his daughter, Cecilia, and wife, Jane, who have helped me piece together generations of missing family history for my Dad, me and my little brother: Jimmy Loftus. More than that - its great to have over 50 new cousins.