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My Grandfather's father, Thomas Robb, was 14 when his family sailed into New York harbor in 1861. An outgoing ship informed his that another state had just seceded from the union. The Robb's were a protestant family and the children were educated by the Episcopal priest in town. The family harbored a grievance against Catholics because Catholic children threw stones at them when they walked to school. Thomas's father James had been the farm manager for the estate of an absentee landlord named Mahoney (possibly Malony). The estate, Kiltannon, was burned down by Irish nationalists prompting the family to move on to America. In 1960 when John Kennedy was elected President my grandfather's older sister Susie lamented that soon the Pope would be telling the President what to do. The Thomas Robb family bible has this entry: "...were born at Kiltannon the house which was assigned to the manager of the Kiltannon estate. This house was near the big mansion of the Episcopal Chapel which was the private church of the Maloney family. All protestants were privileged to attend. The estate was close to Tulla, which was the Post Office. Ennis was the County seat of County Clare and is about 15 miles from Kiltannon." In 2003 a former resident of Kiltannon wrote to me and sent me pictures of the estate as it looks today. This is what's left of what's left in the top picture. The "Holm Oak" she told me is in both pictures to the right of the Mannor House.
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