October 1, 2026
Bridget Hannigan Downer’s In Laws Wrote A Book
Irish emigrant women rarely get their fathers written down. Bridget Hannigan’s turned up in a book about her husband’s family: The Downers of America (1900) names him as Patrick Hanighan of Ballybofey. How I’ve weighed it, the Hannigan neighbours around her, and why BanyanDNA comes next.