#mcgonnigal

Today marks the centennial for one branch of my family (James McGonnigal was my maternal great grandfather) emigrating to the U.S.

From my cousin, his namesake:

100 years ago today, my great grandfather boarded the S.S. California sailing from Glasgow to New York. He left his wife and 6 children in Scotland, while he set up a place for them to settle. They joined him a few months later in Massachusetts. His wife Margaret (the postmaster for Pollockshaws, Scotland), borrowed money from a doctor to bring her and 5 of the kids to come to the U.S.. William, the eldest son, joined the British Navy under an assumed name, jumped ship in NY and joined his family in MA. The McGonnigal brothers, as boys, sold the Daily Worker (Socialist newspaper) outside the Quincy shipyard, and my great uncle, whose birth name was Karl Marx McGonnigal (yes, really), and his brothers (my grandfathers), would go on to start some of the first unions in Massachusetts.

They arrived with nothing, and like every other non-indigenous family in this country, were immigrants coming here to pursue a new life. I’m grateful they came here and for the opportunities provided to me by this country. I recognize the privilege they had in coming here voluntarily, and my own privilege in being able to pursue the dreams I had with fewer obstacles than many others had.

Happy American Centennial, McGonnigals!