The
Life of Michael KellyThe
Life of Michael Kelly
by Madison
In Michael Kelly's family he had a mother and a father (Siobhan and Francis) and seven brothers and sisters (brothers: Jimmy, Sean, and Patrick sisters: Amy, Megan, Mary, and Aileen). They were forced to leave their land when the potato crops failed.
They left on a ship named the Naparima. The Naparima was headed for New York. One million people died and they would just throw them overboard. After two to three months they finally made it to New York. His father died after they reached New York in 1870.
At the hotel they were staying at they would almost be sleeping on top of each other because it was so crowded. They soon found out they didn't like the Irish. Michael Kelly left for Boston to find work. He missed his family afterward.
He went to work as a servant for a man named Thomas Burke. Soon they felt like they were family. One day they heard about gold. Michael invited his family to come with him. They took a boat through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River. Soon they were in Independence, Missouri where the Oregon Trail began for them.
There were about eight oxen for each wagon. If you got cholera, they would leave you on the side of the road in a blanket to die. Mr. Burke got killed when he fell out of the wagon and got crushed by its huge wheels. They lost two weeks in trying a shortcut. His mother died in 1850 (a few years after the Oregon Trail).
Michael started mining in rivers and then he tried the cradle. His favorite piece of equipment was the long tom (sluice box). His sisters left and found a successful career because miners needed a woman's touch where they went. Back at the gold fields the food was bad, you could catch diseases, and if you were working in a mine, it could cave in on you. His brother moved to Santa Clara Valley because he knew the real gold was in the land not the gold itself. Many people died trying to get the gold. His friend died in a mine when it caved in. This is why he never worked in a mine.
As you can see, Michael Kelly lived an exciting life. Michael may spend a lot of time at the gold fields, but that doesn't mean he has forgotten Ireland. Michael Kelly plans to mine until he dies.
The Life of an Irish Miner, The Story of Michael Kelly
by Matty
Mr. Kelly was born on September 3, 1828. His father was born in 1808. His family is his dad, his mom, his brothers Sean, Jimmy, and Patrick, and his sisters Amy, Megan, Mary and Aileen.
Mr. Kelly (or Michael Kelly) lived in Ireland with his mom, dad, three brothers, and four sisters. In September, 1845, a potato famine started. The Irish were forced to leave along with two million other people. By 1946, they were ready to go to America by boat. When they left, one million people had already died in Ireland.
When they were in the boat that would take them to America, the weather started getting rough, so they made everybody stay below decks. People started getting sick for one reason or another. When they were about half way, people started dying all around them. About then, Patrick started getting sick, and Patrick was only about two, and the thing they do with the dead bodies is they walk below deck, pick up the dead bodies, and throw them over the side of the ship. Finally they reached New York.
When they reached New York, Patrick died. Then they couldn't find jobs. Actually they did find jobs, but low paying ones, as low as four dollars per week, and it cost that much to stay in a hotel. All the good paying jobs said, "No Irish can work here, Irish are crazy people," so they were in trouble. In the hotels, the Kelly family was crowded. Mr. Kelly described it as, "Trying to fit seventy-two people into twelve rooms." Then news spread to Mr. Kelly that there was work in Boston, and seeing how he was the oldest child, he went there to get money for his family.
When Mr. Kelly got to Boston, he found an Irish store keeper named Thomas Burke so he went to work for him. A couple months later, rumors spread to Boston about gold in California. At first, Mr. Kelly didn't believe it. Another couple of months and President Polk confirmed the rumors were true, so everyone started rushing to California. Thomas Burke was going by the Oregon Trail and Mr. Kelly decided to go with him. He brought his family from New York and by 1949, they were ready to go down the Oregon Trail.
They thought the Oregon Trail was going to be fun and adventurous, but they were wrong. It turned out to be torture. The Oregon Trail was very crowded when they left, one man described it, "Covered wagons as far as you can see." The name of the Kelly family's wagon train was the "Wolverine Rangers." They used oxen to pull their wagons, about eight for each one, because each wagon weighs two tons. When they were a short way along the Oregon Trail, people started getting diseases. People were dying from Cholera and Scurvy. Some people tripped or fell out of the wagon and were crushed by it running over them. That's what happened to Mr. Burke. He fell out, got crushed right on the chest, and lived for a day or so. Many other people died by showing off with their guns and blasting themselves. When people got diseases, they grabbed up the person and left them on the side of the road, so no one else could get infected. When they were almost to the Sierra Mountains, The wagons were going slower from traffic jams, so the Kelly family abandoned their wagons to get over the mountains quick enough, though few other did the same. They made it just before the snows came, but they're not so sure about the wagons. When they were over, they had the gold fields stretched out in front of them. They had survived the Oregon Trail.
Six months later, Mr. Kelly's mom died. After that, Mr. Kelly bought his equipment (for very high prices because shop keepers knew they needed that stuff) and went to the gold fields. On his way over, he found the Chileans who had come from Chile. They taught Mr. Kelly how to mine. When Mr. Kelly went down to the river to pan, he saw Americans getting ready to chase off the Chileans. Mr. Kelly avoided them.
Mr. Kelly started panning for a while with his sisters, Jimmy and Sean. Girls were very rare in the gold fields and men were always watching Mr. Kelly's sisters. Eventually, they got tired of it and went to Sacramento to cook and sew. Everyday, Mr. Kelly stood in the freezing river up to his knees to pan by shoveling dirt into his pan, getting water in it, and swirling it around to wash out the lighter particles, leaving the gold behind. His brother Jimmy said one day, "The gold isn't in the gold itself, but in the ground. I'm going off to farm." Mr. Kelly found out that there was gold in Grass Valley, so he went there to dig. He found more gold than he was making earlier, but there were a lot of people who would attack someone for gold, so he left. When he got back, his brother Sean left to go work at the railroad. About then they had some up with cradles and sluice boxes. Hydraulic mining was soon closed down because to do it, you shot high powered water at hillsides and just blasted them away. It was ruining the land. Mr. Kelly continues to mine to this day. When the railroads were completed, Sean came back and started mining. Jimmy has a fortune and still farms. Their father died twenty years later.
Mr. Kelly's Life as a Miner
by Nico
Mr. Kelly's family rented a farm in Ireland. They grew potatoes at their farm. One day the potatoes started to go bad. They and potato famine and 2,000,000 people left and half that many died. That is 1,000,000 people. When they had to leave their home farm they went on a boat called the Naparima. They were going to New York to stay because of the potato famine.
At sea when people died in the bottom, the people would throw them off the ship. Sometimes people caught in the sail. You would see a dead body in the sail. They would just be hanging there. Their baby brother Patrick got sick and got even more side each day. When they got to New York a little later, Patrick was dead. During the New York times, Mr. Kelly had to go to work and only got $4.00 per week. One day Mr. Kelly went to Boston and found a man who was very kind, nice, and never ever got mad at someone. So Mr. Kelly asked can I work for you and of course the man said, "Yes, you may."
Well, now, all the brothers' names were Michael, Sean, Jimmy and little Patrick and the girls names were Amy, Mary, Megan and Aileen. The father and mothers name was Francis and Siobhan. They all went to San Francisco. One man came running shouting, "Gold! Gold! Gold!" from the American River. Then there were 9,000 people and then all of a sudden there were only like fifteen to ten people left in San Francisco. When they went on the Oregon Trail they all packed their stuff for a 100 day trip. They took like 50 wagons with about 8 oxen to pull each wagon. People, even kids, had to walk all the 2,000 miles. They got caught sometimes. Indians came but they just came for trading and ran away when a person was sick in the wagon. The wagons got caught in the ditches and holes. They had to use big long poles to get it our of the ditches or holes. When a man said he knew a shortcut. He had never been on this shortcut. They made a 3 month trip to a 4 month and they needed to get through the mountains. So they left the wagons there and traveled the rest of the way on foot. Then a while later they were officially in California and he became a miner. While on the Oregon trail, a man fell and the back wheel rolled right over his head. He was obviously dead.
Well, now that he is in California as a miner and it was a dull and hard job. It was really a back breaking job! They used hydraulic mining and it ruined the streams, fish were even dying. If a person was lucky at least that miner would get about 12 to 16 dollars a week. Now a days gold is worth like $300. He was a miner for at least 30 years after the Gold Rush. He went and lived in Grass Valley but he was never married to any woman.
Michael Kelly's Life
by Becca
Michael Kelly was born September 3, 1828. He has three brothers. They were Sean, Jimmy, and Patrick. He had four sisters; Amy, Megan, Mary and Aileen. He also had a mother and father. They all lived on a farm in Ireland.
In 1845, Ireland had a potato famine. Because of the potato famine one million people died. This is why the Kelly family left Ireland. Ireland was very green. It also rained a lot. All the people on Ireland were potato farmers. This is why the potato famine was so horrible.
Then Michael went on the Naparima ship to New York. If people on the ship were sick and died they would throw their bodies overboard. Sometimes there would be dead bodies hanging from the sail. Patrick died shortly after they arrived in New York.
When they got to New York City, they had to live in an apartment. The work Mr. Kelly worked at paid him four dollars a week. Also for them to live in the apartment was also four dollars a week. Their life was very hard for the Kelly family.
That's when Michael Kelly decided to go to Boston. There, Michael got a job and worked for Thomas Burke. Thomas Burke was a fisherman and Michael was his servant. Michael made a lot of money. So he sent some money back to his family.
Then shortly after they heard about gold in California, Mr. Burke said that Michael could bring his family with him to California. The Kelly family and the Burke family traveled together. They all went with the Wolverine Rangers wagon train. It was very hard and hot journey. Sometimes they would see lots of herds of buffalo on the way. Sometimes people would die by people falling out of wagons and getting run over by the wheels. This is what happened to Mr. Burke. But the most often was accidental gunshots. When they got to the cutoff they went the way to California.
In California, the first place they went to was Murder's Bar. There they met the Chileans who helped Michael a lot by sharing their knowledge with him.
The Gold Rush made a lot of people come to California. In 1849, Michael started mining. Sometimes, he would find sixteen dollars a day and worked from six to twelve hours. He used placer mining. The equipment he used most was the pan.
One of Michael's brothers started a farm. Another worked for the railroad to get more money. The other worked for a mine. His sisters opened up a boarding house. Michael still is mining. Sometimes the brother that worked for the mine sometimes would help Michael mine. Mr. Kelly still mines today.
Miner Tells of Life
by David
Michael Kelly was a great miner. His story began around 1830 or so. He and his family lived in Ireland. They made a fortune by farming. Potatoes were their main crop. Soon the Potato Famine started. Two million people left and million died! He left with his brothers and sisters.
They got on a boat. It set off to New York. All the passengers lived in the bottom of the ships. Many died. People threw dead bodies overboard. Soon they got to New York. He became a servant and worked for a man named Mr. Burke.
They heard that gold was in California. They wanted to become a miner. They went on the Oregon Trail. It was hard. Mr. Burke's son died. People got cholera. Mr. Burke soon died too.
Mr. Kelly got to California. It was beautiful. There were little women. He mined. It was also hard. If you stole tools, you could get hanged. Mr. Kelly is alive today.
A Miner's Life in the Gold Rush
by Cassie
Mr. Kelly is a gold miner, he has three brothers and four sisters. He has a mother and father. Mr. Kelly lived in Ireland, he had a farm with his family. Mr. Kelly grew potatoes, however, the potatoes got a fungus, they called it the Potato Famine.
Mr. Kelly and his family went on a ship called the Naparima. It went to New York. On the ship people would get sick and die. Mr. Kelly's brother, Patrick, died right after they got off. If people died, they would be thrown overboard.
They finally reached New York. Mr. Kelly and his family went to stay in an apartment. Mr. Kelly said it was so crowded that people would have to sleep on top of each other. It was hard to get a job in New York, because they did not like the Irish. They said they talk funny.
Mr. Kelly went to Boston to find work. he met a man named Mr. Burke. Mr. Burke told him he can work for him as a servant and would pay him extra. Mr. Kelly would give everything that he worked for to his family. Mr. Kelly and Mr. Burke heard about the gold fields. Mr. Burke asked Mr. Kelly if he wanted to some with him to the gold fields. Mr. Burke also asked him if he wanted to bring his family. Mr. Kelly said yes. He made his family a letter. They said yes. They met him in Boston, and got all of their supplies.
They came to a place call Independence. Mr. Burke's son started to get sick, soon he died on the trail. Then Mr. Burke was killed by a wagon wheel crushing his head. They started to see Chimney Rock and Independence Rock. That meant that they still had a long time ahead. When they were done at the end of the day they would eat bacon and dog meat. The next day, they would travel about 17 miles. It took them about 4 months, soon they came to the Rocky Mountains. They thought they would be like the Donner Party. Finally, they reached Sacramento. They met some Chileans and the Chileans taught them how to use the pan and they found gold. Mr. Kelly and his brother Jimmy worked together.
Life in the gold fields were hard. Mr. Kelly's other brother Sean, started a farm, and Mr. Kelly's sister's have a boarding house. Mr. Kelly is still a gold miner. He still pans for gold.
Michael Kelly
by Ethan
Michael Kelly has four sisters, three brothers, a mother and a father. His sister's names are Amy, Megan, Mary and Aileen. His brothers names are Sean, Jimmy and Patrick. His parent's names are Siobhan and Francis.
When Ireland had a potato famine, Michael and his family were thinking about leaving. Then the police kicked them out of their house. Then they got on a ship called the Naparima. His brother, Patrick, got really sick. They threw the dead bodies overboard and sometimes the dead bodies got caught in other ships masts. Little girls ran around naked because their clothes were dirty. So the women sewed flour bags together for the girls clothes.
Shortly after they arrived in New York, Patrick died. People in New York didn't really like Irish so Mr. Kelly left. When he got to Boston, he met a man named Thomas Burke. Then Michael became Thomas' servant and he worked there for a few years. Then Michael's family heard about the Gold Rush. So they invited Thomas and his family to go with them and they did.
A lot of people died on the Oregon Trail. It was hot and people were dying from Cholera. Then Thomas' son died. Shortly after that Thomas fell out of the wagon and the wheel rolled over his head. He didn't live to the end of the day.
When they arrived in California, they saw a lot of people running to get shovels and picks. Six months later, his mother died. When the rest of his family started mining, they were cold and damp so they tried other mining, but Michael's partner wanted to stay and it caved in on him. So Michael decided not to go into another mine shaft ever again. He tried all kinds of mining and he did get gold but not a lot.
After that his sisters got jobs working where men watch them dance and sew and other stuff. His brothers and him still do panning. He always liked mining and he probably always will.
The Life of Michael Kelly
by Chris
The life of Mr. Kelly's family at Gold Rush is told.
Mr. Kelly's family of ten worked on a farm in Ireland. It was tough on the farm to make money. Then the potato famine occurred and that made it hard to make money so Mr. Kelly had to leave Ireland. Two million people left. Mr. Kelly lived in Ireland for eighteen years but he had to leave his homeland to make money.
He had to travel across the sea in a ship which was called Naparima. It was very unpleasant. People were dying, people who died were getting thrown overboard. He had to stay under the upper deck.
When the family got to New York his little brother Patrick died. Irish people weren't liked by New Yorkers. When Mr. Kelly was working, he had to pay rent. They all were crammed in air tight apartments. Mr. Kelly met a guy named Mr. Burke and went to Boston. When he got to Boston since his family stayed he had a job as a servant. They were told by President Polk good things about the gold fields. So, Mr. Kelly asked his family to come. They said yes.
So they were going on a wagon train along the Oregon Trail. People were dying from different sicknesses and then they would just throw them aside. Mr. Kelly's mom was getting sicker and sicker. Mr. Burke's son died from Cholera. Then one day the wagon hit a bump and he was crushed by the wagon, which was about two tons. and he died a couple of days later. Sometimes there were herds of buffalo that could ruin a wagon. The trip took three months. When he got to California, the Chileans taught Mr. Kelly's group, which was called the Wolverine Rangers, how to mine. His brothers were with him when he was mining. His mom and dad died. His four sisters almost made more money letting people look at them.
Mr. Kelly didn't like hydraulic mining because it ruined the water. Mr. Kelly did placer mining. The family moved on to do something else. The sisters moved on to do cooking and sewing for the miners. Jimmy went on to be a farmer and said the gold was in the land. Sean went on to be a person who works on railroad tracks. The foods you ate would be bacon which became moldy, beans which were usually useless, dry meat, and biscuits. Sometimes they could have berries and Johnny cakes. It was tough to be a miner. Of course, Mr. Kelly relied on mining because it was his only job. He lived and worked in groups so they could protect each other. He is going to be a miner until he dies. He likes where he is living. He lives in Grass Valley. He mines in the foothills. Sometimes he would be able to find silver. He enjoys mining or he wouldn't be doing it. It was rough being an Irish miner or any miner. Sean came back to help his brother mine, and they still mine together.
The Tragedy of the Irish
by Gwen
Michael Kelly and his three brothers, Jimmy, Sean and Patrick and his four sisters, Amy, Megan, Mary and Aileen and his mother Siobhan and his father Francis live a happy life in Ireland. They are as Irish as can be.
As happy as they are, there was a potato famine in Ireland! So many people are dying and so many are going to California. Michael and his family decide to leave Ireland. He and his family take a beautiful ship called the Naparima. On the ship they ate rotten food. A lot of people died and were thrown overboard into the sea.
In two to three months the Naparima landed in New York City. A couple days later Michael's two year old brother Patrick died and was buried. Everyone felt terrible. It was hard because everyone hated Irish people.
After a week they heard that in Boston there were a lot of Irish people and the Americans were not cruel. So they went to Boston. When they got there Michael got a job with a man named Thomas Burke. Then they started the Oregon Trail. It was so hard! Mr. Burke got cholera and was left on the side of the road to die. They were luck, they didn't get any Indian attacks. They couldn't find food or water. Siobhan got very sick.
After five long months, they arrived in California. Siobhan still was not well. Then a couple years later Siobhan died and Francis died of a broken hear. Michael went to a place called Murder's Bar. It was a terrible place. They would cut off people's ears if they were a thief.
There were these people called the Chileans. They helped the Irish gold mine. Michael often used the panning method. He mines every day. He has been mining for 31 years. Michael kept mining and so did Jimmy. Sean bought a farm and Amy, Megan, Mary, and Aileen went to Sacramento and opened a store. Michael and his brother Jimmy lived happily ever after in Grass Valley.
Miner From a New Land
by Erin
Michael Kelly's family was his mother, father, his three brothers and his four sisters. His family was fine in Ireland until a potato famine which sent Ireland into despair and his family was forced to leave Ireland. So his family decided to go to New York by a ship. They got aboard the Naparima. On the way his baby brother, Patrick, got a fever and a little bit after they reached New York, Patrick died. No one would hire his family because they were Irish. His family could make four dollars a week and their apartment was four dollars a week. So, Michael decided to be a servant for Thomas Burke in Boston. Soon he heard President Polk said that there was so much gold in California that a person could walk up and pick up a piece of gold right off the ground! That did it! Michael called for his family and set off. Mr. Burke was going too with his family. So on the Oregon Trail, Mr. Burkes' son died on the way. A few weeks later, Mr. Burke got ran over by a wagon train and only lasted half a day and then died. Michael's family had been lucky that no one died but his mom got sick on the way.
They met the Chileans who taught them how to pan and mine for gold. Once in California, his four sisters decided to open a shop. His mother died in 1850. He went to the gold fields with his two brothers. As it turned out his sisters were the rich ones. His brother Jimmy decided to grow crops. But Michael still works in the river mining with his brother Sean. He sometimes works with him and sometimes in the mines alone.
Michael still works in the mine today and that is the life of this Irish miner.
The Life of a Miner
by Katrina
Mr. Kelly's life starts in Ireland. They had a very good potato farm. One day the potatoes wouldn't grow. The police came and forced them out of their farm. His family members were three brothers and four sisters. His Ma and Pa were still alive then. Altogether there were ten people in his family.
Mr. Kelly and his family went on the Naparima which goes to New York. On the ship his brother got sick and he died in New York. If people died on the ship, they just would throw the bodies overboard! They locked the passengers in the bottom deck so if one person got ill, the rest of the people got ill.
When they got to New York they went to go get jobs. They would make four dollars a day and they would spend four dollars per day. Mr. Kelly had enough!
While his family stayed behind, he went to Boston. He found someone who was looking for servants, so he took the job. The man he was working for paid him a lot. He went money to his family. When he heard of gold, he went back to his family. They took a boat to Independence.
Mr. Kelly joined a wagon train. As they went along, many people got cholera from drinking bad water. Then his mother got very ill. As they went along, his mother got sicker and sicker, then she passed away. If you got a disease and you were dieing then they would put them in blankets and leave them to die. When they got to a fort, the man there sold them a short cut. It was so hard that they had to turn back. It lost them two weeks.
When they finally got to California, his family was down to his mother dead and his father dead. All of his sisters went to town. One of them got paid ten dollars just to have someone look at her for five minutes! There aren't that many women at the gold fields so men will pay to have a woman's touch in clothing. Life in the gold fields were very hard. One out of five people died! If you were a thief then they would cut off your ear or brand your cheeks if you would try to steal something so they would know in other towns that they were crooks. Mr. Kelly wasn't a very successful miner.
After the Gold Rush his sisters went to Sacramento and opened a good store. One of his brothers started a farm in Santa Clara and has a good family. One of his brothers helps him mine or goes to the under ground mines.