~ The Kiley Family ~

William Kiely Sr.

 

William was the start of the Kiely family branch that I am on. I am Andrew Kiley. Over in Ireland he was settled in the county of Waterford. He was a potato farmer up until the Great Irish Potato Famine. 

 

The Great Irish Potato Famine was a disease that spread to Ireland from the winds that blew from England. The disease came from the boats that sailed to ad from the New World. These diseases were caught by the wind and flew over to Ireland. Then the disease got into the potatoes and infected them. Then disease multiplied and infected thousands each day. The disease spread throught the country. Over a span of 6 years the whole country of Ireland was in poverty. The population decressed by 2 million people in 20 years, and that is a lot of people back then. When the potatoes were infected, they had a discoloration and they were deformed. 

 

After being in poverty for so long he decided to join the armada of sailing ships which sailed from Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Holyhead, Liverpool, and Glasgow, all to the New World. Some called these ships White Sails, others, more realistically, called them "Coffin Ships," because 25% of passengers died of disease. But he took the risk and boarded the ship to set off to the New World.

 

After making it to the New World. William settled in a town called Tracadie in Prince Edward Island. He started a new potato farm with his wife Ann (Moore) Kiely. He did the yard work and she did the house work. Then they had one boy named William Kiely Jr. William Sr. raised William Jr. up on the farm until he was on his own. After a good life, William Sr. passed away.