The Irish Free State was four months old when my then 35 year old Grandfather and Grandmother boarded the S.S. Montnairn out of Belfast. My mother, two months short of three years of age, accompanied them on this voyage to a new life as Canadian citizens. This slideshow is a mix of images from the Cobh Heritage center and my personal genealogy materials.
Call for Irish Emigration, this for Idaho. My grandfather answered a similar call, returning in 1926 for his wife and daughter.
Postcard of the Ship that carried my Mother and her parents from Belfast to Quebec. Less than 2 years after their voyage the S.S. Montnairn was sold for scrap.
Using GoogleMaps I found the house my Grandparents first lived in after emigration from the Irish Free State
The address was on their immigration documentation. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
The Cobh Heritage Center documents the experiences of Irish emigration. Here I share information about the Titanic’s maiden voyage through the photographic work of Father Frank Brown. Cobh, pronounced “cove”, as in “The Cove of Cork.”
Here is an informative and entertaining 5 minute documentary of Father Brown, his trip on the Titanic and subsequent achievements as a photographer.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Peter’s mesa is at the center of Superstition Wilderness treasure legends. I was a member of an expedition to the top of the Mesa March 2008. This is a sunset view, looking south, southwest. Light raking across the desolation and an approaching storm behind Miner’s Needle create a fascinating spectacle. Ancient volcanism, apparent throughout the Superstition Wilderness, is here seen in the texture, form and type of rock as well as the mineral deposits. Miner’s Needle, like Weaver’s Needle (no seen in this view), are eroded volcanic summits. Look closely for the “eye” of Miner’s Needle, backlit by the storm cloud itself lit by the setting sun. To this day, hopeful prospectors search for gold nuggets around the Needle. There is one form of volcanism present today as an eerie rumble or hiss, similar to an enormous distant jet engine. We heard now and then during our two days on the mesa, louder and closer than a overhead plane could produce. The view includes many notable Sonoran desert plants. Many young Saguaro cactus are in the form of green poles and, on the rim of the ravine running left to right below the closer ridge, an excellent specimen with multiple arms. Catching the dramatic light, on the ridge is a tall single flower of an Agave, known as the “Century Plant” it flowers once in a long life and dies.
Peters Mesa is named after “Old Pete” Gottfried Petrasch, father of Hermann and Rhiney Petrasch. Old Pete worked for Jim Bark for awhile in the 1890s doing odd jobs. Irregular employment gave Pete and Sons time to s searched for the Lost Dutchman Mine in the years following the death of the source of the legend, the “Dutchman” Jacob Waltz. The Petrasches were one of the first groups to search for the mine, and gold in general. They covered almost the entire Superstition range in their combined searches.
On our first day on the Mesa we came across the remains of one of these camp, on the top of Squaw Canyon. This was only deplorable junk a presumably disappointed bunch of searchers were too lazy to cart out. That March, we were lucky to find the remants of winter rains in the form of a meager trickle at the bottom of a shallow draw off Peter’s Mesa trail up from La Barge canyon. We had a good time of it until the trip was cut short by a storm front and torrential rains. We were back in Apache Junction before they hit. This panorama is from our last evening on the Mesa. As the sun set I put the Kodak DSLR with a 50 MM lens on a Manfrotto tripod and hiked a mile higher onto the mesa for a view of Miner’s Needle. I quit only after the last light was extinguished by the approaching front. My reward for persistence was this dramatic light ennobling a craggy desolation. This is a composite of several images, combined using Photoshop. I have since invested in a Canon 24 mm wide angle lens.
Continued…..The ground of Marantha House are a well appointed as the home, as you would expect from a luxury bed and breakfast on “Hydro Hill” also known as “Saint Ann’s Hill” close to Blarney, County Cork.
We say “goodbye” to Marantha House…on to new adventures
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Continued…..The view from our room, a fairway down “Hydro” hill. We were surprised to fine “sub-tropical” plants, such as the bamboo next to the recliner, in southern Ireland. Thanks to the Gulf Stream roses flourish and we spied palm trees, believe it or not.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Continued…..More of our surroundings, “home” during our explorations of Cork City, Kinsale and Cobh. Marantha House is a luxury bed and breakfast on “Hydro Hill” also known as “Saint Ann’s Hill” close to Blarney, County Cork.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Back in 2007 I used a 100 mm Canon Macro lens on a Kodak slr along with a Sony DSC-F828 variable lens for this mix of macro and habitat captures presented as a gallery so you can flip back and forth among the larger images. Click any image to bring up a larger version.
Continued…..yesterday, we saw the second floor bay window of our bedroom of our luxury B&B base for our Cork City, Cobh and Kinsale explorations. Here is a peak into our bedroom and the house furnishings. The last photo is another bedroom. Marantha House is a secluded site on “Hydro Hill” also known as “Saint Ann’s Hill” close to Blarney, County Cork.
hallway to our bedroom
Common Area
Another bedroom
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 