US woman’s search for Greenisland cousins

Pat Welsh, from Ohio in the United States, will travel to Northern Ireland and the Republic next week from September 1 - 10.

Her mother, Elizabeth Crooks, was born in Northern Ireland in 1920 and lived in Greenisland at the time of her marriage in 1944 to Pat’s father, who was in the US army. Both then went to live in Michigan.

“My family visited Ireland in 1957 and I met uncles, aunts and cousins. Sarah and Susan Crooks were daughters of my mom’s brother, James Crooks, and his wife Jean,” Pat said.

Pat’s mother’s sister, also called Jean, had two daughters, Lynn and Kay. “I don’t know the last name and don’t know if they married,” Pat added. “There also was a male cousin named Yul who was the son of Sadie and raised by my grandmother. I understand he received a prestigious award for his work with children.”

Pat can be contacted by email at [email protected].