This rosary was a gift from my great grandma, Frances Jane (Dempsey) Martin. Frances was the first in her family to be born in the United States as her parents immigrated, along with many other Irish, during the early 1900s. The Martin family was Irish-Catholic and established strong roots across southwest Iowa. The Martin family settled around Imogene, which is where Frances Martin lived all ninety-eight years of her life. The family grew exponentially, as Frances had eight children, thirty-three grandchildren, and seventy-three great grandchildren. At St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Imogene, Frances played the organ and received a papal recognition for her service to the church. As a child, I was blessed to be able to have a relationship with her. I remember the smell of her famous Irish soda bread wafting through her house while family members gathered after mass on Sundays. The rosary, which was given to me at the time of her death, symbolizes multiple forms of migration and identity. Three generations below Frances, I brought the rosary with me to Boston College to remind me of my family and my faith. Praying the rosary was and still is a family deed; we often pray the rosary before mass or during trips together in the car. It can be difficult to be far away from familial connections, but a small memento such as my rosary can play a big part in recreating familial comfort in a new place. 

– Daniel Kinsella III

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more