The year was 1863 in Dublin Ireland. Our country was falling apart, due to these harsh times food was scarce. There was much war happening many innocent lives lost due to those two main causes. There was word around the town that there was a faraway land that people could live free and happy lives, all you needed to do was put a little effort into the work that they provided you with. this work was a dangerous job but not many people cared they we would all die this treacherous wasteland soon anyway. So late one night I made the harsh and painful decision to go, move on to a new live in America.
The next morning all of our bags were packed myself, the wife and kids all packed into this small charter boast filled with many other families and off we sailed. We arrived after about one month, to see the great land of opportunity. Once we got off the boat we found an old saloon and asked if they had any rooms for rent upstairs. The kind man said that will be five cents a night. I told the man I have no money up front but I’m looking for a job if you could point me in the right direction, the gentleman sitting next to me at the bar told me that they are building a railroad and need all the help they can get. So the next day I found a guy to hook me up and I started the following morning the put me on as a track layer to start off with. The days to come were dreadful and horrible.
During my many years that passed by I came in contact with one of the most admired people working on this project, his name was Theodore Judah. He was the first chief engineer of this whole project across America. We talked day after day met each other at the near by saloon every night for a drink and became very good friends. Over time he thought I was ready for a promotion and gave me many options on what I could learn, such as a silversmith, explosives expert, engineer, etc. I decided that I wanted to be an explosives expert. I was trained for weeks upon weeks when I was finally.