Learning about those who came before us can tell us much about who we are and how we got here. This website is a repository of information about my ancestors, most of whom emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland in the Nineteenth Century and settled in Scranton, the seat of Lackawanna County in northeastern Pennsylvania. Most were employed in some aspect of the heavy industry that dominated that region of the country in the 1800s - Steel Production, Coal Mining, and Railroading.

George Inness painted this image of Scranton in 1856. Titled "The Lackawanna Valley," it was commissioned by the first president of the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad, which is featured prominently in the painting.

A website makes it easier to share what I and the other genealogists in my family have learned with interested relatives and other researchers. The surnames in the sidebar on the left represent my eight great-grandparents. Each name is a link that will take you to the individual pages for members of that family.

The goal is to go a little beyond providing genealogical data (names and dates) to piecing together a history of our family. Be aware that many dates (especially birth years) have been acquired from census records and may not be entirely accurate. Whenever they exist, the dates from documents, such as church records (which tend to be more reliable) have been used instead of the census records.

This website would not have been possible without the help of my cousin, Maureen Cooper, and her mom, Elaine Turner, who did most of the initial research in the Scranton area. They are both no longer with us and are deeply missed by me and my whole family.

I am grateful to the following indivuals, who have also contributed to this site; my cousin, Pat Cooney, for sharing old family photos; Sister Mary Gallagher, my inside source on everything Mayo; Bridie Greavy of the North Mayo Family History Research Centre; Barbara Spellman Shuta, Researcher at Saint Peter's Cathedral in Scranton; Marybeth Van Winkle; Walt Sullivan; and the following cousins I didn't know I had until a mutual interest in our family's history brought us together: Paul Manley, Pat Lalley, John Keeler, Peter James Manley, Marrianne Manley Granoff, Evalyn Manley Bennett, Kate Brundage, and Tara Quinn Finnerty.

Townland histories in County Mayo were taken from Where the Sun Sets: Ballycroy, Belmullet, Kilcommon & Kiltane County Mayo by Father Sean Noone (Erris Publications, 1991).

This site is a work in progress. I will add information as it becomes available. If anyone has any information, documents, or images to contribute to this site, please e-mail me at pmanley@cox.net.

Peter Manley