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Articles

Articles

November 16, 2025
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November 16, 2025

St. Peter’s Catholic Church of Harpers Ferry: An Irish Parish on American Soil

Without the Irish, there would be no Catholic congregation in Harpers Ferry. Although St. Peter's is considered a Roman Catholic parish, the church historically took on an overwhelmingly Irish congregation, and tailored its sermons to the very similar, yet slightly different ideology of the Celtic rooted version of traditional Roman Catholicism.
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October 29, 2020
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October 29, 2020

Identifying the father of Annie G. Murphy

Annie Gertrude Murphy Welsh was born in Maryland in 1840 to Irish immigrant parents. Raised among various Irish households in her early years, she finally settled after marrying Thomas Buchanan Walsh in 1858 at St. Peter’s Church, Harpers Ferry. Identified as the daughter of “B. Murphy,” this research explores possible fathers and Annie’s family connections.
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Timeline Help

A chronological listing of historical events which may have affected the lives of residents in eastern Jefferson County and surrounding areas.
1Where is this information from?
The vast majority of these accounts are taken from newspaper articles of local papers of the time period.
2How can I apply this information to my own research?

We use this timeline to help us understand the events that may have affected or shaped a person's life. Here are some ideas as to how this timeline may help your further your own research:

  • View events that may have affected a particular ancestor or their family members.
  • Uncover events which an ancestor may have participated in, leading to more sources of information.
  • Discover more about the history and culture of the area in which an ancestor lived.
  • Evaluate possible concerns and popular pastimes of an ancestor.
3I want to view a timeline of events in a specific area.
Click on "Location" in the "Filter by" bar. This will drop down a list of locations which currently have happenings in the timeline. Clicking on a location will show only events related to that specific area. Note that clicking on a county or state will show all happenings related to any location within that county (and any county within a state).
4I want to see timeline items between two years.
Click on "Years" in the "Filter by" bar. This will drop down a form which accepts a starting year and an ending year. Filling out both fields will display timeline items which took place in and between the two years. Filling out only one field will display all timeline items beginning at or ending on the years inputted.
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