Into the Past: My Road Trip to Scranton

May 20, 2026

Kilbride and McAndrew Clues From Ireland

I'm still riding high from a two-week trip to Ireland the Hubs and I just took! We took one morning off from our drive along the Wild Atlantic Way to conduct what the Hubs calls the "Nancy's dead relatives" portion of the trip. We visited County Mayo, the reputed place of origin for many of my Irish ancestors who made their way to the United States after the Famine and settled in Pennsylvania. We had a wonderful guide there, got some valuable clues, and set eyes on places that my ancestors probably saw in their time. The family background My immigrant Kilbride (the name became Gilbride over time) ancestors were my 4th great-grandparents James Kilbride and Mary Hart . James and many of the couple's children immigrated to America in April 1850. They followed their two eldest sons, Martin, who immigrated in 1846 and Michael, who arrived in 1847. 1 Another of my Irish immigrant couples were my great-great-grandparents Patrick McAndrew and Ann Kelly , wh...

I am participating in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, a writing challenge encouraging genealogy researchers to write about their ancestors. The challenge is hosted by genealogist, blogger and podcaster Amy Johnson Crow.

Here's my post for Amy's Week Eighteen prompt: Road Trip

By Nancy Gilbride Casey

Part preparation, part dumb luck, part generosity of others, part serendipity. These things equal success on a genealogy road trip, in my recent experience. Scranton and Wayne County, Pennsylvania were my road trip destinations in March 2019—the places my Gilbride ancestors first called home in the United States.

Facebook was the perfect medium to share my discoveries while on the road in Pennsylvania, and I reported back each night to my family and friends in a series of posts I'll share here. They create a neat road trip timeline, while capturing the thrill of the find, somber closure, and other emotions which may only come by actually walking where our ancestors trod.