Margaret was the oldest child of Mary Magner and James McGrath. She was born in Darragh Townland, County Limerick in 1866. You have to go to the Darragh Glenroe Church records to find the actual date because on all the other records she states that she is born in the 1880’s. She became a teacher probably in either Ballyorgan, where her mother was a teacher and principal, or in Darragh Glenroe.
When she was in charge of the Pub, the one her father ran in their house, they called her “one word.” That word was “pay.” Her father, not the best business man, just let people put it on their tab.
She followed her younger brother Jack to America in the 1890’s and found her way to St. Joseph’s School for the deaf in the Bronx. We’re not sure how and when she met the young Sicilian man, Victor/Vito – but it most likely was a church dance or other function. They married despite her being 17 years older. She had one son, Victor James born 1909. She was almost 40 years old.
Victor Sr. worked his way from bus boy to owning his own small restaurants, never really making much, but enough for them to live on. Margaret didn’t have another job, that we know of, but we suspect that she helped with the books…as she did back in Darragh. She stayed close to her sisters and her brother – all came over from Ireland.
