Why and How Did They Travel to America?

Why did they immigrate to America?

Let's see if I can give you some quick answers.  I wish I knew more about the family that came to America.  It might seem to you that I know alot, but for every question I can answer there are ten that I can't.  One of the fun things about genealogy is that you gather as much factual information as you can, but then have to imagine the rest because there are many things we just won't ever know.

Why did they immigrate?  One reason was probably the way they were treated in their own country.  They could not own land and had to pay an Englishman rent for the land they lived on.  They probably had to pay a tithe to support the Church of Ireland, which was not their church.  Although the great potato famine was still two or three years away, there were probably plenty of crop failures and destitute Irish in pockets around the country, so they knew that more and more Irish were having a hard time.  Mostly, they probably thought that they had a little money and an unknown opportunity across the sea and they saw a very dismal future for their children in Ireland.  So they decided to put themselves in God's hands and leave behind everything they knew (the Cushings had been in that area of Ireland for at least a couple hundred years) and try to make a new life for themselves (and mostly for their kids) in a wilderness across the ocean.

How did they travel to America?(boat, etc.)
What was their port of entry?

 
I'm attaching that Cushing history document that I mentioned in my last message.  It's more than you want to know right now, but it says a little about their ocean voyage and where they went.  The last page I'm sure was added many years later by Paul, but I'm just keeping it as I received it.