Trivia Pursuit…anyone?

Visiting the Cobh Heritage Centre reinforced many of the key facts of the immigrant experience that we teach about, and it was a confirmation that what we are teaching is an interesting and compelling topic. Watching Noel along with many other people researching their own family heritage was inspiring. Humans have a deep desire to know who they are and where they come from. The Cobh Heritage Centre has unique genealogical services to help people trace their heritage. I am not Irish but today I wanted to be. This museum was packed with so much information that I soaked it in and know that someday I will recall this information for not only our students but for my family’s trivia pursuit games.

Some highlights for me today:

-Standing in the spot where Annie Moore and other immigrants boarded an ocean liner made me think about how scared and unsure of the future those emigrating must of felt. Annie Moore was the first immigrant ever to be processed in Ellis Island when it opened in 1892.

-The United States wasn’t the only destination for immigrants. Canada, Argentina, Australia, Britain, and New Zealand, were other places that immigrants sought a better life in.

-“Convict” ships sailed out of Cobh carrying men and women who had been sentenced for crimes ranging from small crimes to murder. Sending criminals out of the country to other places (like Australia) that needed labor seemed to be an ideal way for authorities to get rid of “undesirable” members of society.

-The Lusitania was an ocean liner traveling from New York to Liverpool when a German torpedo struck it during World War One. The ship sank 10 miles off of coast of Ireland. 1,198 people lost their lives in this attack. I had never even heard of the Lusitania before visiting here.

-The Titanic’s last stop before sailing on out into the Atlantic Ocean was in Queenstown (Cobh). A total of 123 passengers boarded the Titanic in Cobh (3 first class, 7 second class, and the remainder in third class) many of these people would not survive her maiden voyage.

-The town of Cobh has had three names: Cobh, Cove, and Queenstown

-The current town of Cobh has a park named after John F. Kennedy.

-I may be able to answer more trivia pursuit questions now when I play against my dad.

Stephanie