My first ancestor to come to America was Abbán and Ethna McElhinney. Their story is one of many twists and turns. It started back when my ancestors were scam artists. They floated through Ireland stealing from the rich and taking from the poor. No one was safe from the Bandits of the Ire; a name they gave them self lightheartedly. Until one day, the couple was lounging around a small fishing town named Potrush. Over the hill came the kings men, looking for our heroes. Luckily for them, James Seamus, a fisherman and friend, was standing by with their ship, the destination: Scarba Scotland. Richard Hill, the owner of this island was a long time friendly rival, and willing to let them stay for a while. One day in late April, Gael Richard Mcelhinney was born. Even today the family swears up and down that she was born in Ireland, but the dates don’t match up. Ricahard’s son Aonghus became betrothed to Gael. A few other families resided on the island and our heroes prospered. After some internal struggle (unknown to me due to lack of specifics) the land was taken from the Hill clan. Most families left except the direct descendants of Aonghus and Gael. A short time later, the land was given back to the family, deriving the family name Givens. It had been about 20 years since the retreat from Ireland, so the Givens decided it was time to go back. Another twenty years or so, the Givens resided in Ireland. Occasionally they would resort back to their ancestors thievery, at one point attempting to steal from the richest family in rhe area. This family used all of its political influence to have the givens forced to leave Ireland. This time Risteard and Bébhinn Givens travelled to America. Their name was actually Dado meaning given in English. It wasn’t until they reached America their names were Americanized. Bébhinn became Vivian and Risteard became Richard. Vivian and Richard Givens. They boarded a ship that left from an English port he...