Family lore tells that when Thomas came to America, the ship was about 3 weeks late arriving into port. Apparently, they had encountered a storm at sea and were delayed. With the extra time at sea they ran low on food and were almost at the point of eating rodents when they finally landed.
We know very little about Thomas' family in Ireland. My great-grandmother (Jenny) said that he talked about his mother and a sister, both of whom had remained in Ireland. One of our relatives thinks that Thomas could have come to America with 2 of his brothers while the eldest brother remained in Ireland.
The spelling of the last name is rather inconsistent -- on Thomas and Martha's marriage certificate, his last name is spelled as "Donaha." On my great-grandmother's marriage certificate, her maiden name is spelled "Downahue." On some census records and a deed to Martha in 1885, it is spelled "Donihe." Thomas and Martha's sons who moved to California spelled the last name as "Donihue."
We believe that Thomas' came to America around 1850 and we don't know anything about his life between when he arrived and his marriage to Martha in 1863. The 1870 census record shows the family living near Chattanooga TN and that Thomas worked for the railroad.
