JOHN GETTY was the youngest son of John and Eliza Getty of Craigs. The year of his birth is uncertain. He married Margaret Coulter and they resided in the Townland of Slievenagh, in the Parish of Portglenone, where John was a farmer.

Portglenone adjoins Craigs and Ahoghill on the west. Slievenagh adjoins the Townland of Ballynafie on the northwest side, and Limnahary is on the east side of Ballynafie.

John and Margaret had eight children: John born in 1844, Joseph, Alexander, James born in 1853, William, Robert, Elizabeth (Betty) and Nancy born in 1861. All the children were born in Slievenagh except James, who was born in Killylish (Killyless), which is a Townland a few miles north, near Craigs.

Nancy died in June of 1864 when she was 2 1/2 years old. She is buried in Grave No. 7G in the Craigs Parish Cemetery, with her grandparents and her three cousins, the Anderson children. When the Anderson family left for America, they signed the grave over to John.

John and Margaret's oldest son was also named John. Young John and Margaret Belle (Peggy) Agnew were married on December 7, 1868, in the Ahoghill Presbyterian Church, by the Rev. D. Adams. The witnesses were Alexander Getty, brother of John, and Mary Jane Agnew, sister of Margaret Belle. Peggy was born October 26, 1846, to Robert and Sarah Ann Hillis Agnew of the Townland of Limnahary. Her younger sister, Ellen, married George K. Getty many years later. John and Peggy had six children: John (called Johnny), Robert, David, Ellen (called Nellie), Sarah Ann and William. They were all born in Slievenagh except the youngest, William, who was born in Macon Township, Michigan.

The family sailed to the United States in 1885, about a year after John's cousin, George K. Getty, went back to Ireland to marry Ellen Agnew. Of John and Margaret Coulter Getty's children, I believe young John was the only one to emigrate. They stayed for a short time with their aunt, Eliza Anderson.

Their youngest son, William Anderson Getty, named for their uncle, William Anderson, who was deceased, was born July 2J, 1886, at Eliza's home. Soon after, they moved on to Minnesota where they once again took up farming near the little village of Pilot Grove in Faribault County. John applied for naturalization on April 19, 1889. His final record was dated June 7, 1893.

John and Peggy's oldest son, Johnny Getty, was born March 14, 1874. On March 11, 1896, in Blue Earth, he married Nellie M. Sailor. They had at least three children: Olga, born February 5, 1897, died November 1 of that same year; another baby was still born February 10, 1898; and May was born May 1, 1903. Johnny died November 25, 1961.

Robert Agnew Getty was born December 1, 1875. On November 29, 1900, in Blue Earth, he married Maria Edith Cook. They had a baby stillborn on December 4, 1901. Eva Margaret was born February 21, 1906. Robert died June 27, 1962.

David James Getty was born February 10, 1879. He remained single until after his mother died. He stayed home and ran the farm. He married Arla R. Dabbdal on May 9, 1922, and later moved to Blue Earth. They had three daughters:

Margaret Jeanie, born April 1), 1923; Ruth Arlene, born May 20, 1925; and Elaine Joyce, born October 3, 1926. He died March 5, 1930, at the age of 51. Cause of death  scarlet fever, erysipelas of face, septic bronchial pneumonia, and general septicemia. After David's death, Arla and the girls moved to Texas.

Ellen "Nellie" Getty was born April 4, 1882. She was the organist in the Presbyterian Church in Pilot Grove. She married Wallace Emory Hall. They had four children: Lily Mae, John Wesley, Wilbur and Ruth. Lily Mae never married. She was an evangelist, and traveled allover the country with her gospel work. She died of cancer in 1969.

Wesley never married. He has a large farm outside of Granada, Minnesota. It was through his interest and assistance that I was able to compile this section on the family of John Getty. He remembered Peter and Charles Getty living in Minnesota, and knew they were cousins of his mother. He furnished me with clues which enabled me to locate descendants of Peter and Charles Getty.

Sarah Ann Getty was born to John and Peggy while they still lived in Ireland. She died in infancy.

William Anderson Getty was born July 23, 1886. He became a veterinarian. During World War II he went over to Great Britain with a load of mules. He visited Ireland and found relatives, especially a cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was the daughter of James (John's brother) and in 1954 she was living in the same stone house where Nellie was born. Lily and Wesley corresponded with Elizabeth over the years, but in 1971 the last letter that Wesley sent to her, where she was living in Belfast, was returned with the notation "Gone Away". He assumed she had died. William married Myrtle Acheson on July 25, 1909 and had a son named Hallsie, who studied law. The family moved to Aurora, Missouri. They were divorced in the early 1930's.

Nellie Getty Hall died October 31, 1961.

George K. Getty went to Ireland and married Ellen Agnew on September 29, 1884. George's cousin, John, and Ellen's sister, Peggy, witnessed their marriage. George and Ellen were aboard the boat, ready to sail back to the United States.

He wrote the letter which appears on the following page on October 10, 1884, to John Getty, Portglenone.

Cousin John Getty We had hard work to get on board the Chester as she sailed yesterday noon if we had waited for the Belfast boat we would have got left as it did not sail until midnight So we took the Fleetwood boat and got to Liverpool just in time after a ride of 40 miles on the cars we did not have time to get a Bed but I am acquainted with the Stuarts & one of them got us anything we wanted free of charge we were both sick on the Fleetwood boat but we are well again Ellen is knitting and the ship is waiting for the mail but will sail in an hour or so tell our mother that I think Ellen is going to start the voyage well & we will write to her as soon as we get home there is folks on board that sell every we want the ship is about 2 miles from Queenstown and I can send this on a small boat good bye for this time as the last boat is almost ready to go a shore You will get another letter as soon as we can send it to you Geo & Ellen Getty