 It is estimated that about 33 million Americans claim Irish heritage. And it's no secret that the Irish immigrants into America played a huge part in the development of our modern society that we see today. In fact, one of America's most beloved presidents, our 35th president, John F. Kennedy, claimed Irish descent. Now of course, when people think about Irish in America, they might think about places like Boston, Massachusetts, or New York City. However, even though the largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the United States is held in New York City, the second largest St. Patrick's Day celebration is held in Savannah, Georgia every year. But before we get started, you know what to do. Hit that subscribe button and give us a like. Welcome to Esoteric Atlanta. My name is Bryce, and today we're gonna talk about the Kehoe House in Savannah, Georgia. Great Britain in the northern part of the northern hemisphere. The Republic of Ireland itself has a population of about 5 million people. It is a land and a people that are full of folklore and myth. It is an enrolled island that promises leprechauns and has so much beautiful history that the whole world should be grateful for. The people of Ireland have something in common with the Americans. Both the Irish and the Americans are very patriotic people. And over the years, they both have demanded and sought out their independence from Great Britain. However, in the 1840s, Ireland experienced a great famine that changed its history. The rest of the world knows this as the Great Potato Famine. You see, the potato is a staple for Irish cuisine. And around this time, the potatoes became infected. With a huge number of the Irish people falling into poverty and starvation, many started to make their way over to the newly found United States. We know that most of the Irish came in through Ellis Island up in New York and tried to find work in places like New York and Boston. In fact, New York and Boston do have a huge Irish population. However, at some point, because of the overwhelming amount of Irish people coming into the United States, New York and Boston started turning them away. They would not hire the Irish, but never fear. Savannah, Georgia opened up its ports with wide arms, welcoming anybody in from Ireland who was ready to work and to start a new life. Now, as I've said before, the Southeast, especially Georgia, was a British area. Most people who live or from Georgia or from the South come from English people. My last name is Watson. I grew up with Smiths and Thomases and Jones. Very, very English. And in fact, according to my 23 and me DNA test, I have zero Irish in me. I am mostly English and German and Scandinavian. So when I started studying this part of the Kehoe House and its history, I was floored at the amount of Irish people and the amount of Irish heritage that exists in Savannah, Georgia. In fact, once the Irish started coming into Savannah, certain districts were appointed to the Irish people. The old Fort district as well as Frogtown. And there is a park right by River Street, a beautiful park that for a long time was called Irish Green. And back in 1902, they renamed this park Emmett Park. Now Emmett Park is named after an Irish man named Robert Emmett. Robert Emmett was born in Ireland in 1778 and died of execution in 1803. Robert Emmett was a huge patriot and he had an uprising against the United Kingdom. Now of course he lost and that's why he was executed. But in Savannah, they decided to name this park after him and they named it after him at the centennial of his death. Emmett Park is considered to be the ground zero for the Irish heritage in Savannah. We Americans, we support other patriots. And even though Robert Emmett never lived in the United States, he was born in Ireland and he died in Ireland. That spirit of wanting independence, that Irish patriotism mixed in with that American patriotism makes a wonderful heritage marker for the city of Savannah. Now if you would like to visit Emmett Park, while you're in Savannah, it's very close to River Street near the historic district. It shouldn't be too complicated to find. This is a great area for a picnic. You can look over the Savannah River. William Kehoe was born in County Wexford, Ireland in 1832. When he was 10 years old, he and his family emigrated to the United States into Savannah, Georgia. At this point, the date was 1842. Now I don't know for certain if his family emigrated because of the potato famine, but the dates do add up. William Kehoe was one of many children. And like most Irish families emigrating to the United States at this time, the family was pretty poor. They didn't find themselves a home in the Old Fort District, again, the Irish district of Savannah. And like a lot of children of immigrant parents, William and his siblings had to go find work at very young ages. Now again, this was way before our child labor laws were around, and it is common. It is said that a lot of children who emigrated from Ireland would find themselves working in factories in order to help provide for their family. At this point, a very young William Kehoe found himself a job in an iron factory. Now at this point, railroads for being built, iron was in high demand. Now this iron would end up later on in the story being William's saving grace. And I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think trade schools are underrated. Education's medication. For me, I don't know how to do anything. I can't change a tire, I can't plumb a toilet. I don't know how to do a lot, but I have an education. Well, what good is an education if there are no skills? See, William Kehoe, by working at an iron factory at a very young age, started to learn a lot about this trade. And over time, he started to work his way up in the factory. Now by the age of 14, the Civil War had broken out. And William Kehoe did go and fight during the American Civil War for the Confederate side. Seems crazy that a 14 year old would be going to battle, but that was the times back then. It is said that William Kehoe was present for the Gettysburg battle. Of course, that was one of the battles in the Civil War that flipped the Civil War. It's also one of the deadliest battles that we had in the Civil War. Apparently the trauma that William witnessed during the war changed him. It made him a softer man. And when he came back to Savannah, he had his sight set on living a more loving life. Having a family, in 1868, William Kehoe married a Savannah native named Annie Flood. Annie Flood eventually became Annie Kehoe. And soon after they were married, they started to have children. They ended up having 10 children. And all while they're bearing their children and raising their family, Mr. Kehoe, William Kehoe continued to work in rise up in the iron industry. He ended up becoming an extremely prominent figure in Savannah. Talk about the American dream. You come here just like Godfrey Barnsley, who came into Savannah with nothing, came here with nothing, worked his butt off, and now has his own little family fortune. And then in 1880, Mr. William Kehoe opened up his own iron factory. This was called the Kehoe Iron Works. And then in 1892, William Kehoe's final destination, his family mansion, was completed in Columbia Square. This now is known as the Kehoe House, which is the main topic of our story. Now, like most houses in Savannah, the Kehoe House is haunted. Local legend states that with the 10 children, there was one set of twins. Now, I have heard the story being told that it was twin boys. However, my research says that it was actually twin girls. But the story goes that one day, the children were playing hide and go seek. And the two twin boys, as I originally heard it, went to go hide in the chimney. Now, nobody could find the boys. And it wasn't till later on that they smelt burning bodies that they realized the boys had been killed in the chimney. Yes, there are children that haunt the Kehoe House. However, our studies find that that story isn't true. Thank God, what a horrific way to die. The stories we find is a death of a set of twin girls. Now, the twin girls' names were Ann and May Kehoe. Now, from what I researched, they didn't die in a tragic accident of hide and seek gone wrong. They actually died of roseola. And roseola is not something that people today commonly die of. In fact, this virus is very common in young children. You get a fever, you get a rash, it's uncomfortable, but it's not typically something that parents need to stress about. And so I kind of scratched my head a little bit at this. Now, of course, this was the 1800s, and medicine has changed, who knows, maybe at that point kids did die of this virus. But we do have on record that these two little girls, these twin girls, did perish at this house. And these two children are notably some of the ghosts that are active today at the Kehoe House. Now, as far as I could tell, this was the only tragedy that happened at the Kehoe House. The Kehos seem to be a very loving and kind family. Now both Annie and William Kehoe lived to be pretty old into their 70s, and they eventually perished normally. They too haunt the house. However, Kehoe Ironworks stopped being a company in 1920, right before William Kehoe and Annie Kehoe passed away. At this point, the Savannah Gas Company took over the building. The Savannah Gas Company kept its business there for a while, but then eventually the building became vacant. It just was sitting there. And then in 2004, a man named Charles Morris, who is a local media mogul ended up buying the Kehoe property. He refurbished it. He gave it new life. And after 28 years of being vacant, this place is now a place for events, for weddings. It's gorgeous. Now, I think this is fantastic. It sounds like Charles is a huge lover of history. He is even leaving the name Kehoe Ironworks up on the building. I think that's fair, seeing that Mr. Kehoe, this Irish immigrant, poor Irish immigrant, built a life up in Savannah and gave Savannah part of its heritage. Now, the Kehoe house stayed in the family until William and Annie passed away. At that point, their remaining children sold the house. The house became a funeral parlor for a while and then was bought and sold. It was privately owned again and then was eventually bought by football star, Joe Nammoth. I hope I'm saying that right. Nammoth. Honestly, I recognize the name, but I've told you guys before, I couldn't give a rat's ass about sports, so yay football, I don't know. Anyway, but this football player owned this property and then in 1990, he sold it. At this point, the property became a bed and breakfast as it is today. The bed and breakfast has about 13 rooms available to the public. Now, I've already told you guys that the two children who perished in the house do haunt the house. They get up to mischief and it's all fun and games. Our other two hauntings are William Kehoe himself as well as his wife, Annie. Now, William Kehoe, he tends to, after the doors have been locked at night, go and unlock the doors again. Seems like he's always wanting to keep his home open to anybody who needs a place to stay. Now, Annie Kehoe, his wife, she's often seen as the lady in white and she's often seen at a desk writing notes or eerily enough, she might actually tuck you in at night. A lot of people say they smell her perfume and they also feel her kissing their cheeks and pulling the blankets up and over them. Now, the Kehoe's had about 21 grandkids and a lot of people believe that Annie Kehoe came back specifically to try to find her grandchildren to see how they're doing. Now, I smile at this because with 21 grandchildren, there are obviously still a lot of Kehoe's left in Savannah. So I wouldn't be surprised if every now and again Annie Kehoe co-gets to spot her grandkids or her great-grandkids or her great-great-grandkids. Nonetheless, the Irish men who came to America to find asylum and to seek a new life found that new life. He found a loving wife, he started a wonderful business and had so many children. Even though they did suffer tragedy with the loss of their twins, the Kehoe's obviously were an extremely loving family. They were loved by the community. And with the revamping of his business, the Kehoe Ironworks Space, I'm sure Mr. Kehoe is super excited to be able to use his property to allow young loves to get married and to start their lives. His business is also used as other celebratory events. And I do find it quite comforting that even in death, Mr. Kehoe, again, this poor Irish boy, is still making sure his house is open and warm and welcoming to any traveler who needs a place to stay. And even though it might be startling to be tucked in by a ghost at night, I do find it quite sweet that even on the other side, Annie Kehoe is still a loving mother who wants to take care of everyone who comes through her home. Now, if you are a ghost seeker and you decide to stay at the Kehoe house, apparently room 201 and 2R3 are the most active. Apparently the lights turn on and off all the time and that's where you can spot most of the apparitions. I know a lot of people fear ghost, but I feel like the Kehoe family ghost are not ghost fear, whose lives represent the story of the American dream, the gratitude of a country, the love of a family. And for the people of Irish descent in Savannah, whose ancestors were perhaps turned away from New York or Boston, the life of the Kehoe family is symbolism of that Southern hospitality and opportunity that was granted to them by a city in the deep South. And maybe if you're in Savannah and you happen to stay at the Kehoe house, maybe leave a little Irish flag behind as a gift for Mr. Kehoe to let him know that you are grateful to him and his story. God bless the Republic of Ireland and God bless the United States of America, two countries who have ferociously fought for their independence, who have ties that run extremely deep, who have a shared heritage for most of their people. And who knows, maybe one day, me, this woman with zero Irish descent, will find myself in Savannah, Georgia over St. Patrick's Day to celebrate with my fellow countrymen in Savannah who do have Irish descent. Thank you guys so much for sitting through this sweet ghost story. We don't get many of those. Special thank you to the Kehoe family if you happen to be watching this. And special thank you to Josh McKay for doing your music and Todd Rodberg for being our editor. I will see you guys soon. Bye.