Notes on Our Genealogy

Bacon. In your heart of hearts, you always knew it would come down to bacon. Back in Limerick, back in time, my family was in the pig trade. My great-great grandfather Charles Quaid (1840-1900) was a pig buyer, and so were his sons, and their sons. Not every one of them, it’s true, but it was definitely a pig buying family. Limerick was, for a time, famous for its Limerick Ham . The city boasted several major producers, one of which was J. Matterson and Sons. I’m no expert on the subject, but I think I’m on firm ground when I say that the production of bacon depends on a steady supply of pigs. Somebody raises a pig, then somebody turns it into breakfast. The Quaids weren’t either of those two; they were the middlemen, travelling around the countryside buying up choice pigs at fairs and markets. Pig buying was a culture, a lifestyle, and for some reason it passed from father to son. Yes, always to sons. Charles Quaid (1840-1900) and Mary Nealon Quaid (1840-1917) had ten children. Of the...