Jeremia Fallon, Micheal Murray and his sister, Eleanor, all came from Elfin County, County Roscommon, Ireland, to New York, in 1833. Eleanor and Jeremiah were both born in 1815, but Michael was older and he never forgot that. On the long sea voyage, the young couple fell in love and by the time they reached New York, they were engaged to be married.

Times had been hard in Ireland so both men went to work, Michael in New York and Jeremiah in New Orleans. Very likely Eleanor worked also, for many well-to-do families had Irish maids.

Jeremiah was a shipbuilder by trade, so he built himself tow ships and went into business ferrying logs from the pine woods of Louisiana down the Mississippi River to New Orleans where he sold the lumber.

In 1838 he felt secure enough to marry and raise a family, so he sent for Eleanor and they were married in New Orleans. Two years later their son John was born and three years after that they had twin daughters. One of the twins died at birth and the other died of measles before she was two years old. About that time, they had another daughter whom they named Eleanor for her mother.

When the baby was about a year old, the Fallons decided to visit Uncle Michael, who was now living on a small farm in St. Joseph, Missouri. They found him planning to "go west" to homestead some land in California or Oregon. A wagon train was already in the planning stage. The Fallons decided to join the group. Perhaps seeing her brother after so many years of separation may have influenced Eleanor's decision to go along with the idea of moving across the prarie to a new home.

Jeremiah returned to New Orleans where he sold his business and equipment. He then returned to St. Joseph, where he bought and outfitted a wagon to join the westbound wagon train. The prepared for a six-month trip, no small undertaking with a one year-old girl and a six year-old bpy. They had to pass through a lot of Indian country which provided some exciting moments. In one case Indians came to the wagon train and Eleanor charmed them by using her best red and white checked tablecloth and serving her fine white bread. The chief then gave them safe conduct through his territory.

There were other problems, of course. John, always a lively boy, broke his leg but their was a doctor among them, a Dr. Long, and he set the bone perfectly.

At Fort Bridger, the wagon train split up. Some of the travelers went atll the way to Mission San Jose. Other wagoneers felt they needed time to rest and to repair their equipment before they crossed the high mountains that loomed ahead of them. Indians and scouts warned them of the hard winter to come, but they were to weary to listen. Some of them made history as part of the ill-fated Donner party. When word reached California of the Donner tragedy, the brothers-in-law went back with supplies and tried to help their old friends. They are said to have been in the third rescue party.

The Fallon family and Uncle Michael settled in Mission San Jose where the children soon learned to speak more Spanish than English. In 1847 Catherine Fallon was born, the first child of other than Spanish or Indian parentage to be born in Mission San Jose. The joy of her arrival was followed by the sorrow of the death of her older brother John. He had eaten unripe plums picked in the Mission garden.