Imagine you are in your early 30's and left your homeland with your family, aware you will never return home. The locals and scholars say there was 'little to no' contact for approximately 100 years. A group of people left County Monaghan, Ireland, boarded a ship called the Consbrook in Belfast, and were bound for Prince Edward Island, Canada. There were two Woods brothers among this group of Irish settlers who ventured to Kelly's Cross and Emyvale. I will be following the descendants of John Woods Sr., my great great grandfather. John Woods and his wife Ann were 32 years old, and they had three young boys. They arrived in the Charlottetown Harbour on May 25, 1839. I suspect they were eager but hesitant to see what lay ahead for them. Ahead of them was a lifestyle that would take them to the edge of their lives, with the physical work required to clear forests and settle land with primitive tools. A quote from my book captures their beginning: " the Irish settlers were dropped off in DeSable, where the TransCanada Highway is currently located. The young eager settlers were told that your farmland is, “in there” and pointed toward the thick forest. The settlers looked at each other and said, “there’s no road there.” The reply was, “that’s right, you need to cut a road to reach your properties.” This was the beginning of the South Melville Road.” There was a lack of security due to land ownership issues and no welcome mats for this group of Irish Catholics. PEI land occupation was still under the direction of elites, such as Army Leaders, Governors, Lords and other "absentee landlords." The Irish and Catholics were not new to PEI by this time, but they were not the preferred group that was expected to settle on PEI. The original target group were to be Protestants, who were expected to pay rent. This adventurous group of ancestors “went forth and multiplied,” as it was a common occurrence to see 7 to 10 children in a family. The farm land was quickly utilized and some of the Irish people were required to be on the move again. One branch of the Woods clan moved from Kelly’s Cross to Brockton, PEI, to Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, then to Caribou, Maine. From this branch of the Woods family tree, there are a few Woodses left in Kelly's Cross, none in Brockton, some in Plaster Rock and many in ME and MA. My great grandfather, Patrick Woods was born in 1840 and would be the first member of the second generation to be born on PEI. He was also the first Woods to establish himself in Emyvale, as Patrick and his wife had 10 children. There are several Woods descendants still living in Emyvale. We have a legacy that came from a group of people who worked hard to provide a better future for each generation that followed them. The home place of Patrick's son, my grand uncle, became the home of my grandfather and his family, the home of my father and his family, the home of myself and my family and currently the home of my daughter and her family. We are one of hundreds of families that have originated from these brave men who thrived to carve out a living in a foreign land. I will introduce you to many of these families. You will relate to them as it is a story of family genealogy but also a story of human interest. This story is composed of hundreds of short stories. Some written by people with us today, some stories were in obituaries, and some stories are retold by relatives. You are going to become acquainted with a variety of people who were farmers, military veterans, poets, artists, musicians, writers, athletes, police officers, tradesmen, members of the religious life and many more.