TY - SOUND AU - Thompson,Neal AU - Morey,Arthur TI - The first Kennedys: the humble roots of an American dynasty SN - 9780358578796 AV - E184.I6 T46 2022ab U1 - 973.049162 23 PY - 2022///] CY - [New York, NY] PB - Harper Audio KW - Kennedy family. KW - Kennedy, Patrick. KW - Kennedy, Bridget. KW - Immigrants KW - United States KW - Irish KW - Audiobooks KW - lcgft N1 - Title from web page; Compact discs; Read by Arthur Morey N2 - Their Irish ancestry was a hallmark of the Kennedys' initial political profile, as JFK leveraged his working-class roots to connect with blue-collar voters. Today, we remember this iconic American family as the vanguard of wealth, power, and style rather than as the descendants of poor immigrants. Here at last, we meet the first American Kennedys, Patrick and Bridget, who arrived as many thousands of others did following the Great Famine, penniless and hungry. Less than a decade after their marriage in Boston, Patrick's sudden death left Bridget to raise their children single-handedly. Her rise from housemaid to shop owner in the face of rampant poverty and discrimination kept her family intact, allowing her only son P.J. to become a successful saloon owner and businessman. P.J. went on to become the first American Kennedy elected to public office, the first of many ER -