John Doherty was born in Donegal in 1851, but he and his brothers James and Joe headed across the Atlantic in the middle of the 19th century, to a town called Mora in what is now the state of New Mexico. They had a relative in the town named Thomas, who owned a large general store. The brothers were industrious workers, and found a good living for themselves out on the frontier – James being described as a “wealthy ranchero” in newspapers from the period.
