Eve married a fairly well-to-do farmer named William O'Brien. William had enough land to grow wheat for export to England. In spite of this, the famine caused enough economic problems for him that he immigrated to the United States with his wife. Unlike most Irish, William, Eve, and their first child, Anna, did not stay long in the slums of the larger cities. William took advantage of the Homestead Act, and acquired 130 acres of land in what is today Ottawa County, Kansas. In Kansas, the O'Briens' had two other children, Ruth and Donald.

For the full story of Eve MacGilligan O'Brien, written by ESU student Annalee Coy, follow this link.