07/09/2026
The fruition of "Dear Missing Friend" began with Susan McGuirk’s simple act of curiosity. While conducting family research on Ancestry.com, she stumbled upon an advertisement from the mid-1800s.
It was a “Missing Friend” column — a syndicated notice widespread in newspapers across the country, where newly arrived Irish immigrants would desperately search for relatives they had lost touch with during their journey to America. The ad, placed by her second great-aunt’s husband, sought Catherine, a woman whose last known location was Sag Harbor. https://www.27east.com/expressmagazine/article_2a6e043a-5e9a-4b0b-b463-4c56f8785107.html
Local author Susan McGuirk explores Sag Harbor’s 19th century whaling era and a fascinating family mystery in her debut historical fiction novel, “Dear Missing Friends.”