John Durkin Oral History Interview
Dublin Core
Title
John Durkin Oral History Interview
Date
2001-12-20
Description
John Durkin, Jr. was born on December 26, 1936 in Lowell, MA to an Irish father and Portuguese mother. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1954 and went on to graduate from Merrimack College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He continued the family business of cleaning products, eventually opening Durkins, Incorporated. His father owned the Puritan Floor Covering Company.
His mother, Helen (Spinney) Durkin, was part of the Spinney family, a large Portuguese family in Lowell. The family's surname was originally Espinola, but the patriarch, Dominus, changed it to Spinney when he immigrated to the United States. In this interview, John tells the family folklore of how Dominus was kicked out of Portugal, eventually opening a bookstore in Lowell.
His mother, Helen (Spinney) Durkin, was part of the Spinney family, a large Portuguese family in Lowell. The family's surname was originally Espinola, but the patriarch, Dominus, changed it to Spinney when he immigrated to the United States. In this interview, John tells the family folklore of how Dominus was kicked out of Portugal, eventually opening a bookstore in Lowell.
Creator
Subject
Coverage
Source
From UMass Lowell Oral History Collection (01.20). Courtesy of Lowell Historical Society.
Publisher
UMass Lowell, Center for Lowell History
Contributor
Durkin, John, Jr.
Rights
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Relation
Format
PDF
MP3
Language
Type
Audio
Text
Identifier
Durkin, John 01.20
Citation
Ali, Mehmed, “John Durkin Oral History Interview,” Portuguese American Digital Archive, accessed April 28, 2024, https://umlportuguesearchives.omeka.net/items/show/3702.
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