Much speculation has been made about who the parents of James are, but we have not found any records. The following is from a descendant, but nothing is documented:
“James and Mary left for the US during the Great Potato Famine. We do not know if they were married before they immigrated. The following is from a personal interview with a man named Fred Geoghegan in Westmeath, Ireland. The man began to tell the story of our James and Mary. He said that the house that his family was living in there (pointing) was the original ancestral home of our Geoghegan family and that James Geoghegan was born in it. The house was over 200 years old, with walls two feet thick. He then pointed to a piece of land adjacent to his and said that was where Mary Highland's family had lived until 1854. The Highland's property was called "Clunedewalla". The man Fred went on to say that although the Geoghegan's and Highland's were neighbors, they were separated by the county line - the Geoghegan's living on the Westmeath side and the Highland's living on the Offaly side in Durrow. Offaly County used to be Kings County. During the discussion, the big question was asked: Do you know the names of James' parents? Fred replied, "Yes, they were John Geoghegan and Rose McGuire. The Geoghegan Ancestral Home inhabited since 1735. At the back of it, where the daffodils are growing, was an old Catholic graveyard. It was closed sometime about 1835 or 36. Over there (pointing) is Highland's field. It is Ballycalahan, the townland of Ballycalahan [Ballycallaghan], in the parish of Durrow, in the County of Offaly. It borders the County of Westmeath. The Highland's lived there until about the 1840's and Mary Highland lived there, married James Geoghegan of Frevanaugh (3 miles south of Kilbeggan).”
Mary Highland has surname also spelled Hyland; a possible baptism record has her baptized on 15 Jul 1828, in Mullingar, Westmeath, Ireland....parents Maurice Hyland and Mary Naughton. Her headstone in Marshallville, Wayne, Ohio, USA has: "Erected in Memory of Mary Geoghegan, wife of James Geoghegan, who departed this life Nov 13, 1868, aged 40 years, native of Castletowngeoghegan, Co. Westmeath, Ireland."
The headstone for James also in Marshallville: "In memory of our dearest father James Geoghegan who died Dec 2, ? Aged 65 years, native of Co. Westmeath (difficult to read)
James and Mary Geoghegan had five children:
- William Highland Gagon - born 22 August 1850, New York City, New York, USA
- Hugh Motley Gagon - born 17 May 1852, New York, USA
- Mary Gagon - born 1854, died 1859, Fredericksburg, Ohio, USA
- Ellen Gagon - 18 March 1855, Fredericksburg, Wayne, Ohio, USA
- Rosanna Gagon - 25 March 1868, Marshallville, Wayne, Ohio, USA
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1816 (circa) | |
| Date of Death | 9th Dec 1883 | VIEW SOURCE |
