John Crowe Harty : Short Biography

John Crowe Harty 1873–1965

John was born on 24 April 1873 at Newtown, Grean (Pallasgreen), Limerick, Ireland, and died on 18 February 1965 at Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. His Civil Birth Record gives his parents as Denis Harty and Margaret Crow. Denis Harty 1835–1903, was a farmer in Newtown townland, Oola Civil Parish, County Limerick. Denis' father was John Harty (ref Baptism of Denis Harty on16 Aug 1835 at Pallasgrean with parents John Harty & Catherine Power) is recorded farming 4 acres in Newtown South in the Griffiths Valuation of the mid-1800s. It is likely that his son Denis inherited this small farm from him, which of course he did not own, but rented from a landlord. John Crowe Harty's mother Margaret Crow / Crowe 1840–1882 is the daughter of my Gtx2 grandparents Richard and Johana Crowe of Clonganhue townland, Solloghodmore Civil Parish, Co Tipperary. Tho' in different counties, Newtown and Clonganhue townlands are quite close, and fall within the same Catholic parish of Solohead & Oola, which was important to these Roman Catholic families. Richard Crowe ran the monthly Cappawhite Fair, which was a large fair, and the Harty's would have attended and known the Crowes. Marriages were arranged at this time, and so the parents arranged the marriage of their children Denis Harty and Margaret Crowe, which took place on 1 February 1869 at Cappawhite Church.

John Crowe Harty had seven siblings born between 1871 & 1882 (Johanna, Ellen, Rodger, Michael, Mary, Margaret, Richard.) The family experienced tragedy in 1882 when his mother and two youngest siblings died within a few months. When little Margaret was 15 months old her mother was pregnant again, but things went very badly wrong at the birth. She gave birth to a son Richard on 27 January 1882, but a few days later on 1 Feb 1882 Margaret Harty died aged 35, and seven days later her daughter Margaret died on 8 Feb 1882. A few months later the baby Richard died on 15 July 1882. John Crowe Harty was nine years old when this happened, and this must have had a profound effect upon him.

His father married Ellen Ryan some years later and they had a child Anna Mae Harty (1889–1977) born on 15 April 1889. Ellen died on 24 Dec 1900 at Newtown Limerick, and John [Crowe] Harty her step-son recorded her Civil Death and was present at her death. He appears with his father and four siblings in the 1901 Irish census (Denis, Roger, Johanna, Mary, Annie.) All men are recorded as labourers, which seems to indicate that they have lost the farm. However Denis is identified as a farmer on his death cert two years later. He died on 20 Nov 1903 at Bunaboy townland, Grean, which is in the adjoining Parish to the east of Oola, named Grean. Bunaboy is usually spelled Bunavie, and John Harty farmed 21 acres there in the mid1800s (probably Denis' father who rented it from Col Wyndham) so it seems that Denis returned to this family farm at the end of his life.

Denis' daughter Mary joined the Sisters of Mercy and is recorded at Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA in 1902. She took her final vows the following year and taught Latin and English for the rest of her life at their convent schools. She was very well respected and was honoured during her lifetime for her work with the blind, helping to push the use of Braille in "normal schools."

John Crowe Harty also travelled to the USA and possibly visited his sister. He left from Cork on 19 March 1903, and the Outward Passenger List for the ship 'Celtic' lists his age as 30, thus born in 1873 which is correct. However we know that he settled in NZ, but not when he went there. He married Martha Mary Londrigan (1884–1953) on 03 May 1906 at Little River, Canterbury, New Zealand. They had three children: Eileen Hannah Mary Harty 1907–2004; John Crowe Harty 1911–1971; Mary (Molly) Margaret Harty 1915– 2007. In 1938 John Crowe Harty was working as an Exchange Clerk at Cheviot?, Hurunui, Canterbury, New Zealand.

New Zealand Defence Force, Archives have WW1 military personnel files for John Harty (WW1 69081 - Army; Record no: 0051719; R no: R16792630; Series: 18805), but I do not know what aspect of the military.

He died on 18 February 1965 at Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.