My grandfather, John Joseph Gleason, son of Michael Gleason and Mary (Ryan) Gleason, emigrated from Tipperary, Ireland and settled in Buffalo, NY. His parent’s names were Michael Gleason and Mary (Ryan) Gleason. He married a girl from Galway; became a Buffalo policeman and raised a family of seven children. Those three sentences contain the entirety of what I and my 16 cousins knew about our grandfather and where he came from. That and a small book about Nenagh, Ireland, found amongst a deceased Aunt’s effects.
My wife and I were planning a trip to Ireland in May, 2016 with three other couples. With low expectations, I joined Ireland Reaching Out and posted an inquiry looking for any information about a John Gleason emigrating from Ireland to the USA, possibly from the Nenagh area. Within days I received replies from Ireland XO mentioning some birth records and an Ellis Island ship manifest indicating my grandfather arrived in the USA in 1900.
Days later I received two more replies from Ireland XO. My grandfather was born November 11, 1874 in “Goulreagh Parish, Silvermines District.” I couldn’t find such a Parish on a map. I did note a town called Silvermines, and an area call Coolreigh; possibly the same. But I also got a record of my great grandparents’ marriage record. This was a goldmine, because the last notation on it said “married in Killoscully church.”
Starting with just a name and a county I now had a town I could find on a map and, thanks to Google street view, I could look at it almost as if I was there. I noticed there was a small cemetery in the town, and I asked the website if there was any way of contacting the Church to find out if I had any relatives buried there, so I could pay my respects when I visited Ireland. One researcher from Ireland XO, Jim Vaughan, was very generous with his time and responded with a post that left me speechless. A headstone in the cemetery was erected by my grandfather to honor his parents and grandparents.
One month later, we were touring Ireland with four other couples. I asked the group and our driver if we could divert from our scheduled stops and visit Killoscully. They all agreed and soon we were on unmarked roads from Cashel to Killoscully. After several wrong turns, we found the town. . Finally, we came upon a very weathered headstone where I could barely make out the letters “USA” and just before that “fflo” (as in Buffalo.) All eight people in our group pitched in with a pencil and some large paper napkins to make a rubbing of the headstone. The inscription appeared:
Erected by John J Gleeson of Coolreigh now of Buffalo NY USA in memory of his mother Mary Gleeson of Coolreigh who died June 18th 1883 aged 42 years and her infant children William & Catherine and his father Michael Gleeson who died Oct 13th 1918 aged 78 years. Also his grandfather Michael Gleeson who died Feb 24th 1882 aged 80 years and his uncles John & Martin Gleeson and his aunts Hannah & Catherine Gleeson.
I could only attach one photo. Use what you would like of this. The main point is, that even after quizzing cousins before my trip, we all knew very little about my Irish heritage until I contacted your website. It looks like Goulreigh was a civil parish near Killoscully, and Kiloscully church is in Cashel and Emily Archdiocese, so post this where you may.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 11th Nov 1874 | |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | Michael Gleason | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Mary Ryan | |
