Thomas Culloo : Short Biography

Thomas Culloo was the oldest child we have been able to find for Dennis Culloo from a field in Faha known as Lower Corbeha (as found in the 1827 Tithe Aplotment). We encountered many twists and turns in researching the Culloo/Cullow/Callow/Collue branch of our tree. Peter Bierne, a librarian from Clare County Library explained that since our ancestors could neither read nor write (as evidenced by their "mark" where their signatures should be on official documents) their name has been written by pronunciation, and sometimes it barely resembles what it once was. Mr. Bierne stated that it was most likely Collough in proper Irish. Fortunately, we have been able to identify Thomas in many records no matter how badly his name is written by his wife, Mary Hynes, and the other family members he traveled with from Ireland, to Derbyshire, to America. It is for this reason that we presumed that our 2x great grandmother, Margaret Ann Culloo/Collue McDermott (1834 - 1902), was a sibling to Thomas. They all lived in Derby together, they emigrated to America via Pennsylvania and settled in Peru, LaSalle County, Illinois, United States of America. But when we found the 1851 census for Derbyshire, Margaret was 16 years old and listed as a "lodger" in the home of Thomas and his siblings, despite the same last name. So, we are still on the hunt for Margaret's family, who were likely also in Corbeha. We know from her marriage certificate in Derby that her father's name was Patrick, and he was deceased by 1855 (likely sooner, since Margaret was living with extended family in 1851).

According to the 1851 Derby census, and the 1860 US census, Thomas was born in approximately 1819/20. Thomas' family of origin lived in the townland of Faha/Fahy in the Caher Feakle Catholic Parish in1827. We have not yet found evidence of his marriage to Mary Hynes (1824 - ?) , but a number of parish records show them as sponsors for baptisms in the parish. We located two baptism records, one for Bridget Culloo in 1847, and one for Mary Culloo in 1849 in the Feakle Parish records. Parents were listed as Thomas Culloo and Mary Hynes. Places were listed as Faha, Caher, Killaloe and Kilanena. We are not sure how all of these place names fit together, but have learned that they are in the same general vicinity. By the time of Griffiths Valuation of 1855, there were no more Culloo's living on the land in Lower Corbeha. 

We know that sometime between 1849 after the last recorded birth in Feakle, and 1851 when the English census was taken Thomas, his wife, several siblings, two (likely) cousins, and several individuals with last names consistent with the other tenants on the land in Lower Corbeha in 1827 (such as two 40 year old widows with the last names Kildea and Halloran) left Ireland. Maybe en masse, maybe in smaller groups. Families sharing the land in Lower Corbeha  in the 1827 Tithe Aplotment were: Thomas Culloo, Martin Culloo, Thomas Hogan, Michael Molony and Daniel Galliher. On another piece of land adjoining this one was: Dennis Culloo (father of Thomas and siblings), Patrick Kildea and Michael Halloran. We believe these Kildea and Halloran families to be connected, perhaps Culloo women who married into the Kildea and Halloran families, or another similar scenario. This belief is based on these names being present in each location in Ireland, England and the US. in the 1827 Tithe Aplotment, 1851 census or as sponsors in baptisms for each other's children, etc. over multiple generations. Suffice it to say that this group was located in the 1851 Derby, Derbyshire, England census living in the same residence. Thomas was the head, along with Mary, his wife. All others were listed as siblings or lodgers. Thomas and Mary's daughters Bridget and Mary were not among the residents living in Derby; thus, it is presumed they did not survive. Not an uncommon circumstance during the famine years, I am told. Tragic nonetheless. Listed as Thomas' siblings in the census were: Michael Culloo (1827 - 1898), Briget Culloo (1831 - 1891), and Dennis Culloo (1833 - 1907). Other Culloo's listed as lodgers were my 2x great grandmother Margaret Culloo (1834 - 1902) and Patrick Culloo (1837 - 1909). Other lodgers in the home were: Patrick Lorkhan - age 40 (we suspect this name to be mistaken for Hogan, similar to the mistaken Collice for Culloo found in this document), Margaret Halloran - age 40, Patrick Halloran - age 14, Michael Halloran - age 12, Bridget Sheehan - age 40, Peter Kildea - age 28, Michael Kildea - age 26, and Bridget Kildea - age 20. 

The next document we have for Thomas and Mary (nee Hynes) Culloo is the United States Census for 1860. Thomas and his wife Mary are living near Thomas' siblings in LaSalle, LaSalle County, Illinois. He has two more children, Anna, born in 1856, and Patrick born in 1858, nearly a decade after the first two children born in Feakle. The 1860 census states that Anna and Patrick were born in Illinois, but further documentation reveals that she and Patrick were born in Pennsylvania, where the family entered the country. Thomas' naturalization states that he was naturalized on 23 October 1856. The family appeared to migrate and emigrate to mining communities, and many, many of the extended family members were miners in LaSalle. Derby, Pennsylvania and LaSalle Illinois were all mining communities. The toll that his life took on him was heavy. By the 1870 census, at which time Thomas would have been about 50, Mary is listed as a widow at the age of 47 with her children, Anna (14) and Patrick (12) in LaSalle, LaSalle, Illinois. There is a possibility that he fought and died in the Civil War between 1861 and 1865, which would explaine why there were no more children after Patrick was born in 1858. His name and the various butcheries of it are likely the reason we hare having difficulty locating information about his death. We are still researching it, as well as Mary's death. Anna went on to marry a McInerny and had 3 children. Patrick married Catherine Price (1863 - 1950) and had 7 children. Patrick and Catherine lived with their family in Chicago, Illinois.