Share This:

Owen McAndrew was born about 1832 and met and married Bridget Flanagan Walsh born about 1835 after her husband John Walsh died about 1840. I'm interested where in Ireland each was born?

My name is James McAndrew and Owen McAndrew and Bridget Flanagan Walsh are my Great Grandparents. They emigrated from the townland of Carrowcloghy in the parish of Crossmolina to the U.S. about 1868. My grandfather Anthony J. McAndrew was the firstborn child on 27 August 1868. He was baptized on 28 August 1868 in St Mary of Mt. Carmel Church in Dunmore Pennsylvania. The McAndrew Family appears first in the 1970 US Pennsylvania Census living in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania. The family settled in the Avoca/Duryea area by 1880.

Owen McAndrew died in Duryea, PA on 27 October 1906. On his death certificate, it lists his father as D. McAndrew, but it is scribbled so it could be an O. too. His mother is scribbled as Mary Dunnigan. He is buried in St. Mary Cemetery in Avoca, PA. His obituary published on 29 October 1906 stated he was survived by his wife and one sister Bridget Coleman. In St. Mary Death Register states she died Avoca, PA on 13 August and buried on 15 August 1910 in St Mary Cemetery. She was 80 years old and the wife of Patrick Coleman (deceased). No death certificate was located for Patrick Coleman or Bridget Coleman.

In Bridget Coleman's Obituary stated she had three daughters Ann Mullen, Mary Grady, and Bridget Leahy and one son James Coleman. The children were all born in Ireland between 1854-1863. I would like to find more about where Patrick Coleman and Bridget McAndrew were married and where their children were born.

Jim

Saturday 20th Oct 2018, 12:40AM

Message Board Replies

  • Hi James,

    There is one marriage record on www.rootsireland.ie/ of Owen McAndrew to a Bridget but her surname is Kelly; neither bride or groom's parents' names are on the record however:

    Date of Marriage:05-Nov-1854
    Parish / District:LACKEN
    County:MAYO
    Husband
    WifeName:OwenMcAndrew
    BridgetKellyAddress:Carrowcullen
    CarrowcullenDenomination:Roman Catholic
    Roman CatholicOccupation:
    Husband's Father
    Wife's FatherName:UnknownMcAndrew
    UnknownKellyAddress:

    No luck with Owen's birth / baptism 1832 + - 5 years in any county

    There are 102 records for Bridget Flanagan birth 1835 + - 5 years including 4 from Mayo; however, that would make her only 5 years old when John Walsh died in 1840. Should it be 1815 or 1825?

    I couldn't find a John Walsh - Bridget Flanagan marriage until 1878 in Offaly

    Col

    ColCaff, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Saturday 20th Oct 2018, 04:01AM
  • Jim:

    More than likely, your people were born in Co. Mayo. Finding good records in Mayo in the first part of the 19th century can be difficult becuase many churches no longer have records.

    Did they stay in Ireland or emigrate? Can you find any death records for Owen or Bridget that might show parents names? Have you considered DNA testing?

    Roger McDonnell

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Saturday 20th Oct 2018, 02:40PM
  • My great-great-grandmother, Bridget McAndrew, was born around 1800 in the townland of Coolcastle/Coolcashla, in the parish of Killasser,which is in eastern County Mayo.  I also have Walsh and Flanigan second and third cousins from nearby parishes, so I agree with Roger that Mayo is likely where your ancestors came from.  I located my Walsh and Flanigan cousins using DNA results, so you might consider that.  I've also located several McAndrew DNA matches, but we haven't been able to establish the exact connection, because (as was noted already) the records do not go back far enough in many places.

    In Irish, the surname McAndrew is Mac Aindriu.  According to MacLysaght’s Surnames of Ireland, the McAndrew surname was adopted by a branch of the Barrett family in Mayo.  The Barrett’s were an Anglo-Norman family which became completely Hibernicized, and their surname became Bairéid in Mayo and Baróid further south in Munster.

    The Walsh surname comes from the Irish word Breat[h]nach, meaning Welshman (sometimes also Angicized as Brannagh and similar names).  It is found in several parts of Ireland, presumably based on Welsh immigrants having settled there, and is quite common in Mayo.

    The Flanigan/Flanagan surname is Ó Flannagáin in Irish, meaning "descendant of the ruddy [colored] person" (most Gaelic surnames are based on the name, nickname, or characteristics of an ancestor, real or legendary).  It's also found in several places in Ireland, but the largest "clan" is in Mayo.

    kevin45sfl

    Saturday 20th Oct 2018, 08:22PM

Post Reply