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My 2X great grandfather, Martin Kirwan, was born about 1821 but various sources provide a calculated birth year ranging from 1819-1826.  Martin Kirwan and Mary Cloak were married 18 August, 1848 in the Catholic parish of Wexford, diocese of Ferns, County Wexford. A son, Francis, was baptized 22 August 1848 in Wexford but likely died a short while later. A second son, also named Francis, was born and baptized in Wexford 8 June 1850. A third son, Patrick, my great grandfather, was born in Wexford 21 December 1853 and baptized the following day, 22 December 1853. Sometime between the years 1854 and 1856, the family immigrated to Canada, eventually settling in Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario. Martin and Mary had the following children who were all born in Canada West/Ontario: Martin (1856), John (1854 or 1857), James (1858), Joseph (1860), Peter (1862), and Mary (1865). Martin was a gardener his entire life and died 19 July 1885 in Sarnia. He is interred in Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Cemetery in Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario.

In numerous Kerwin family trees, the maiden name of Martin’s wife only appears as Mary Hogan. Martin's wife, Mary, however, was likely born Cloak, the daughter of Patrick Cloke and Mary Power. Patrick Cloke and Mary Power were married in Wexford 7 April 1823; daughter Mary was baptized 7 July 1824 in Wexford. From my research, it would appear that Mary Cloak Power remarried 24 July 1830 to William Hogan in Wexford. This second marriage to William Hogan in 1830 is, I believe, the Hogan connection which was to become part of my Kerwin family tree: Mary Cloak became William Hogan’s step daughter and thus, to her descendants in Canada, came to be known as Mary Hogan. Mary died in London, Middlesex, Ontario 13 January 1904 and is buried in Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Sarnia, Ontario.

I have, to date, not confirmed Martin Kirwan's birth year nor the names of his parents or siblings. I know that there are Kirwans still living in the Wexford area and, as Kirwan/Kerwin is not a common family name in Wexford, I suspect that these could likely be distant family members. The earliest date I have for the Cloak/Power/Hogan is the marriage record from 1823.

I would be thrilled to collaborate with anyone who might have information relating to the Kirwan, Cloak, Power, and Hogan families. It may be of interest to note that my grandfather, Patrick Kerwin (1889-1963), the eldest son of Patrick (1853-1898) went on to become the 10th Chief Justice of Canada.

All Irish records mentioned above can be found in the National Library of Ireland, Roman Catholic parish records for Wexford, Ferns.

Thank you for any assistance that you might be able to provide.

Sincerely,

Michael Kerwin, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Michael Kerwin

Tuesday 4th Sep 2018, 12:05AM

Message Board Replies

  • Dear Michael:  Thank you for your post and your very comprehensive research on your Kerwin family.  Would you consider creating an Ancestor profile for any of the above ancestors?  You can do so through our XO Chronicles.  

    The link is here:   https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/ancestor-database

    If you have any further questions, please let me know.  

    Kind regards,  

    Jane

    Jane Halloran Ryan

    Wednesday 5th Sep 2018, 11:07AM
  • Hello Michael,

    My name is Theresa Goodwin and I also live in Toronto. My 5th great grandmother is Allice 'Alley' Kirwan, b abt 1746, who married James Saunders, b abt 1745. They had six children baptized in the Ferns parish. Catherine 1767, William 1769, Andrew 1769, John 1772, Margaret 1775, and Ann 1778.

    I have been hoping to futher this branch of my tree for some time now and your request for information is the closest I have come to learning more.

    Perhaps we can collaborate. I have been matched through DNA to a Kirwan and will have to go through my notes to find that connection in the hope that it leads somewhere.

     

    Warm regards,

    Theresa Goodwin McVean

     

    TheresaGoodwin

    Saturday 10th Nov 2018, 01:08PM
  • Good morning Theresa,

    Thank you for your email! This is definitely good news; as the surname Kirwan is not a common one in Wexford, I suspect that there is likely a common ancestor somewhere along the line and I would be more than happy to collaborate.

    I do not have any further information about the Kirwans in Wexford other than what I have alreay posted. I have, however, done a DNA test with Family Tree DNA (the Family Finder autosomal test). I have uploaded my DNA data onto My Heritage and have also done a GEDmatch (kit # T970490). It would be very interesting to compare my data with yours!

    I'm also wondering how we might relate your dates from 1745-1778 to my dates for Martin (1815-1825).

    Looking forward to hearing from you!

    Warm regards,

    Michael

    P.S. With all of my digital scans and photos, I have to updrade my computer processor this week and so will not have access to my computer -- most likely from Monday to Thursday morning hence a possible delay in responding to you.

     

     

     

     

     

    Michael Kerwin

    Sunday 11th Nov 2018, 02:46PM
  • Dear Theresa and Michael:  It is great news to hear that you may well be connected to one another.  If you would rather keep your email addresses private as this is a public forum, please email me at:  jhalloranryan@irelandxo.com and I can share email addresses for you.

     

    Kind regards,

     

    Jane

    Jane Halloran Ryan

    Monday 12th Nov 2018, 09:42AM

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