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My great grandfather was Thomas O'Connor from Murroughkelly. He was born July 2, 1889 to Michael O'Connors and Honora Fitzpatrick. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts in April 1910. His other siblings also moved to the Boston area. Bridget in 1892, Mary in 1903, Patrick in 1911, Michael came over in 1913 with his cousin Bridget Fitzpatrick.

Their father Michael O'Connors was a herdsman and died in 1902. I havent been able to find a record of what happened to his wife Honora, or the youngest daughter Honora. They are in the 1901 census living in Murroughkelly. By 1911 some of the siblings had moved to Boston, and Patrick and Michael were living with their uncle Michael Fitzpatrick and his family in Murroughkelly. I'd really like to find out what happened to the mother and youngest daughter. I have no clues that they came to Boston with the rest of the siblings.

Honora Fitzpatrick was the daughter of herdsman Thomas Fitzpatrick. I think her mother was Bridget Donohue. When Patrick O'Connors moved to Boston in 1911, he listed his cousin A.E. O'Donoghue of Craggagh, Ballyvaughan as his next of kin. A.E O'Donogue's is a pub in Fanore, Clare, right down the road from Murrough.

Khallock

Tuesday 29th Dec 2020, 10:10PM

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  • Hi Khallock:

    I did a civil death record search for you on Irish Genealogy and I found a civil death record for a Nora O'Connor whose daughter, Mary was present at her death.  Her date of death was 16 October 1901.  https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1901/05708/4610094.pdf

    It may be a clue.  

    I don't see a death record for Honora or a marriage record.  It may be that she emigrated too.  There is a reference on Ancestry to a Honora O'Connor arriving into Boston onboard the ship New England (the same ship that her sister Mary had previously sailed on) on 17 October 1902.

    https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1909&h=83843&tid=&pid=&queryId=375b07dcb9d996fba9388f6ef7b405d1&usePUB=true&_phsrc=PJE296&_phstart=successSource

    Have you looked at the arrival records of the other siblings?  Often, they list an address where they are going, and Honora may be listed but under her married name.  The 1910 US Census for the family members who had already gone over would be good to look at too.  

    I'm sure that you're aware of the Clare Library website which has a lot of online resources.  The items for the Gleninagh civil parish is here:  http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/places/glaninagh.htm

    In addition, there are some good transcriptions done for emigration records on the site.  You can search them by civil parish or by surname.  

    I think that the fact that Patrick;s nearest Irish relative was an AJ O'Donoghue would indicate that all his siblings had left the area.  As Hanora appeared to be one of the older siblings in this family, it is possible that she went earlier than Mary.  

    If you need any further assistance, please email me at:  tulla@irelandxo.com 

    Happy New Year!

    All the best,

     

    Jane

    Jane Halloran Ryan

    Wednesday 30th Dec 2020, 12:13PM
  • Hi Jane.

     

    Thank you for your help. I had seen that death record for Nora O'Connor in Turlough, but I believe I dismissed it because it wasn't Murrough and I may have done a little research and I think saw that in the 1901 census there was another Nora O'Connor in Turlough at the time. So I think I wrote it off as a different O'Connor family. Also when her husband Michael died in 1902, he is listed as "Married" so I assumed his wife Nora was still alive at the time. But she is not the person listed as present at his death, instead it his is brother in law Michael Fitzpatrick - I'm not sure if thats a clue or not.

    I have found all of the other sibling's arrival records. And in the 1910 US Census they are all living in Somerville, Massachusetts together (minus Bridget who married Martin J Howard who was also from County Clare). Bridget went thru Pennsylvania when she moved over, and she is listed as going to stay with an aunt in Wilmington Delaware(I think it reads B Fitzpatrick, but its very hard to decipher) https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8769/images/PAT840_25-0288?pId=1266208

    I have looked thru the parish record in Gleninagh and found everything that I think I can. These last 2 people (Nora and Hanora) are throwing me for a loop though. I may just have to wait it out and see. I did visit Fanore in 2019 in the spring and went to Craggagh cemetery, but was unable to find a gravestone for Michael O'Connor. I was hoping that might be a clue. There was a Michael O'Connor that the caretaker helped to unearth for me, but the date of death was in the mid 1800's so not the person I was looking for.

    Kristen

    Khallock

    Thursday 31st Dec 2020, 12:45AM
  • Hi Kristen:

    Thanks for your update of information.  You might look at some of the graveyard transcriptions that have been done.  You can check them out on the Clare Library website and I would recommend that you look not only within the civil parish of Gleninagh, but in the surrounding parishes including Killonaghan, Drumcreehy and Rathborney.  The Clare Library has a number of graveyards done and another very good place is the IGP website.  The link for the Clare graveyards is here:  http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/clare/photos/tombstones/markers.htm  and here:  http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/clare/cem.htm

    The North Clare Historical Society may be another good source for you.  The information is here:  http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/cominfo/club_soc/historical/north_clare_historical_society.htm

     

    If you need any further help, please email me at:  tulla@irelandxo.com.  The Local Studies Centre in Ennis is also another great resource for information.  Their address is here:  localstudies@clarelibrary.ie

     

    Happy New Year.

    All the best,

     

    Jane

    Jane Halloran Ryan

    Thursday 31st Dec 2020, 11:55AM

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