Driscoll/O'Driscoll Search 1800-1835

Diane:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

The baptismal records for the RC parish of Castlehaven  http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0027  start in 1842 so baptismal records for the three brothers would not be available. The townlands for their farms are in Tullagh civil parish to the southwest of Castlehaven. Not sure when they married but I can see likely records for Mick and William in the 1852 Griffiths Valuation head of household listings for Tullagh civil parish.  http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/cork/tullagh.htm  The spelling for Andy's townland would be Knockeencon. Their RC parish would be Rath and the Islands http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0089

Not sure if the link below will work but you can go to www.irishgenealogy.ie and search for baptismal records. I found at least nine thay were children of either Andrew or William. By the way, William married Catherine Walsh.

Let me know if you have questions.

Roger McDonnell

https://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/search.jsp?name2f…

Roger ~

Thank you for your reply. I pulled up the Griffiths Valuation of Ireland but have no idea what it is. I see several names that I believe may be my ancestors. Can you fill me in on what this report is and how I can use it? Any help is much appreciated!

Diane, California USA

Diane:

You can find more background on the Internet. I pulled the blurb below from the National Library of Ireland site. Basically it was comprehensive survey of land conducted over a seventeen year period. Only heads of household were listed but there are detailed maps showing the size of the holdings and location within a townland. The Ask About Ireland link below will take you to a searchable data base. There are also maps on that site.

Roger

Griffith's Valuation

The primary valuation of Ireland or Griffith's Valuation - carried out between 1848 and 1864 to determine liability to pay the Poor rate (for the support of the poor and destitute within each Poor Law Union) - provides detailed information on where people lived in mid-nineteenth century Ireland and the property they possessed.  Griffith's Valuation is fully searchable online, free of charge on the Ask About Ireland website.

Thank you so much, Roger! I appreciate your help with this. Having never lived in Ireland, I'm on a learning-curve here. ^_^

Diane

Julia 1833 was my Grand Aunt. Her Home was in Derryleigh which at that time was in the parish of Castlehaven Her Parents were John Walsh and Mary Hurley.She had sisters Margaret 1836 who married Jermiah O Sullivan and lived in Castlehaven ,Mary 1832 who married John Collins Threegneeves Leap Ellen (Helena) 1947 who married Jermiah McCarthy Minanes Drinagh.She Had brothers Patrick 1841 my grandfather who married Mary Long and lived in Derryleigh and John 1845 who lived in Derryleigh.If you look at Catherine Walsh and William O Driscoll's family (Knockanoulty) in the church records it looks as if Julia's sisters and  brother stood for them at their baptisms.Does anyone know for sure if Julia and Catherine Walsh were sisters?Diane where did you get the information about the three brothers leaving Castlehaven and marrying the Walsh girls ?

Thanks so much for the info, Tony! You & I and Barbara Walsh have been in contact previously by email (much to my appreciation!).

I was adopted & just found my Driscoll family last summer through DNA testing (Ancestry.com). I was presented with a beautiful "Driscoll Family Book" by my half-sisters, Denise Driscoll & Maureen Driscoll.

The book tells me that "Andrew 'Big Andy' O'Driscoll was born about 1827 in Castlehaven, Co Cork, Ireland and died about 1890 in Knockeencun, Baltimore, Co Cork. He married Julia Walshe about 1850 in Skibbereen, Co Cork. Julia as born about 1832 in Derryleigh, Skibbereen, Co Cork and died about 1890 in Knockeencun, Baltimore, Co Cork about age 57."

"Michael 'Mick' O'Driscoll was born about 1828 in Castlehaven, Co Cork and died about 1890 in Ballinard, Baltimore, Co Cork about age 62. He married Liza Cutbert about 1850 in Skibbereen, Co Cork. Liza was born about 1825 in Derryleigh, Skibbereen, Co Cork and died about 1890 in Ballinard, Baltimore, Co Cork about age 65."

"William 'Billy' O'Driscoll was born about 1829 in Castlehaven, Co Cork and died about 1890 in Knockanoulty, Baltimore, Co Cort about the age of 61. He married Miss Walsh about 1850 in Skibbereen, Co Cork. She was born about 1825 in Derryleigh, Skibbereen, Co Cork and died about 1890 in Derryleigh, Skibbereen, Co Cork about the age of 65."

Here's what the family book's author says: "I especially want to recognize Bill O'Connell (1921-2006) who was born in Baltimore and was a great friend. He had a wonderful memory and years ago was able to tell us about the three O'Driscoll brothers from Castlehaven who bought farms next to each other - Andrew's was Knockeencun, Michael's was Ballinard and William's was Knockanoulty. The information in the chapters about Andrew and Michael's descendants mostly came from him. They generally have not been updated for this book except for a few Bay Area (California) families that we know quite well."

Tony, I believe in your email to me awhile back you may have mentioned that you thought Julia & Catherine might be sisters. Any further info on that possibility?

Thanks again!

Diane 

Diane
At the baptisms of William and Catherine's children in the church records Jula's sisters and brother were some of the sponsors
I intend to make a few enquiries around Baltimore to get to the root of it
Tony

Thanks so much, Tony, for inquiring around!

Currently, I have added Julia's family into my Ancestry tree, along with Catherine as William's wife. I'm trying to build out the tree as best I can and would really appreciate being able to confirm (or deny) that Julia & Catherine were sisters. If they are, we are on the right track & the tree is going in the right direction. ^_^

Diane 

Hello ~

I wanted to update my post as I have found additional information regarding the three Driscoll brothers from Knockanoulty.

It seems that William "Billy" who is my great-great-grandfather was possibly born earlier than originally thought in my previous post. It's possible that he was born about 1811 and was the first child of Denis Driscoll (abt 1787) & Mary Hegarty (abt 1787). Their other children were the following and all were born in Knockeencun. 

Cornelius (1814-1887)

Michael "Mick" (1816-1900) 

Denis (1819-?)

Mary (1821-?)

Eliza or Elizabeth (1824-?) 

Andrew "Big Andy" (1826-1906)  

William "Billy" married Catherine Walsh (possibly born 1817 in Derryleigh & died 14 Apr 1899 in Knockanoulty, Skibbereen.

I have found Parish baptisms for all children listed except for William "Billy". However, according to Griffiths Valuation it there was a William Driscoll working land that was handed down from a Denis Driscoll. If anyone has any further information on these people, please let me know. Thanks so much!

Diane (California)

Diane:

I found the same records and since the Skibbereen baptismal records start in March 1814, as you concluded, William was likely born before the start of records  http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0096

Roger

Roger ~

Someone else mentioned the same thing to me. ^_^  Thanks for your input. 

This is helpful to me - one of me father's uncles belongs to this family: Michael John Driscoll (1888-1970). He emigrated in 1907, arriving in Philadelphia with the declared intention of going to a cousin in California. The cousin is Ellen Minihan O'Connell (1878-1952), whose parents are Patrick Minihan and Margaret Driscoll (m 1860).

Hello & thank you for posting. I have Michael John Driscoll (1888-1970) in my Ancestry tree.

Patrick Minihan and Margaret Driscoll were my Great-Great Grandparents on my paternal side. Their daughter, Johanna Minihane was my Great-Grandmother. She was married to Andrew W. Driscoll (1855-1940). Their son was William J. (Bill) Driscoll (1887-1950). He was my paternal Grandfather. He was married to Mary Ellen Ryan. My records indicate that my Grandfather Driscoll's immigration info is as follows:

14 May 1911 • New York City, New York, New York, United States

Arrived on ship "Mauretania" from Queenstown. 24 years old. Passenger List states William was going to join his "brother Michael O'Driscoll in San Francisco".

Have you tested your DNA? Are you listed on Ancestry.com? I'd love to connect and learn more. Are you interested?

Cousin Diane

He's not an ancestor of anyone, so DNA isn't going to help. I like to do at least two generations of ancestors even for in-laws (like Mike), especially when they don't have descendants, so they're not lost.

With the civil registrations now available, I'd gotten the birth dates, and the grandparents' names, but not much more.

Stephen Driscoll also emigrated to San Francisco. He arrived 25 Feb 1921 in New York. Married (1) Mary E (May) Cottrell, born about 1905 in Ireland, died 1939 in Sausalito, CA; married (2) Margaret T Crowell, born 1 Apr 1899 in Ireland, died 1989 in Contra Costa county, CA.

Mike married (1) Lillian Belle (Fadden) Raymond, born 1883 in Detroit, MI, divorced before 1926, died 1947 in Stanislaus county, CA. Her third husband was James Francis Egan, married about 1929. Mike married (2) about 1926 Susanna (Sue) Poynter Evans, b 1880 in Fleming county, KY, d 1976 in Long Beach, CA. They're both buried in All Souls cemetery in Long Beach. (Sue is my grandfather's youngest sister.)

P J Evans

Hello PJ ~

Thank you for the information. I did not have the name of Lillian Belle Fadden Raymond. I also did not have the place where Sue Poynter Evans was born, nor her "Poynter" name. 

I was able to find immigration information on Michael John Driscoll on Ancestry and added that to my tree. He immigrated from Queenstown, Ireland on the ship Marion and arrived Philadelphia, PA on 23 Apr 1906. He must've immediately gone to CA because his Application for Naturalization states he had resided in CA since 1 May 1906. His Petition for Naturalization was signed on 19 Sept 1912 while he was married to Lillian. She had a daughter (he listed her as his stepdaughter on the Petition) named Dorothy Raymond Driscoll (DOB 15 Jan 1904) in St. Paul, MN.

I also have information on Michael that he was the Manager of the Long Beach Municipal Farmer's Market. His death was from cancer.

Michael's parents were Andrew Driscoll (abt 1886) & Johnna Minihane (abt 1861). Do you have parents listed for Andrew Driscoll?

Diane 

When I found the marriage record for Andrew and Johanna, it gave their fathers as William Driscoll (deceased) and Patrick Minihane. I got a lot from your posts, too.

(Sue's maiden name is Evans; Poynter was her mother's maiden name.)

Also: I found the baptismal record for Andrew, in May 1855, in Rath, which names his parents. (That's in the church records.) I think I've got it attached: driscoll-andrew-1855.pdf

PJ ~

Thank you for sending along the baptismal record. I actually have that one which I found on irishgenealogy. I'm glad some of my info was able to help you, as your info has also helped me. 

Going back further on Wm. "Billy" Driscoll, I am showing his father as Denis Driscoll (abt 1787-abt 1826)  I have matched DNA with others in his line) and his mother as Mary Hegarty (abt 1794-abt 1826), also with DNA matches with others in her line, which makes me fairly confident that I have these parents correctly identified.

For Patrick Minihane, I'm guessing at Cornelius Minihane (abt 1802) who was married to Margaret Donnell (abt 1803).

Do you have parent information on your end for Wm. "Billy" Driscoll and Patrick Minihane?

I haven't found anything on them, but I haven't spent a lot of time looking. It would be in the church records, I think.

Thanks, I'll check those out.

There are at least five Pat Minihanes born in the area between 1830 and 1845. The church marriage record doesn't give parents, and there doesn't seem to be a civil record.

Thanks for looking & sharing these! That seems to be the biggest problem with finding Irish relations; there are so many common names! ^_^

Diane

Not just Irish - I was looking in 17th century Rhode isaland for John adn Mary Greene, and there were four just in one county.

Oy Vey! This genealogy stuff can be tough! ^_^

ROFLMAO!

(I have an extended tree - out to second cousins, sometimes farther, including in-laws and their lines, and ... the lines intersect in several places. Sometimes it gets positively baroque.)

P J Evans

I totally hear you! ^_^

Diane

Hello! I have been at a very solid brick wall now for some time and I am hoping that one of you may be able to lead me in the right direction. My Great great great grandfather was Jeremiah Ford, born in County Cork, most likely somewhere near Schull. He left Ireland during the potato famine and came to America, and settling in Toledo, Ohio. On his death certificate he lists his parents as John Ford and Mary Driscoll. I have searched more times than I can count, and cannot find any parents matching that surname combination in the right time frame. Jerry was born in abt 1822. I did find a likely set of parents listed only as John and Margaret Ford in County Cork on Feb 12,1822. It doesn't tell which parish. Could my Mary Driscoll be somehow related to your O'Driscoll/Driscolls? She had three sons that I am aware of (DNA verified) my Jeremiah, William, and Cornelius. All born in County Cork, Ireland. Since you've mentioned a Driscoll book, would anyone possibly be willing to do a look up for me please? I would very much appreciate any insight into who my Mary was and where she came from. Many thanks! Jacki

Hi ~

I will be happy to send you an invite to view my Ancestry tree if you'll send me your email address. Our Driscoll book goes back to my William "Billy" O'Driscoll" (1829-Cork) but the other names you mentioned do not go back that far in time. :(

Diane