McDonnells of Kildorrery

Hi Elaine:

Thank you for your post.  I have forwarded this message to our Kildorrery volunteers who should be able to assist you. I have Fall River connections myself, but not from Kildorrery (as far as I know).  

Please give Brenda a week or so to reply.  

Many thanks for your interest in IrelandXO.

Kind regards,

Jane

Jane, Thank you for the help in referring me to Brenda.  What's you Fall River connection, 'cause I have more too!

Elaine  (emassena@hotmail.com)

Hi Elaine:

My Fall River connection is through my mother's side-- the McDonough family.  There were also McQuillans, Hayes, McCarthys and Mooneys.  Lots of relatives from that area.  

All the best,

Jane

Fall River had a large Irish population, and I've done quite a bit of research there.  None of your names are familiar families there, but I have some city directories if you would like me to do any look-ups.  I'm now certain that the Edmond McDonnell who is the subject of my query, married in Newport RI as Edward McDonnell and then became Edward McDonald in Fall River.  His wife was also from Cork, although I don't know where yet, Julia Blake.

Please let me know if I can help you with Fall River.

Best wishes,

Elaine

Thanks for your very kind offer, Elaine.  I have done the research for Fall River so I'm okay for the moment.  My great-grandfather was a Judge in Fall River in the early 1900s.  The McDonough School was named in his honour (he died at a young age from pneumonia leaving a widow with 4 children).  That School is supposed to be made into condominium units the last time that I visited (in 2019), but I don't think that anything has been done at the moment.

Fall River has a very large Irish population and Newport was another area where many of the Irish lived/worked.  The weaving industry was a big employer.  My mother's grandfather on the Mooney side came over and they worked as weavers. 

Please let us know if you have any other questions and many thanks for sharing information with Ireland Reaching Out.  Please feel free to add an Ancestor profile at the link here:  https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy  

All the best,

Jane

Jane, What a coincidence...today I was searching Fall River newspapers and clipped one article of interest for another of my surnames...I noticed mention of a John J McDonough and thought of you, wondering if he was one of "yours"....So I'm attaching the beginning of the lengthy article and the snippet mentioning McDonough which I clipped for the date of the paper!  Also here's the link in case you can enlarge it enough to read it all:

https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10704-423215/the-evening-sta…

Do you think it was common practice to have a name change such as McDonnell to McDonald?  I could understand it happening just as a mistake, but I seem to have proven that not only did Ed Mcdonnell become McDonald, but so did his "cousin" (don't know how yet)  Daniel who was also from Kildorrery and who emmigrated with his wife, Johanna Roach, and 6 children; McDonnell on the passenger list in 1853, McDonald on Fall River census in 1855.

Haven't heard from Brenda as yet, but hoping that she can help with the Kildorrery connection.  Thanks again for your help.

Best wishes,

Elaine

Dear Elaine:

Thank you so much for the articles.  I have a MyHeritage subscription, but I don't often get a chance to go through the newspaper archives so this is a real treat!

As to your comment re name change of McDonnell to McDonald, it is possible that this is what was done.  I do know that surnames can change from census records, etc.  Often the surname was taken down phonetically, and then if multiple spellings were used, it caused confusion.  I would advise you to check all variations when you're searching.  

I will send Brenda a reminder today.  

All the best,

Jane

Hi Elaine

Greetings from Kildorrery. Sorry for the delay in answering your query. Unfortunately the birth records for Kildorrery only began in 1824 so we would have no way of finding out who Edmonds parents were unless we can find out anything locally.  I will do some further research and get back to you as soon as I can.

Best wishes

Brenda

Hi Elaine

I'm afraid we cannot find anything further back than 1824. We do have connections to your family in Kildorrery from research we had done already. (Attached)

Best of luck

Brenda

Hi Brenda, Thank you so much for the information that you sent!  It is great to think that descendants of "my" Edward may still be in Co Cork.  What particularly struck me about the info was the fact that it was about McDONALDs, not McDonnells as I found them on RootsIreland.com.  Was the information that you sent to me submitted by a researcher or developed from your local records? 

My Edward was married in Newport, Rhode Island as McDonnell, witnessed by a Daniel McDonnell who I believe was also from Kildorrery.  Until I was able to see the original Irish records, I assumed that the marriage record was simply written down phonetically, because all US records going forward were McDonald.  However, having found the original baptism and marriage records all as McDonnell, I still wanted to be sure that these were not differnt people entirely.  I became convinced that they were the same ones when I found Daniel and his wife Johanna Roach traveling to the US in 1853 with a very recognizable group of 6 children who then show up in a US census 2 years later (ages off a little) as McDonald.  My Edward and Daniel were not brothers as US records and family information show Daniel's parents to be Daniel and Elizabeth.  Might you have anything in the Kildorrery files about other children of Daniel and Elizabeth McDonnell?

Thank you so much for your interest in this.  One other favor.  My Edward married "Julia Blake from Co Cork".  Supposedly her father was Daniel, but I could not find many Blakes at all in Cork records.  Just in case they knew each other before they left Ireland, could you check your local files for Julia.  Please, no rush...I appreciate anything you can find!

Elaine

Hi Brenda, I'm back on the McDonnell/MacDonald case again sparked by having been linked through DNA to a descendant of the  John (on the sheet that you sent)  who married Bridget Barry in 1862.  Their daughter, Kate, b. 1869, came to the US and is the grandmother of my new DNA cousin.  Meantime, I had found the marriage for that John and Bridget and one of the witnesses was a Maurice MDonnell.  My immigrant was Edmond McDonnell, b.25 Oct 1830 at Balinoe, (parents Edmond and Ellen Fitzgerald),  and in RootsIreland records I have found siblings born Balinoe: James, 1824, Ellen, 1828 and Maurice, 1833,( b. at Steamhill).  That Maurice immigrated in 1863, I know where he went and he is the only sibling for Edmond for whom I have any knowledge.

From documents in the US, it appears that John, (who m. Bridget Barry) is another brother to my Edmond (aka Edward).  However, I have not found any evidence on RootsIreland.  I see that someone has posted Kate MacDonald on Chronicles, but I can't find who made the post...I must be missing something, I apologize.

Would you have access to any other sources to locate the birth of John who married Bridget Barry? Or other children born to Edmond and Ellen Fitzgerald?  

Thanks again, Brenda.  Hope you are staying safe and healthy!

Elaine Cantwell Massena 

There is a possibility that your McDonnells and mine are very distant relatives! Did Edmond who married Ellen stay in Fall River or did they return to Ireland later?? There is a grave in Templeroan Cemetery outside Kildorrery beside our family graves, with the inscription Edmond McDonnell died 1851 erected by his wife Ellen Fitzgerald from Balino.

While we have no evidence I believe that he was a "MARTIN" McDonnell, the family nickname, to distinguish this family from other McDonnells in the area. We know ot THE BAWNS, THE HORSES and THE STRIPS OF LAND!! all separate families. There is a possibility that his Father was a Thomas McDonnell. Are you aware of any nicknames used??

Regards

Joe McDonnell

namurthehill@eircom.net

Hi Joe,

I have never heard of the nickname tradition, although makes sense to distinguish the various families.  HOWEVER, I think that you have identified the burial place for my gr gr grandfather!

  The Edmond ("Edward McDonald") who came to Fall River was the one born in 1830.  From  RootsIreland I've found the marriage of his parents Edmond McDonnel and Ellen Fitzgerald in Feb 1824, Ellen;s address listed as Ballinoe.  Their other children in RootsIreland records are James, b. Dec 1824; Ellen, b. 1828 and Maurice, b. 1833.  Maurice came to the US a decade after his brother, but as far as I know the rest of the family did not, including the parents. Perhaps there were other siblings that I did not discover in transcribed records. 

As far as Thomas, it is not a name in either Edm. or Maurice's families.  Naming practices in mind, I also can't guess why Edm and Ellen named their first born in 1824 James....

So is your family a "Martin" family?  How far back have you been able to trace? Do you have an idea where our lines might connect?  Would "Martin" refer to use of that as a first name?  There are quite a few Martin McDonalds in Rhode Island where my branch first settled.

Thanks so much for your message; look forward to hearing more!

Elaine