I'm visiting Ireland May 2013 and am hoping to find more information on my McDonnell relatives, indentify graves, and make potential connections to extended relatives in the area today. I'll be in Clare May 29 - June 1. Family letters indicate that McDonnells may be burred in "Brane," but perhaps that's the pronunciation of Burrane.
Patriarch Timothy McDonnell (4th great grandfather) (b. UNK Ireland, d. 9 Apr 1859 Moyne, Kilrush) married Catherine Healy (b. UNK Ireland, d. 16 Apr 1887 Moyne, Kilrush). I've found Timothy in Griffiths for 1826 and 1856 leasing land from a Colonel. Their children had interesting stories of immigration and follow:
1. Lawrence (b. 1823 Moyne, Kilrush, d. 15 Jan 1912 Moyne, Kilrush) married Jane UNK and had a son John Lawrence (b. UNK Moyne, Kilrush). Lawrence inherited the farm. Family letters state he was a quiet, gentle man and his wife, Jane, was ambitious. John Lawrence may not have married and this line may have ended with him.
2. Mary (b. abt 1823 Moyne, Kilrush, d. Dec 1877 Moye, Kilrush) married potential cousin Thomas Healy and had 3 boys: John, Thomas, and Lawrence (b. 13 Dec 1856 Moyne, Kilrush). Lawrence became a priest and a faithful letter writer to his American Aunt Winnifrend Boland and family. He writes much about the family and neighbors as an adult. In the 1910s-1920 he was teaching at St. Mary's College, Rathmines, Dublin; 1921-23 Rockwell College, Tipperary; and from 1923 onward at Blackrock College, Dublin.
3. James (my line) (b. 1 Nov 1830 Moyne, Kilrush, d. bef 1910 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA) married Johanna Leo (b. abt 1834 Ireland, d. bef 1900 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA). We don't have a birthplace for Johanna and all of her known children were born in Illinois, so she may have met James in Chicago or be from Kilrush and immigrated with him. Family lore says that in addiiton to being a farmer, James was also a seaman and immigrated to the U.S. with his own boat and became a sea captain on the Great Lakes. My branch lost touch with the others after James died and only became reconnected in the past five years.
4. Winnifred (b. Aug 1832 Moyne, Kilrush, d. 22 Nov 1916 Erie, Pennsylvania, USA) married Anthony Joseph Boland (b. 20 Sep 1828 Kilrush, Clare d. 26 Mar 1915 Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA) (see more on Bolands below). Winnie was not support to mary Anthony. Anthony was promised to Winnie's younger sister Eliza and Anthony was meant to establish himself in the U.S. and send for Eliza later. In the meantime, Eliza fell for another and ran away with him to Australia. The McDonnells, not wanting to disappoint Anthony, sent Winnie instead and the two were married. Anthony, too, was a seaman and also immigrated with his own boat to Buffalo, NY on Lake Erie and became a very successful shipper. My branch reconnected when I came across an old photo of Winnie in my mother's cousin's collection that was marked Aunt Winnie Boland on the back. Courtesy of Ancestry.com and the wealthy, well-documented Bolands we reconnected with the family via a family historian from this branch who had copies of all the family letters.
5. Catherine Mary (b. Aug 1836 Moyne, Kilrush, d. Australia) Never married and according to a 1916 letter from Fr. Lawrence, she was living in Ballarat, Australia where whe was listed in the 1914 and 1919 census there.
6. Eliza (b. 7 Sep 1840 Moyne, Kilrush, d. New Zealand) married an O'Hagan likely from Kilrush whom she fell for while promised to Anthony Boland and ran away with to Australia. Her sister Winnifred was sent in her stead and married Anthony. Eliza had a daughter Lily O'Hagan who Fr. Lawrence described living in Perth as a nun in 1916.
7. Margaret (b. UNK Moyne, Kilrush d. bef 1859 Moyne, Kilrush) married James F Slattery (b. Ireland, d. USA) likely of Kilrush and had two boys John and Thomas. She and James were slated to immigrate to the U.S. and after her death, James immigrated to Charleston, South Carolina and arrived in time for the Civil War (1861-1865). He sent letters to the family about his experiences and was clearly sympathetic to the southern cause. It's uncertain if the boys wound up joining him in the U.S., but in 1859 they were in the care of Lawrence and Jane McDonnell.
8. Anne (b. UNK Moyne, Kilrush, d. UNK) no information other than name
Unknown connections from letters: Michael McDonnell died 1859 in Liverpool; Patrick (Clohanes) and Peter McDonnell/Healy either brothers to Timothy McDonnell or Catherine Healy; Michael McDonnell, possible son of Timothy and Catherine McDonnell, died at the age of 85 in the 1910s it appears and had 2 boys and 2 girls, one of which named Katie who was married in Dublin with a girl named Shannon.
Mandy
bigskymj
Sunday 7th Apr 2013, 02:15PMMessage Board Replies
-
Mandy:
I did find the 1901 and 1911 census records for the Michael McDonnell mentioned in the last paragreaph of your message. It also looks like he died in 1914 at age 90. If you want a copy of his death record, you need to write to the GRO www.groireland.ie Fill out their form and provide the registration district (Kilrush) the quarter and year of the death registration and the volume and page number.
Roger McDonnell
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Clare/Kilrush/Moyne/1081812/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Clare/Kilrush_Rural/Moyne/363768/
First Name: Michael
- Last Name: McDonnell
- Year: 1914
- Age (original): 90
- Birth Year: 1824
- Registration District: Kilrush
- Registered Quarter/Year: Jul - Sep 1914
- Volume: 4
- Page: 186
- Country: Ireland
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Sunday 7th Apr 2013, 02:58PM -
Roger - Thanks for the great tip and links. I've sent off for the death cert and hopefully I can confirm if he's a brother or no of the others. I see you're a McDonnell, but from Roscommon. Any connections to Clare? Mandy
bigskymj
Sunday 7th Apr 2013, 08:18PM -
Mandy:
My grandfather came from a townland on the Mayo/Roscommon border. He emigrated to Philadelphia in 1907. I grew up in Philadelphia but now live near Baltimore MD.
Roger
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Sunday 7th Apr 2013, 10:40PM -
Roger,
I want to look for other deaths after 1864, particularly Catherine Healy McDonnell who died 16 Aug 1887. Where did you find Michael's death record and information?
Many thanks,
Mandy
bigskymj
Monday 8th Apr 2013, 05:06AM -
Mandy:
I used a subscription site www.findmypast.ie but I also checked www.familysearch.org which is a free site and the same index record was on that site. So try www.familysearch.org
Roger
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Monday 8th Apr 2013, 12:01PM -
Hi Mandy
My greatgrandfather Thomas Molohan c1823-1881 married c1849 Mary Healy c1829-1899. Mary was daughter of James Healy 1758-1859. I think it likely that Mary was a sister of Catherine who married Timothy McDonnell. I have done a considerable amount of research on the Healy family & was aware that there was a connection with the McDonnells but your article has clarified many questions for me. if you wish to email me directly at jimmolohan@gmail.com I would be glad to forward you my notes on the Healy family.
Jim Molohan
Friday 12th Apr 2013, 06:08PM -
Hello Mandy,
I believe your McDonnell's are a branch of my family on my mother's side. Every one of these names you mention in this famiy match to a McDonnell family member in my family tree; however, you do not list a Jane McDonnell who was born about 1830 in Moyne, Kilrush. She married a Michael Mahon(e)y from the Kilrush area, and both immigrated to Chicago. My great-grand-father was their youngest son, James Mahoney (b. 1866, Chicago - d. 1950, Buffalo, NY). The rumour in our family was James parents, Michael and Jane and his siblings perished in a house fire in Chicago sometime in the early 1870s. My great-grand-father was then sent to Buffalo, where he was raised by the Anthony John Boland and Winnifred McDonnell you mention, who were living in Buffalo, New York. Anthony John Boland ran a successful shipping firm on the Great Lakes. My great-grand-father James Mahoney went on to become a Postman. He married an Ellen Crotty from Smethport, Pennsylvania, who moved with her family to Buffalo as a girl. Coincedently, the Crotty's and Burke's were also from the Kilrush area of County Clare. In fact, the vast majority of the people from Buffalo, New York's largely Irish-American southside (...called South Buffalo) descend from emmigrants from Kilrush, County Clare.
I hope my introduction of Jane McDonnell matches your records. If this is not the case, then perhaps I have her first name wrong, but the records I have say her name was Jane.
Thanks,
Brian
Tuesday 5th Aug 2014, 11:41PM -
Brian,
Apologies for the delayed reply. I do have Jane in my tree and show that she married Michael Mahoney. They likely moved to Chicago given Jane's older brother, James, being settled there (my branch). It seems they had four boys: James, Thomas Laurence (b. 1868), Patrick Joseph (b. 1871), and Michael (b. 1872). I found where all of Jane's and James' siblings immigrated to or their story in Ireland on ancestry.com. My username is bigskymj. Drop me a line and I'd be happy to share.
Mandy
bigskymj
Monday 16th Mar 2015, 11:06AM -
Mandy-
I've been researching the SLattery line for a dear friend - James F Slattery is her great great grandfather and her brickwall. Your information about his wife Margaret McDonnel helps clear up some of the confusion. According to the Emigrant Savings Bank Records in New York - he arrives in NYC July 31, 1848 on the Prince ALbert from Limerick. It indicated that he was single at the time. Further records show in Nov 21 1853 he supposedly Margaret McDonald but no child. He again appears Aug 4 1857 no single but the record in March 7 1859 says he is married. I think that your records are better than this.
As for the two children - Thomas and Patrick - they did come to the US. The letter states that the boys were sent back to Ireland by their widowed father - James - during the Civil War to be raised by thgeir grandparents. James supposedly returned to Ireland around 1867 or 68 to bring the boys back to the US.
Both boys remained in the US and married with children.
Were you able to find any additional information about the McDonnell's on your trip to Ireland in 2013.
If you would like additional information regarding the Slattery connection my email is annprichards@comcast.net.
Ann
Sunday 8th Jan 2017, 06:42PM