Greetings!
I recently got the results of my Ancestry.com DNA test and discovered that I am related to a Thomas Holden, who owned a great deal of property in White Plains, NY during the latter half of the 1800's and early 1900's. I believe my connection to him is via my GGgrandfather, Patrick Holden.
Patrick was born around 1850 and arrived in the US/New York around 1872. There were quite a few other Patrick Holdens that did the same at around the same time, so it has been difficult to ascertain exactly which one is the correct one; the port that he left from doesn't necessarily indicate the Parish he came from! But, considering that my DNA test does connect me to Thomas, and I've made a number of connection to other Holden family members in the US and England, I feel fairly confident that my ancestor Patrick was indeed from Callan.
Patrick was a carpenter for most of his working life, and considering that Thomas had a lot of property and buildings, it makes sense that Patrick also worked for Thomas (my Elizabeth J Lynch Holden, Elizabeth T Holden Godsil, Grgrand Uncle Joseph, and both my Grand Aunt and Grandmother, all lived in the same house, owned by Thomas, after 1915 and for many years after.).
Thomas erected a monument in honor of his mother in Callan, however, I have yet to find the real connection to Thomas. Brother? Cousin? Nephew and Uncle?
My GGgf married Elizabeth J (Lynch) Holden around 1875. They had 10 children all together, however four died in infancy/early childhood, and a fifth died as a young teenager. The known (documented by US Census) children were:
Edward -b 1877, died by 1885
Elizabeth T (Holden) Godsill, b 1880
James E Holden b 1882
Joseph Cyril Holden b 1884
Frank Holden b 1887(died as a teen, by 1915)
Edward, b 1890
Loretta (Holden) Tenney, b 1893 (-whose husband hailed from Saxtons River, VT, the town next to where I lived when I was married and having my own kids!)
Elizabeth T Godsill was my Ggrandmother, who married a James Godsill (still searching for anyone related to him as well!) and gave birth to my grandmother, Geraldine Elizabeth (Godsill) Pruett and my grand Aunt, Ilene Patricia (Godsill) Armstrong.
I would very much appreciate any help in finding more of Patrick's ancestors and their descendents, and especially any evidence of the relation to Thomas! My deepest thanks!
Skyler Wind
Eugene, OR
skymama65
Saturday 16th Jul 2016, 04:52AMMessage Board Replies
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Skyler:
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
The only Patrick Holden baptism around 1849 in the Callan RC records is the 1849 record below. I did a further search for other Holden baptismal records in Callan where the father was Patrick and the mother was Bridget and found an 1842 record for a Thomas which is also below. The mother's maiden name was shown as Dollant where the Patrick record showed Donnell. It could be te same person. I would suggest that you look at the register http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0973
Roger McDonnell
Name:Patrick HoldenDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:17-Mar-1849Address:Mill LaneParish/District:CALLANGender:MaleCountyCo. Kilkenny
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Patrick HoldenMother:Bridget DonnellOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:James HoldenSponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Mary HickeyName:Thomas HoldenDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:10-Oct-1842Address:Not RecordedParish/District:CALLANGender:MaleCountyCo. Kilkenny
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Patrick HoldenMother:Bridget DollantOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Ally ManganCastlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Wednesday 20th Jul 2016, 05:58PM -
Hello Roger!
Thank you so very much for doing all that digging! It looks like you may have found the right link! I will go on searching, just to be sure, for a few years ahead, and back, too (unless you did that already?), just in case there is another. But for now, it's possible Thomas and Patrick were brothers ... I wonder about the last name, too, however.
Is "Dollant" a known Irish name?
How likely is it that there would be 2 Patricks married to 2 different Bridgets, in the same Parish and County?
Is irelandxo connected to any DNA database, whereby I could upload my DNA file for comparisons and connections?
Thank you again for all your help! It feels so good to feel like I'm finally getting to my actual roots...
peace
sky
skymama65
Thursday 21st Jul 2016, 05:04AM -
Sky:
Our system wen down Friday afternoon and just came back up this morning.
Dollant was not a surname found in Ireland in the mid-19th century. Did you have a chance to look at the parish register?
Not very likely that two Patrick Holdens would be married to a Bridget in the same parish particularly if the surname was no a common surname in the parish.
Ireland XO is not connected to any DNA data base. I have tested with Family Tree DNA and Ancestry. You may want to look into Gedmatch www.gedmatch.com which is a volunteer run site which allows you to upload your raw DNA data and see if you match with someone who tested with another company (and also uploaded their data to Gedmatch).
Roger
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
Monday 25th Jul 2016, 04:20PM -
Hi Roger!
Yes, I've uploaded my DNA to GEDmatch.com. Unfortunately, I just can't figure out how to read the information! There is so much to understand -a whole DNA based vocabulary I do not yet understand- and no way (that I can find, anyway) to simply input a surname and do a search for matches. If you have any info that would help me do that kind of search there, I'd be grateful!
peace
Sky
skymama65
Wednesday 27th Jul 2016, 03:57AM -
Hello! I did find a family descendant from Thomas Holden, the older brother to my GGgf Patrick! He lives in England but had been visiting in Callan since mid Aug. I hope to be hearing back from him sometime soon to hear all about his latest discoveries.
The name Bridget Dollant was indeed likely the same as Bridget Donnell, just misspelled in the baptismal records. Bridget married the the elder Patrick Holden, father of the boys Thomas and Patrick, who sailed of to New York.
Now i just need to confirm the ship, and then try to find out why they left, as well as who else was left behind. I intend to write their story, and transcribe it into a novel.
So, if there are any Holdens related to this grandfather and grand uncle, please get in touch! Let us share a journey and a story!
skymama65
Thursday 22nd Sep 2016, 11:54PM