Owen (b. 1827) and Honora (McGinty) McManamon (b. 1827) were my great great great grandparents and they immigrated to Pennsylvania, USA from Ballycroy, County Mayo in the early 1860's. Below is a court affidavit from after Owen died on the 24th of November 1893 regarding his military pension from the US Civil War. Supposedly they were married in 1853/54 by a Father Pat Reilly at Claggan, Ballycroy, Mayo. To my knowledge, there aren't any surviving church records from this time period.
I checked the Griffith's Valuation for Claggan and found 3 McManamon's -- James, Peter, and Cornelius -- and 2 McGinty's -- John and Michael -- but no census info of the families. There are lots of people with the first name Owen in Claggan too so it feels like the right spot versus Drumgollagh which is just north and has a Henry McManamon but no McGinty's.
Any documentation linking Owen or Honora to Claggan, Ballycroy would be much appreciated. Especially interested in their parents' names and whether they had any sibilings?
Or info about the priest Pat Reilly or witnesses -- Anthony Caffrey (b 1835) or Anthony McGinty (b. 1840) might help me narrow down my search.
I visited Ballycroy last year during a trip to Ireland and simply loved it! It would be fantastic to reconnect with any living Irish relatives in Mayo during my next visit to Ireland. I know a lot of McGinty's and McManamon's still live in and around Ballycroy.
Cheers,
Tyler Rowland
http://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/court/mcmanam.htm
GENERAL AFFIDAVIT
State of Pennsylvania
County of Luzerne, SS:
IN THE MATTER OF claim for pension of Honora McManamin, widow of Owen McManamin, ? of Co. K 137 Pa Vol Infantry .
ON THIS 17th day of February, A.D. 1894, personally appeared before me, a Justice of the Peace in and for the aforesaid County, duly authorized to administer oaths, Anthony Caffrey aged 59 years, a resident of Sugar Notch in the County of Luzerne and state of Pa. whose Post Office address is the same and Anthony McGinty aged 54 years, a resident of Sugar Notch in the County of Luzerne and State of Pa. whose Post Office address is the same, well known to me to be reputable and entitled to credit, and who being duly sworn, declare in relation to the aforesaid case as follows:
That they were both born and raised in Ballycroy, County Mayo, Ireland and that they knew Owen McManamin and his present widow, who was Honora McGinty, before they were of marriageable age, although they were both older than affidavits and they lived near neighbors; that neither Honora McGinty nor Owen McManamin were married before they were married to each other and the claimant has not remarried since the death of Owen McManamin; that they were not present in the church at the time of the marriage, but were in the same village and know from common report that Owen McManamin and Honora McGinty were married at Ballycroy, County Mayo, Ireland before Lent about forty years ago, in 1853 or 1854, and the Priest who married them was father Pat Reilly; that they both knew of the marriage at the time and that the claimant and said Owen McManamin lived together as man and wife from the time of their marriage to the death of the soldier; that Owen McManamin was killed Nov 24, 1893 and they both saw him the same day he was killed and affidavit McGinty helped carry him home, he was run over by a passenger train and killed; that they both live there for years lived near neighbors to claimant and soldier, the claimant is old and feeble and is unable to work and is dependent upon charity for support; that this testimony was written in their presence and only from their oral statements, made to JP Pollock at Sugar Notch, Pa, Feb 17/94 and that in making the same they did not use and were not aided or prompted by any written or printed statement or recital prepared or dictated by any other person, affidavits further declare that they have no interest in said case and are not concerned in its prosecution.
John J. Brislin Anthony Caffrey
Edward Brislin Anthony McGinty
Wednesday 12th Jun 2019, 04:06AM
Message Board Replies
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Tyler:
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!
You are correct about RC records for Ballycroy parish. Records do not begin until 1885.
I checked the 1834 Tithe records for Claggan but did see any McManamon records.
What was the given name of the oldest son of Owen and Honora? Possibly he was named after his paternal grandfather and might match one of the Griffiths names
Roger McDonnell
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
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Dear Roger,
I also had looked into the 1834 Tithe records for Claggan and didn't see any McManamon's but thanks for confirming all this.
The paternal name suggestion is a good one. So my great-grandma was the youngest Anna Josephine McManamon Rowland but it seems like she had two older brothers -- Phelix (which I think is related to Felix and sometimes Phelim / Philip?) and John -- which might connect us to John McGinty who is one of the Griffiths names.
Phelix was supposedly born in Ireland around 1856 and another girl sibling was born Feb 8 1858 and died Feb 9, 1858 but again there won't be any RC baptismal records. Then the family moved to Pennsylvania and all the other kids that I know of were born in the USA.
Thanks for your suggestions and can you recommend any good sources about the traditions of Irish names -- since I do recognize a lot of the same names in the last 5-7 generations and I am sure it goes back even farther.
Kind regards,
Tyler
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Tyler:
Try this site https://blog.findmypast.ie/traditional-irish-naming-patterns-1406390648.html
Roger
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
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Check out McManamons in Griffiths Valuation....there are several.
McManamon1865