James Joseph O'Donnell

Carol:

Do you know the names of the parents of James Joseph from a death record or other source? James O'Donnell was a common name in Co. Roscommon. I found a possible civil birth index record but we don't know for sure if he was born in 1875 since many immigrants changed their year of birth when they came here. I also found a related church baptismal record in the Ballaghaderreen RC church in 1875 for a James O'Donnell with parents James and Eleanor. I found a possible family in that area in the 1901 census but their son James was still at home in 1901 which would rule them out.

Roger McDonnell

Dear Roger,

Thank you for your help.  You have asked the million dollar question.  I can't find anythiing that has James' parents names on it. I was able to find out where James & Bridget were married in Philadelphia and have that church researching their records for possible names of their parents but this has been a slow process because it is being done by regular mail.  I hope to hear from them in the next few days.

A death certificate on James is another thing that is almost impossible.  In Philadelphia there is one cemetary that has over 30,000 Catholic Irish immigrants buried in it with over 15 James O'Donnells buried there.  These deaths were recorded in a ledger with each person just getting a line in the ledger with basically no information on them & that is just one cemetary.

The biggest break I have gotten was the info on James' son who became a priest as I said in my first email.  On his application for the priesthood is where he stated his father was from Co. Roscommon. 

I was able to find James' naturalization papers and am unable to read where he was born because it was written through a couple of times. I was also able to find James on a passenger list of a ship where he departed from Liverpool.

James didn't want to be found after he left Ireland so this may be impossible.

Again, thank you for your help & if I come up with any more information I will let you know.

Carol O'Donnell Brooks

Dear Roger,

Thank you for your help.  You have asked the million dollar question.  I can't find anythiing that has James' parents names on it. I was able to find out where James & Bridget were married in Philadelphia and have that church researching their records for possible names of their parents but this has been a slow process because it is being done by regular mail.  I hope to hear from them in the next few days.

A death certificate on James is another thing that is almost impossible.  In Philadelphia there is one cemetary that has over 30,000 Catholic Irish immigrants buried in it with over 15 James O'Donnells buried there.  These deaths were recorded in a ledger with each person just getting a line in the ledger with basically no information on them & that is just one cemetary.

The biggest break I have gotten was the info on James' son who became a priest as I said in my first email.  On his application for the priesthood is where he stated his father was from Co. Roscommon. 

I was able to find James' naturalization papers and am unable to read where he was born because it was written through a couple of times. I was also able to find James on a passenger list of a ship where he departed from Liverpool.

James didn't want to be found after he left Ireland so this may be impossible.

Again, thank you for your help & if I come up with any more information I will let you know.

Carol O'Donnell Brooks

Carol:

I went on Ancestry and found the naturalization record for James Joseph. The family lived near the small village of Lisacul which is in Tibohine civil parish probably more known as Faiymount. (I drove through Lisacul last September on my way to Ballaghaderreen). The Catholic parish is likely Loughglynn and Lisacul.  Still not sure who the parents were but my leading candidate is this family in Creevy townland. The parents were John and Brigid but Brigid was deceased as of 1901. Right now this is an educated guess. 

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Roscommon/Artagh_North…

I'm originally from Philadelphia. Looks like James and his family lived near 24th and Lehigh which is near the beautiful church of St. Columba (now know as St. Martin de Porres).

Roger

LOUGHGLYNN (LOUGHGLYNN AND LISACUL)

 Rev Donal Morris Adm.
 Loughglynn, Castlerea, Co Roscommon
 Tel: 094 9880007
 Rev Brendan McDonagh (SPS) CC
 Lisacul, Castlerea, Co Roscommon
 Tel: 085 1142212

Dear Roger,

I think you found him in Ireland!!  

First of all, I'm sorry I had a typo in the cemetary figure in that there are 3,000 graves at Holy Cross in Philadelphia with numerous James O'Donnells buried there.

I feel fairly certain that you have the right family in Ireland cause the pieces are starting to fit together. The story that have been passed down is that James lived on a farm before leaving Ireland & Lisacul looks just like that. James named his oldest son John which as you stated was probably his father's name. Also, that Brigid may have died at a fairly young age tends to run in the family. James died at a young age and his son Edward O'Donnell, my grandfather, died at a young age with heart problems.

I have a certificate of baptism on my grandfather, Edward, from St. Columba's and a certificate of the marriage of James & Bridget from St. Agatha's now known as St. Agatha's & St. James all in Philadelphia.I was pursuing the St. Agatha's angle cause I figured the marriage certificte would have the towns listed in Ireland before the baptismal certificates of the children.

James & Bridget had 5 children and of those five only one had a child which is my father, Edward F. O'Donnell, Jr.  My father had 5 children though and know there are 13 great grandchildren which there are 5 males to carry on the name.

I really appreciate your help & next week will do some more research on the info you have provided me. Now going to try to find out if James had any siblings.  I am planning a trip to Ireland in late August and all this information has been very helpful.

Sincerely,

Carol O'Donnell Brooks

Carol:

Glad to assist. Although the family in Creevy is likely the correct one, there still a possibility that another O'Donnell family is possible. So keep searching for the death record.

I assume you will be coming down from Sligo to Lisacul. When you get to Ballaghaderreen take the road to Ballyhaunis ( R293) and probably 3-4 miles down you will come to Lisacul. Creevy would be on the left before you get to Lisacul but someone local can give more spcific directions.

Let me know if you need more help.

Roger

Dear Roger,

I took some time off on my research of James O'Donnell, my great grandfather, as I have been planning and booking my trip to Ireland. 

I have run into a number of dead ends trying to confirm James' place of birth in Co. Roscommon or his parents names here in the United States.  I have not been able to get any further help from the churches of St. Martin Le Porres or St. Agatha & St James in Philadelphia.  St. Martin would probably be the church that would have information on James' death but it is a one woman office and she said without the exact date of death it would be hard for her to find.  She said it would basically be kept in a ledger with James' info on one line & she doubted that it would provide information on his place of birth or his parents names.

So I started working on your end in Ireland & with the information you provided me from the 1901 census of a family in Creevy. I decided to take a gamble & see if they had a child by the name of James O'Donnell.  If you remember by the 1901 census, James had moved to the U.S. and so he wasn't listed.  In fact, a birth certificate was found for him by those parents, John & Bridget O'Donnell.  He was their oldest child. 

From what you read on James' naturalization papers you said you thought he came from the town of Lisacul.  On his birth certificate it lists his place of birth as Lisadely in the County of Roscommon and also lists the Dwelling-Place of Father as Lisadely.  I can't find this on the internet.  Do you have any idea where  or what this is?  Could it possibly be the name of a farm?

I truly believe that this is the right James O'Donnell & am making slow progress but would appreciate any help you could provide.

Thank you so much.

Carol

Carol:

The townland is Lissydaly. It is a smaller townland than Creevy about 150 acres. It is just to the west of Creevy. Another townland, Corracoggil North, is between Creevy and Lissydaly.

Roger

Roger, 

I have had an interesting development in my search of James O'Donnell.  On the birth certificate I received for James, it lists his parents as John & Bridget O'Donnell.  Bridget's maiden name was Bridget Freeman whom you & I thought was deceased by the time the 1901 census came out.  In the 1911 census, I have found a Bridget Freeman listed as the head of a household with two sons.  The first one named Edward O'Donnell and  the second one listed as Thomas Freeman living in Lissydaly which is the birth place of James O'Donnell.  Edward O'Donnell is my father's name, which he always wondered where that came from.  

This has convinced me even more that we have the right family especially since we are dealing with such a small & remote area. Interestingly, I couldn't find Bridget in the 1901 census.  This brings up even more questions.  Do you know a historian that you could recommend from that area that I could hire that would be able to fill in the pieces.  I am starting to run out of time as I will be in Lisacul/Lissydaly area around August 22.

Again, thank you so much for your help.  I really appreicate it.

Carol

Hey Carol,

My Grandfather is James Joseph O'Donnell too. I have several relatives that are into Family history. If you would like I have a Sister and a Niece that have done considerable work in this area. My Grandfather is buried in the Cemetary at the State Hospital in Chatahoochee Florida. I think he died in about 1966. If we are related I have four Sisters and four Brothers all born in St. Petersburg Florida. My Father and Mother were born here as well.

Clyde O'Donnell Jr.

Clyde, Do you know the names of your grandfather's parents and/or where they came from in Ireland?  I was able to track down where my great father came from in Ireland and actually visit the property he  grew up on  and the church his family attended in Ireland.  If you know any of this information, then I could possibly tell you if we are talking about the same James Joseph O'Donnell. Carol